Steve Haystead has always had a thing about bees, and, of course, honey. Soon, it became wine. A honey of a wine.
The progression has led Haystead, a 1979
Central Michigan University graduate who later earned an MBA from CMU, from beekeeper to winemaker. He and wife, Jan, own
Bardic Wells Meadery, which plans a major move at the end of this year into a downtown Montague location that will offer a tasting room for the first time.
"Moving from the walkout basement of our home to an 8,000-square-foot facility obviously is huge for us," says Haystead, who expects to produce nearly 4,000 gallons of his honey-to-wine specialties in 2012, compared to about 1,500 this year. "We’ll be within 'stumbling distance' of five marinas, three condos, and there’s a campground within 100 yards.
"You could say we’ve got a built-in customer base, and a great location."
The new location, a three-hour westward drive from Midland, will enable Haystead to produce, allow tasting and serve hors d’oeuvres for the first time in the same facility. This is the day he has been waiting for since he opened for business in 2009, after receiving help on his business plan from the CMU Research Center.
Haystead maintains strong ties to the Mt. Pleasant area, and Bardic Wells wines are sold at several outlets in his old stomping grounds. In addition to being able to buy wines at the Meadery, Bardic Wells beverages are available at 16 outlets in Michigan, four of which are in Mount Pleasant. They also are available in East Tawas, Pentwater, Midland, Whitehall, Ludington, Muskegon, Grand Haven and Grand Rapids.
The business has been steadily growing since 2009, and this should be a "breakout year," says Haystead. "It’s all about having fun, but, of course, the more wine you sell, the more fun you have."
Haystead’s emphasis on fun is more than just lip service. The history of making mead, sometimes called honey wine, is filled with fun and merriment and is said to predate beer and wine as the original alcoholic beverage. All mead contains honey, but some have fruit, herbs or spices added to make different flavors. Bardic Wells concoctions include Boo Clu (pumpkin), Fuzz Clu (peach), Bru Clu (coffee), Canoe Clu (birch bark) and many more.
Now back to the merriment. Romans, Greeks and Vikings produced mead, and Celts in Ireland and England may be most well known for their taste for honey wine. Bardic Wells draws its history from the Celtic history. Bards were medieval performers who traveled from town to town, singing songs, telling stories and dancing--and of course enjoying plenty of mead.
"The name Bardic Wells Meadery itself calls upon the spirit that flowed during the festivities," says Haystead. "Today, like medieval peasants and nobility of old, we would still benefit from the spirit and joy of a bard’s performance.
"Bardic Wells' mission is simply: People will always need a break from drab routines. Our authentic mead, used centuries ago by Celtic bards, is still a fun diversion from a modern, pressure-packed world.
"Our slogan? 'Party like a bard!,'" he says.
Yes, Haystead points to fun and spirit, but making quality mead is more than just a party. There is plenty of attention to detail involved to make sure the product is up to snuff. Honey, water and bee pollen are combined in precise measure--a process that has taken years for Haystead to perfect.
"I started working on mead long before I opened the business," he says. "My first batch was horrible, but I kept working on it, perfecting it, I started winning some awards, and figured this was something I could do for a living."
Honey obviously is mead’s most important ingredient, providing carbohydrates that feed the fermentation. Bardic Wells organically manages its own bees and controls its own honey source.
"The vast majority of mead producers get their honey elsewhere and are reliant on outside sources," Haystead says. "But we can generate truly raw honey. Because of this, one of the biggest comments is how wonderful our mead smells."
Next comes the well water, with a pH nearly perfect for mead-making. No recycled water, no treatment plant water, not chlorinated water, no filtered water. Every drop comes straight from the well.
"Obviously, another very important part of the process," Haystead says. "Raw honey, pure water, you get the picture."
Haystead shuns processed products for the protein necessary to feed the yeast, ensuring healthy fermentation. He opts instead for bee pollen, which is what was used hundreds of years before manufactured nutrients were available.
"Sometimes it’s not what you put in the mead, but what you don’t put into it," he says.
Haystead also uses this expression when speaking of sulfites, which some meaderys use as a sanitizer or preservative to control fermentation. Without sulfites, fermentation is a more lengthy process that must be monitored closely, but it also removes the possibility of mead with a chemical taste.
"Yes, it’s 'Party like a bard!,' but that’s only after you have a quality product that is worth partying with," Haystead says. "We get so much positive feedback after people taste our product, and we’re very excited about the possibility of reaching so many more this year."
Jeff Barr is a freelance writer who has lived in Michigan for 45 years. He has covered every part of the state. You can reach Jeff via email.