Welcome To Arkansas: Leaky Roof Meadery

Get ready to get your mead on!

Alright, first question: What the hell is mead? Good question, so my old friend Wikipedia.org gets us started:

Mead (/ˈmiːd/; archaic and dialectal "medd"; from Old English "meodu"), is an alcoholic beverage created by fermenting honey with water, and frequently fruits, spices, grains or hops. (Hops act as a preservative and produce a bitter, beer-like flavor.) The alcoholic content of mead may range from about 8% ABV to more than 20%. The defining characteristic of mead is that the majority of the beverage's fermentable sugar is derived from honey. It may be still, carbonated or naturally sparkling, and it may be dry, semi-sweet or sweet.

"It can be regarded as the ancestor of all fermented drinks."

Good enough? OK then, we're all set. Next question: Who is Leaky Roof Meadery? Well you'll need to check out their website for tons of info to answer that, but in short it's 3 mead lovers up in Missouri (north of Springfield in Buffalo, Mo.) bringing their gluten-free deliciousness to the Springfield/Lake of the Ozarks area and Arkansas in kegs, bottles and eventually pint cans (possibly as early as June).

They've signed with Glidewell Distributing and well be arriving in draft form in central Arkansas next week, with some launch events planned. Wednesday, Apr 2nd, there will be events at Big Orange and The Flying Saucer (glass night!) and on Thursday, Apr 3rd, they'll have a tap takeover at Superior Bathhouse Brewery in Hot Springs. They'll also be pouring at Food & Foam Fest on Friday, Apr 4th. Head mead-maker and general manager Todd Rock will be at all of the events. Todd has worked at Hanger 24 in California as a cellerman and also at one of my favorites, Mother's Brewing Company in Springfield, Mo. as lead packaging tech.

Looking over at Untappd, I see their top beers include:

KCC&S Cyser - Our flagship mead. It is a session-strength, slightly carbonated or “petillant”, semi-sweet mead made from a blending of honey and fresh pressed apple cider. It is pale straw gold, crystal clear and has a refreshing sharpness from our liberal use of Granny Smith apples in our cider. Our cyser is technically similar to a hard cider but is less tart and emphasizes both honey and apple flavors.

Berry Picker - Our super berry melomel. It is a session-strength, petillant and sweet mead made from a blend of wildflower honey with strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and red raspberries. This beverage is sweet, but not too sweet, fruity and an explosion of fresh berry flavor.

High, Dry and Dusty - Our ginger methyglin. It is a sessionable, dry and slightly carbonated mead reminiscent of a very dry ginger ale. Bright, crisp and spicy, this mead can clear a palate and leave it feeling refreshed and thirsty for more. Exceptionably good over ice, this mead is perfect for a hot day in Missouri.

Spook Light - Our fall seasonal offering is a pumpkin pie spiced mead. A house blend of pie spices complements the flavors of wildflower honey to give you taste of pie that will send shivers down your spine.