The science and art of making mead at Vernon's Planet Bee
Mead has been gaining in popularity as an alcoholic beverage but also as a craft and career. Planet Bee in Vernon is a case in point.
James Nowek, co-owner of Planet Bee honey farm, makes mead right on the premises from honey harvested from hives on the farm.
Mead is a fermented honey-based wine, consisting of honey, water and yeast as the most basic three ingredients. Over time, the yeast eats the sugars in the honey turning the water into mead and then its ready for drinking.
There aren't a lot of wineries in the North Okanagan compared to the Central and Southern parts of the valley, so that's left some room for producers of mead.
Nowek took up full time mead making at the farm in 2018 and has had a passion for it ever since.
“To be able to taste your product at the end is a pretty nice way to reward yourself when you have something that’s successful and works well,” Nowek said.
When he started mead making, Nowek thought more diversity in mead flavours was needed to cater to more people, so he started experimenting.
“In terms of sweetness, it could be anywhere from super dry to insanely sweet. It can be anywhere for four or five per cent of alcohol to 17 per cent. You can add spices, fruits, age it in barrels, it’s really wide open,” Nowek said. “No matter what somebody’s preference is for a drink, there’s probably mead out there.”
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The longer the fermentation process, the more alcohol content the batch of mead will contain.
A typical batch of mead at Planet Bee takes about a month of primary fermentation followed by the secondary fermentation for another three to four weeks. The batch will then go through a one-month period of fining, which is clarifying, filtering and bottling the wine.
Mead with higher percentages of alcohol, like Planet Bee’s Ode to Odin at 17 per cent, go through a more extensive time process with an additional month tacked on to the secondary fermentation process. Ode to Odin can take four or five months to create then it's aged in a whisky barrel for six months.
Good yeast is a vital component in mead making as it starts the fermentation process.
“You don’t want the yeast to starve, but you also don’t want to flood them and overfeed them. A lot of fermenters used to just give all the nutrients right away up front and then just watch it kind of peter out as it went on and then found out it's a much healthier, cleaner ferment if you just add little bits at a time,” Nowek said.
He said if you've had mead before and it wasn't to your taste, throw that expectation out the window.
“Every meadery you go to is going to be totally different,” he said. “Even if you didn’t like all of our meads here, please still try a mead at another meadery, because you’ll probably find one you like somewhere.”
Altering a pre-conceived notion of mead for visitors on the farm is always an exciting opportunity for Nowek. Planet Bee offers free samples of their mead creations to visitors so they can take a sip and experience the unique taste and learn what type of mead they may or may not enjoy.
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Nowek said a lot of people expect mead to be extremely sweet due to the honey but are often surprised by the flavours and how dry the mead can be.
The classic and most popular mead sold on the farm is a traditional dry mead. Dubbed Okanagan Delight it has a light, crisp, clean and slightly sour taste.
Nowek is also working on Norse, Egyptian and a Greek themed-mead which will be coming out soon. All of these meads hold different flavour profiles. The Egyptian has a sweet and strong in taste.
Cherry, blackberry and black current meads are also a fan favourite at Planet Bee and popular choices among visitors.
Nowek looks at mead making as a passion project and a science project simultaneously. The creativity needed, as well as the formulas, can create the perfect batch of house made mead.
“And that’s the true art to it," he said.
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