BOULDER, Colorado - The spirit behind humans' first fermented beverage is brewing here in Colorado. Mead, also called honey wine, is now being produced at Redstone Meadery™ in Boulder.

Where as beer is made from malt and most wines are made from grapes, mead is wine fermented from honey. The meadery, one of only 30 estimated in the country, is the only one primarily producing draft mead with bottled mead to follow.

Just like beer and wine there are many different styles of mead. Mead can be dry or sweet and still or sparkling. Mead is historically referred to as "nectar of the gods". The word "Honeymoon" stems from honey wine and the tradition of drinking it for one full lunar cycle starting on the wedding night. This is said to give couples the best chance of creating a male heir!

"This is the start of something very big," says David Myers, mead maker and owner of Redstone Meadery™. "We believe our three lines of meads will become favorites first locally, then regionally and then nationally." There is the Nectar line of meads (available only in kegs), Mountain Honey Wine (bottled), and Vintage Reserve (bottled). The meadery does not use sulfites and only pasteurizes the honey instead of boiling.

Available now are the nectar draft mead products that can be purchased in half-gallon containers, 7.9 and 15.5-gallon kegs directly from the meadery. Liquor Mart in Boulder also carries kegs for sale and restaurants in Colorado are serving the meads. Visit www.RedstoneMeadery for an updated list of accounts.

The Nectar meads, are sparkling, filtered, medium sweet meads that contains 8% alcohol. Fruit puree or spices are added after fermentation to play against the honey flavor in the nectar. "We are making a beverage that represents living liquid history and serving it on tap is the best way for the most people to get the chance to try it." In addition, says Myers, "for restaurants the profit margin is much higher then draft beer!"

Brian Lutz, mead lover, brewer and owner of Boulder's Redfish New Orleans Brewhouse states, "the Black Raspberry Nectar is delicious. The straightforward fruit flavors please the palette while the complexity of it makes you yearn for more. Redstone has once again put Boulder in the forefront of our country's fermentation revolution. Congratulations!"

Redstone Meadery is also fermenting mead for bottles including a wine product (12% alcohol) called Mountain Honey Wine available in early 2002. Lastly, a special Vintage Reserve (14-16% potential) mead will be available in bottles sometime after 2002. Note: a waiting list has formed for customers wanting to purchase the Vintage Reserve.

The meadery tasting room is open Wednesdays through Fridays 3:30 pm - 6:30 pm, Saturdays 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm or by appointment. A free half hour tour and tasting is given each Wednesday - Friday starting at 3:00 pm and on Saturdays at 12:30 pm. Redstone Meadery also proudly announces that High Point Distributing (970.524.1092) will be selling their meads everywhere High Point distributes in Colorado.