Building the Buzz of Honey Mead Making with Diane Currier

Diane Currier is the founder of Honeygirl Meadery, a meadery based in Durham, North Carolina. Diane first discovered mead after visiting her sister in Alaska and experiencing her first taste. In 2012, after earning a second-place ribbon at the North Carolina State Fair for her hibiscus lemon thyme mead recipe, she decided to launch her company with the goal of producing high-quality, handmade meads that promote and support beekeeping and honeybees while improving their natural habitats.

Diane joins me today to explain what mead is and how she learned the art and science of mead-making. She shares how she finds inspiration for new mead flavors, the current trends happening in the mead industry, and why she decided to venture into making session meads. She also discusses the ‘grassroots’ of the Mead Revival and how she has grown - and helped establish - the culture of mead making.

This week on Consuming the Craft:

• What inspired Diane’s passion for mead-making?
• How she learned to make mead.
• The pre- and post-production processes of mead-making.
• How she finds inspiration for new mead flavors.
• Pairing flavor profiles of mead to compliment food dishes.
• Trends currently happening in the mead industry.
• Why she decided to venture into session meads.
• Why she believes it’s important that mead drinkers are more adventurous than brand loyal.
• Why mead makes great-tasting cocktails.
• How to find mead products at your local wine and spirits store.
• How the techniques used in the mead making world have evolved.

Resources Mentioned:

• The Flavor Bible: The Essential Guide to Culinary Creativity, Based on the Wisdom of America’s Most Imaginative Chefs by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg
• MeadCon - International Mead Conference

Connect with Diane Currier:

• Honeygirl Meadery
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Instagram

This episode is brought to you by...

McConnell Farms - Taste the Way You Remember. Enjoy homemade ciders and ice cream made from only the best produce on the market. Visit the McConnell Farms website to learn more our seasonal inventory and delicious creations you can make with our homegrown produce.

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