Come learn with us at the farm! We love to learn and to share our experiences and knowledge with others. Let us know if you'd like to see a particular topic offered and we'll see what we can do!
We'll continue to add workshops that are relevant to each season, as well as some workshops that are available any time of the year. Check back here to see how we're expanding our offerings!
Making Mead
Contact us (ancientspringfarm@protonmail.com or 336-639-4314) to schedule a private workshop (minimum 2 people, maximum 8 people); $50 per person
Includes all supplies for taking home your own 1/2-gallon batch of mead.
Drink of ancient heroes and modern wizards, mead (alcohol made of fermented honey) is known archaeologically to be at least 5,000 to 9,000 years old and found around the world. That antiquity makes mead one of the first alcoholic beverages our diverse ancestors consumed. Unlike grape and palm wine, beer, whiskey, rum, vodka, chicha, and other alcohols made with domesticated plants, mead can be created from completely wild, naturally occurring ingredients. As a result, mead is a very approachable and personable drink that is easy to make and infinitely adaptable to personal taste and experimentation. This workshop will begin with a brief history of mead and its appearance in archaeology and ancient and modern literature. Next will come a summary of the great variety of mead-like drinks that are made. After sampling several varieties, participants will start their own half-gallon batches of mead using pure honey and water, and optionally flavored with one or more flowers, herbs, fruits, and/or woods of each participant’s choosing.
Rebecca is a professional archaeologist and historic preservationist, amateur Celtophile, and lover of things old, wild, and botanical. She learned to make mead from a grad school friend in 2005. Since then, she has experimented with diverse botanically based flavors and has created numerous batches of mead with plants she has collected herself, including some that grow on the farm.