There's an oft repeated myth that honey is the only food which lasts forever. After this proclamation, some genius almost always feels morally obligated to make a "Twinkies" joke.[1]

But is the myth true? Is honey really the only food which lasts forever?

This is actually two questions in one:
1) Does honey stay edible forever?[2]
2) Are there other foods which stay edible forever?

The answer to the first question seems to be an unequivocal "yes." Thanks to a combination of hygroscopy, pH, and naturally occurring hydrogen peroxide, honey really never spoils.

As for the second question, it depends a little more on how you define "food" and "edible." A pile of salt never spoils, but it does not, in-and-of-itself, constitute food.[3] Dry rice and beans will also keep for centuries, but they require substantial preparation to make them edible again.

What's more, honey is both eternal and edible with very little human preparation involved. Basically, the recipe could read: "Extract honey and put it in a jar."

With just a little more effort, there are a small handful of other substances which could plausibly hold the title of immortal food, molasses being one.

​But why quibble? Honey is amazing and you can learn so much more about the magic of its eternal existence at Smithsonian.com; they have an excellent summary of what makes honey immortal.

[1] "Thank you, Dan, for really moving the ball down the court on this conversation..."
[2] At least for relatively small values of "forever."
[3] Despite Ricky's claims.

In which Ricky the Meadmaker discusses the difference between Craft Mead and Honey Wine.

One of the most common phrases uttered at the Mead Hall is: “Wow, I did not think I was going to like that.”
 
Obviously, to some extent, this proclamation issues from individuals who have only imbibed incompetently homebrewed concoctions or overly-sweet commercial meads.
 
And yet, more often than not, it comes from mead fans, even Certified Meadiacs. Why should our regulars be surprised to like a mead from their local mead hall and from one of their favorite meadmakers? Because Ricky and Erik make weird stuff sometimes.
 
We have brewed with everything from coffee to smoked tea, peppers to Italian seasoning, hot sauce to melon liqueur. Have they all been great? No. Have they all been drinkable? Oddly enough, yes.
 
So how do you do it? How do you make a new Firkin Friday week after week without a real swing-and-a-miss?
 
There are three tricks:

1. You brew a lot.
2. You eat and drink a lot.
3. You pay attention when doing any of the above.

 
Cuisines from all around the world have been using honey for millennia. Spicy works with honey, sour works with honey, fruits work with honey, herbs work with honey, nuts work with honey, different varietal honeys even work together. There really is no better base product for experimenting with wild flavors than mead.
 
So, really, the trick is to start thinking in reverse. Rather than thinking of what ingredients might go in mead, try to think of things which you already put honey in.
 
Do you add lemon and honey to your tea? That’s how we invented Buckland Mead!
Do you put honey in your BBQ Sauce? That’s where Campfire came from.
Do you like Malaysian honey chicken? That’s the inspiration for our first pepper-spiced mead.
 
Really, it’s that easy, but it all starts with paying attention. Start thinking in terms of flavor profiles and you’ll automatically start thinking outside of the box.
 
Heck, if the guys over at Burlington Beer Company managed to make an absolutely killer beer with peanut butter in it, you know the old bard was right when he said,
There are more blends in heaven and earth, dear Meadiac,
than are dreamt of in your Papazian.

With Thirteen Taps and beautiful wood facing, many of you have been requesting photos of our new bar. Well, you're in luck, because we just so happen to have a bunch of them!

Can't spot all 13 Taps? Well, some are hidden and some are... Top Secret.

In which Ricky the Meadmaker answers questions about the best ways to clarify mead, when to switch to a conical fermentor from a carboy, how to make a sweeter craft mead, the secrets of aging, and how best to use squash as a brewing ingredient.

Feast Week was amazing! We had a packed house every day and saw tons of new faces.

​Collected below are some of those faces captured by the wonder of photography.
 
But, first, we wanted to tell you about our new hours! Starting this week, the Mead Hall will be open Wednesday-Saturday 11:30-8:00.
​
See you soon!