I am well aware that this is not a post about a brewery, but guess what, it’s my blog so I’ll write about anything I dang well please (except vegan restaurants… god no, there will never be a vegan restaurant/brewpub posting on here). Plus, mead is basically beer with a different sugar source, and even our President is using honey in his own homebrew in the White House. Good enough for the Commander in Chief, good enough for me.

I had been sampling beers throughout Vermont and New Hampshire, so while en route to visit a friend in Boston I figured I’d change it up a bit a go a bit sweeter. First off, I GUARANTEE there is something at Moonlight you will enjoy, as by my count, there were nearly forty varieties at my visit. The categories range from your standard traditional meads made with honey, sugar and yeast to the outrageously flavored coffee, pepper and barrel-aged concoctions.

I won’t even begin to try and describe each mead I tried, but I’ll offer a general overview, as well as some of my favorites. For wine drinkers who enjoy big, bold, red styles, Moonlight offers several melomels (mead fermented with fruit) made with dark fruits such as cherries and black currants. The meads fermented with the currants pack an intense pucker factor and boldness that is unique only to melomels, so a definite must-try for wine drinkers seeking a brazen alternative to typical full-bodied wines.

For those seeking a more subtle flavor with the honey being at the forefront, try one of Moonlight’s methlegins (mead with spices). Many are infused with tea leaves, as well as other bolder spices such as ginger and cinnamon, as well as smoother choices made with vanilla (my personal favorite was a mead fermented with whole oranges and spiced with vanilla beans). For a taste like you’ve never had before, try ‘Breathless’, a cinnamon-spiced mead that is like a fireball candy explosion. Other unique spices and infusions include Sumatra coffee, lime, mint and peppers, just to name a few.

Finally, for the beer aficionados (see, I didn’t completely forget about my fellow beer geeks), Moonlight offers a barrel-aged series, utilizing spent barrels that formerly housed the uber rare/expensive Utopia beers from Sam Adams/Boston Beer Co. (an American Strong Ale that drinks more like a sherry as it clocks in at an astonishing 29% abv, which is roughly the equivalent of seven Bud Lights). These meads are rarely available for tasting but have garnered critical praise, earning Mazer Cup (the Olympics of mead) honors in 2012.

Being a fan of variety and uniqueness, Moonlight Meadery really has it all. For those of you who have never tried or even heard of mead, the guys there do a great job of explaining the process as well as offering advice on varieties. And for those us who enjoy the craft of spirits it’s hard not to appreciate the range and depth offered for such a simple item that usually just requires water, yeast and honey.

Random side note: I made a wrong turn that cost me an additional hour, but located 40 miles northwest on Highway 9 (connecting US 91 and US 89) I came across the below pictured barn and stopped because I was famished.

Thinking I would just grab a quick deli sandwich and a soda, I pulled up and saw there was also this gnarly, vintage Airstream serving gourmet sandwiches and ice cream. I ordered a marinated veggie sandwich with goat cheese and pretty much just grinned for 15 minutes straight, and then washed it down with a Squamscot craft soda. I couldn’t help but go up to the trailer afterwards and thank them for such an amazing sandwich. So if you aren’t already, don’t travel the major highways or you will miss out on hidden gems like these! Oh, and if you get the name, please tell me. Or, perhaps it’s better being unknown to me so it retains that mystical quality (but I certainly encourage you to tell others).

Update to the update; Farm Store found! http://winterhillfarmstore.com/about/the-farm-the-market/