Oct. 2 was an exciting day for the Ryan brothers.
That was the official opening of their new business, Fallentimber Meadery, located on their family farm near Water Valley.
The event was a huge success, garnering a large turnout of about 350 enthusiastic connoisseurs eager to taste the Ryan’s offerings, which included three traditional wine-like meads in varying sweetness levels.
“Our opening was really exciting and a bit flooring at the same time,” said Nathan Ryan, 27, adding that there were cars lined up down their country lane and a Big Rock Brewery executive arrived in a helicopter.
Since the opening, the meadery has hosted guests from as far as Germany, Russia, Australia and Peru who have reportedly enjoyed the bold Chardonnay-like taste of the Traditional Dry, the slightly sweet German style of the Traditional and the Traditional Sweet, which compares to a dessert wine.
According to Nathan, mead, a drink made from honey, is one of the world’s oldest fermented drinks. Supplies for the beverages are easy for the brothers Nathan and Colin, 22, to come by, as their family has been involved in beekeeping for three generations.
But the family business, with about 240 bee colonies producing about 30,000 pounds of honey annually, couldn’t support two adult sons, despite their keen desire to live and work on the farm.
Colin and Nathan instead worked as construction framers to earn a living. However, they never lost their desire to live the agricultural life, and combined that love with a passion for brewing wine, beer and mead.
In true entrepreneurial spirit, the brothers received an Alberta Cottage Winery licence, renovated an existing quonset located at their childhood home, and purchased about $75,000 worth of wine-making equipment including tanks and a steam cleaner. Just the second meadery to open its doors in Alberta, the bottling of their first vintage has the Ryan brothers excited.
“We are small in terms of a farm, especially in terms of beekeeping in Alberta,” said Nathan.
Although the Ryan’s apiary currently supports about 1.5 people, the goal is to support four to five. The brothers are off to a good start. They sold about 400 bottles during their first weekend, and garnered much interest at the Cochrane farmers’ market.
Their business plan involves innovative ideas, like pursuing a picnic licence, to allow visitors to enjoy a bottle of wine on the patio. The brothers have also tossed around the idea of opening a restaurant and hosting events.
“I would like to make it more of a destination,” said Nathan.
First and foremost is making the best mead possible, which starts with good honey. The Ryans’ hives are spread in several locations along the eastern edge of the foothills from Bottrel to Bergen.
This gives the bees access to a wide variety of wildflowers, but limits their exposure to croplands to the east. Careful hive placement is followed by special treatment of the honey, which is never pasteurized.
“Dad is really particular about the type of honey he wants,” said Nathan.
The resulting mead, which is made out of water, honey and yeast, is crystal clear and has a surprisingly fragrant aroma.
Although extremely proud of their product, the Ryans are experimenting to create some new flavours. Currently, in their vat it is a combination of crabapples, rhubarb and saskatoons, honey, water and yeast.
There are also tentative plans underway to create a cinnamon-flavoured mead for Christmas.
According to Nathan, mead is the oldest fermented beverage on earth, and there are many methods to making it. However, the brothers remain adamant about keeping the ingredients at the proper temperature of between 120 and 125°F, which they say maintains the complexity of flavours they seek.
“Most people heat or even boil their honey, water mixture,” explained Nathan.
“By doing that, the first thing that goes is the aroma and flavours.”
For more information on the meadery, visit www.fallentimbermeadery.ca
