After some back-and-forth with the State Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control, Mr. Moutela was granted a special permit in 2014. Later, he helped draft the language for a new mead-and-cider license now making its way through legal channels. He does not expect to be the sole permit-holder for long.

Image A bottle of Swinger, a variety of mead made from wildflower honey. Credit... Bryan Anselm for The New York Times

“Mead,” he said, “is the next big trend in craft beverages.”

A recent sold-out 90-minute tour of Melovino lent credence to that claim. Twenty-five people paid $20 each to walk through the production facility, which currently bottles 42,000 gallons of mead per year in more than 30 varieties, and were treated to a tasting afterward. Melovino offers seven tours per weekend, and, Mr. Moutela said, they consistently sell out.

“We keep having to add more,” he said.

Curiosity ran high among attendees during the recent session. Hands shot up in the chilly production room, with its nine massive stainless-steel vats of diluted and fermenting honey, as the visitors asked questions on topics such as mead’s alcohol content (generally 12 to 14 percent, similar to many wines); whether it can be aged (yes, Mr. Moutela answered, “but like a $4 bottle of red wine, you can’t keep it for 20 years and expect it’ll be great if it’s not good to begin with”); and whether it is always sweet because it is made from honey (no; meads, like wines, can be dry).

During the tasting session, which featured countertop spittoons and food-pairing suggestions, participants learned that a mead labeled Sinfonia went well with a cigar or anything in mushroom sauce, while another, Sweet Affair Hers, was best suited to serving with cave-aged Havarti or milk chocolate with hazelnuts.

Melovino buys some of its honey locally, from Stiles Apiaries in Fords, N.J. “The flavor depends on the nectar the bees sourced,” said Mr. Moutela, who uses wildflower, buckwheat, orange blossom, clover, tupelo and other types of honey that range in taste from floral and citrusy to fruity and spicy.

A mead’s flavor, though, does not derive from the honey alone.

“The possibilities are endless,” Mr. Moutela said. “Have you ever heard of a grape wine having ghost peppers? With mead you can do that.” Local apple cider can also be used to dilute the honey instead of water, something that Mr. Moutela did recently with a mead he calls Nice as Pie.