We discovered Hierophant Meadery at Pike Market, where we were encouraged to visit for their Summer…read moreSolstice event in Freeland, since we mentioned we were headed to Whidbey already that weekend. The meadery is a quirky, welcoming, family-friendly spot and for this event they featured live music, cosplay (sword fighting in full armor) and fire dancing, along with food vendors. They have picnic grounds, a great taproom, and plenty of mead flavors. Bring your own food, because they don't serve food, only drink here, typically. Or visit during a special event, when they'll have outside vendors as guests and food available. For Summer Solstice they had Whidbey Pies (known for strawberry rhubarb, marrionberry and cherry pies) and a local wood-fired pizza maker. A hierophant is a guide to sacred mysteries, which feels like the perfect name for a spot prepared to introduce you to the mysteries of mead. We recommend checking out their online calendar, to catch an event here.

Super fun spot! We…read morecame here around 3 on a Thursday so there was no one else. Lots of parking! This place is very cute! Lots of sunny and shaded outdoor seating with some on a patio and some out on the lawn with picnic tables, or inside the building. This is only the second meadery I've been to, and I feel like their flavors are much lighter, without any that I tried leaning towards the sweet dessert style mead. They have flat and bubbly options, as well as some really cool flavors. They have preset flights but on certain days you can create your own, so that's what I did! I personally really liked the spiced apple, PNW chai, and the hopped meadjito was my favorite! They don't make food but they do have a fridge with some items to make mini charcuterie boards! I found out that they sell their products at pcc's and metropolitan markets so I'm excited to grab some more from there!

Super fun, kind of hidden, cute spot!…read more I've always seen the sign but never came in until this past week with a few friends! This was my first time trying mead and I really liked a lot of them! The bubbly ones on tap were lighter and really yummy! I definitely like sweeter drinks, so the dessert ones (black magic and isilu shadow) were high on my list. They had lots of flavors with most of them being fruity. There are a few options for flights, and the choice to try every single flavor! The actual indoor area was pretty small, with only enough room for the bar, one table for 6 and a little bar top seat, and the bathroom. Because of the size, the bathroom is literally 2 feet away from the table and is inside a sliding door that does not fully seal shut. It was decently loud inside with the music playing but definitely not the place to go if you need privacy in the bathroom. They had another couple tables (2/3?) outside but it's tucked in a narrow alley so it was pretty tight out there as well. There is a stack of games to play inside and it has great decor! Overall, the drinks, vibes, and service were great! We had 7 people and completely filled the inside of the shop, so I would recommend a smaller group. The shop is down a narrow set of stairs between 2 building and another few stairs from the door down to the bar. I'm not sure if there is another entrance, so I believe this would be inaccessible for someone who was unable to use stairs. 4/5! Would definitely come here again and recommend to someone who wants to try something new! Very hidden spot type place!

This is such a unique gem of a place!! Loved the colorful atmosphere and great vibes. It is quite…read morecozy but I enjoyed the coziness. It was our first time trying mead so we went for the flight of 6. We tried a mix of the different types of mead and loved most of them! One tasted like whiskey, bit my cup of tea, but I really liked the sweeter ones! Would love to come back!

Delicious meads!! A must visit in the area. Kind people that run it and a fun, steampunk feel.read more

Contrivance was on my list for quite a while to try but in the last few months I have had their…read moremead on three separate occasions and all of the experiences were wonderful! The theme at the taproom is fun as it's done in a steampunk style that makes this unique! The mead is amazing and Steve and I have tried quite a bit of it and all of it is wonderful. Probably my favorite one however is the Lady Grey as it is a Earl Grey flavored mead which is simply out of this world. They have a variety of different flavors involving berry flavors and meads on the on the dryer side for a flavor profile. They also have wine but we haven't delved into that yet as we are typically drawn to the mead on our visits. On our last visit they had little posable dragons for sale which were super cute and of course I had to get one. I already got the t shirt obsession covered when visiting taproom on the first visit. I love the logo! I highly recommend this meadery and the owners are super nice and a pleasure to visit with.

It's definitely an adventure trying to find the place, it's down the back alley behind the pizza…read moreplace and a roll down garage door. It's kinda a secret to find, but that makes it kinda fun. So I get to this place and unfortunately they were out of the classic so I went with his plum wine. It was great! But definitely still a bit tart to be considered perfect for me. Kind of a smaller bottle for the price but considering it's the best mead I've had I'm willing to pay it. I'll definitely be back to try the original honey mead! All and all I'm a happy customer.

We've been so impressed with Erik and his mead. Every single mead we've had is nothing short of…read moreamazing. Easily my favorite of all the mead that we've tried. He has an awesome variety of flavors (definitely some unique ones!). I also love that he sources just about everything (as much as he can) locally. Even for his t-shirts he is using a local company! Absolutely top-tier mead. Erik is a super nice guy, who loves what he does and does an amazing job. So glad to have found Aesir! Definitely recommend trying it, even if you don't know if or think you don't like mead, give his a try.

I first stumbled across mead from Axis at a taphouse in Yelm. Feeling excited to try something new…read moreI bought a bottle of their Death Metal Guys mead. But before I broke out that mead a trip to the Olympia area was already in the works so I figured I'd go to their taproom in Lacey. I was quite impressed with the mead here! The first mead I had was the Pink Bike Helmet mead. This had a great blending of pear and apple and of course honey. The balance was well handled and I enjoyed it. But the mead that I liked best, even after I broke open the Death Metal Guys bottle on Thanksgiving was their Hatch Chili Mead. Oh, man! I'm very partial to hatch chilis in the first place but the fact that I came across a pepper mead was just wonderful! It had a nice heated kick to it with the smoothness of the honey that followed. A fantastic mead and one I'd definitely seek out again. Then like I said I broke out the Death Metal Guys over the Thanksgiving holiday. This was a syrupy, blackberry mead with a boozy flair to it. It was good too and perfect for the holiday! But my mind will always drift back to that Hatch Chili Mead. Just writing this review makes me want to plan another trip down to their taproom so I can have another glass!

No food here. Service is good. You can have a taste before you make your selection. None of them…read moretickled my fancy, so I just hung out with my people while they drank theirs. Maybe mead just isnt my thing. Theyre only open 2-5 on Saturdays. So if this your thing, you gotta short window.

Dean was a delight. His property is quite unassuming. We drove in and it was a quiet dirt and…read moregravel road that took us to his place of business. He has a very informative sheet on his front door that is the most effective way of communicating his location that I have ever seen. He was in his brewery when we arrived and met his beautiful friendly dogs. I called ahead to purchase some mead and wine. He went the extra mile and gave my partner and I a tasting. Insisting you have to know you like the product before buying. I really appreciated that as I struggle finding alcohol I enjoy. All of it was delicious and talking to him was a delight. He's very knowledgeable about his craft and is quite good at it. We ended up purchasing a blueberry mead, cherry mead, and lemon wine. He managed to capture the flavors of his ingredients while keeping a lovely and light beverage that I can't wait to serve at my upcoming party. This is definitely a place to come and check out. As he does so much aside from brewing you'll find something for the whole family! All while enjoying the lovely grounds that he maintains. I can't wait to return in a month when his cranberry wine is finally done!!! I'll post pictures when I go back. As everything was so wonderful and beautiful I forgot to take my phone out.