Northern Michigan meadery takes gold and silver medals in national competition

BEULAH, MI -- Michigan bees have been hard at work earning some hardware for an up north cellar.

St. Ambrose Cellars, a meadery in Benzie County, took home gold and silver medals this year at the Mead Institute’s U.S. Mead Open Competition.

The barn-style restaurant specializes in mead, an alcoholic drink made from fermented honey and water, and pays homage to one of the patron saints of beekeeping, Saint Ambrose.

Entries came from across the nation and were judged by 14 sommeliers and experts.

The big winners were St. Ambrose’s Shotgun Wedding and Grateful Head, taking home gold and silver respectively.

Shotgun Wedding is a strawberry rhubarb cyser − a cross between mead and hard cider.

Grateful Head is a habanero, mango and apple mead.

St. Ambrose’s Illuminati mead, a still mead, also won the gold for the Dessert Mead Sweet category.

In addition to the medal winners, another six meads from St. Ambrose made the semifinalist list and scored more than 90 out of a 100 points, according to the Mead Institute.

The national recognition is a nod to both the craft and the growing popularity of mead, said Cory Woessner, St. Ambrose marketing lead.

“This recognition helps put a spotlight not just on us, but on the entire mead-making community. We’re proud to be a part of it and can’t wait to keep innovating and sharing what we create,” he said.

St. Ambrose Cellars in Beulah makes mead, honey and beeswax products from bees raised at its sister company, Sleeping Bear Farms. The menu includes wood-fired pizza, truffle fires and burgers, among other options. The outdoor venue has live music every weekend in its barn.Lindsay Moore

The farm offers 11 draft meads with flavors like finalists Wild Ginger and Rhythm and Blues, made from black currant and blueberries.

While the draft selection offers a zip of carbonation akin to cider the four still meads give an uncarbonated honey wine flavor. The still mead Royal Reserve made the short list in the national competition as well.

A short drive from Crystal Lake and just 30 minutes south of Sleeping Bear Dunes, St. Ambrose offers a relaxed, Up North hang.

Check out a barn concert, yard games or the 9-hole disc golf course.

St. Ambrose is open throughout the year with indoor seating and a stage to keep the live entertainment going in the cold weather. Here are fall and winter hours:

Monday-Wednesday: 12 - 8 p.m.

Thursday-Saturday: 12 -9 p.m.