While visiting Savannah, Georgia I had the pleasure of stopping by Savannah Bee Company. They have quite a few locations in the city, but there is one shop, in particular, I really loved. The SBC location on Broughton Street is colorful with a mead bar, honey tasting bar, and a fun kids area. The store is filled with different kinds of honey, flavors, beauty products, and fun Savannah bee swag.

When visiting I went straight to the mead bar, since I had already had a few rounds of honey the day before on my Savannah Taste Experience tour. First and foremost, if you’re new to mead here are some things to know:

 

  • Mead is an alcoholic beverage fermented from honey and water.
  • The ABV or alcohol content can range from 3.5%-17% or more just like wine.
  • Mead can be still, carbonated, naturally sparkling, semi-sweet, and sweet.
  • Mead is sometimes also blended with other fruit, spices, grains, and ingredients for more flavor and aromatics.

We started off with the Stigmata, a hibiscus session mead with rose, elderflower, and light hops. This mead is from Georgia’s first meadery: Monks Meadery and is bright, floral, and superb for summer sipping! After the stigmata was a fun sour mead, called Bee-Town from South Carolina. This sour mead is made with sour cherry and is really delightful if you enjoy sour flavors. I enjoy sour beers, especially on very hot days, so this mead was perfect for the warm Savanah weather.

They have quite a selection of meads here, and the staff behind the bar are all very knowledgeable and passionate about meads. After the sour mead came a fun mead called Nectar of the Hops from Redstone Meadery. Its a mead with hops, and subtle sweetness that is playful and sparkling! On a hot summer day hanging by the pool, this would be a fun mead to begin the day with because it makes a delicious aperitif. Savannah Bee Company also produces their own mead, and one I really loved was the Tupelo Blossom hand-bottled mead. It’s bright and floral, and honestly is great on its own but I would also love it in a cocktail too!

Last, but certainly not least, I had the pleasure of tasting a mead that reminded me of my childhood (not that I was drinking mead as a child) because it tasted like YooHoo! The Chocol’ha by Crafted Artisan Meadery is fun, cocoa driven, and very smooth. There are subtle hints of creaminess and chocolate notes, which is why it reminded me of childhood chocolate drinks. This mead I would enjoy on a cooler summer evening by the firepit, it would be ideally paired with salty popcorn or s’ mores!

Overall while you’re in Savannah, I recommend stopping by one of the Savannah Bee Company locations. You’ll learn a lot, taste a lot, and it’s really a wonderful experience. Always remember, eat what you like and drink what you love!