Mark’s Score 9.5
One thing I have learned, over the past year, is the passion and pride among the craft brewers. Over and over again, their passion and pride stood out, as I visited distillers, craft brewers, and wine makers up and down the shore. Not being fond of alcoholic products myself, the pride and dedication of the people in this business was a revelation to me. The other thing I have learned is the significant role brewers have played in the history of this region.
A few weeks back, I was planning to have dinner at Bon Appétit in Seaford, As I searched for a parking space, I noticed Brimming Horn Meadery just down the street. Knowing nothing about mead, I decided to stop at Brimming Horn before going to dinner.
Brimming Horn opened its first location in Milton in 2017, the Seaford location opened in 2024. Brimming Horn is owned by friends Jon Talkington and Robert Walker. Both have a passion for fermentation, mythology and craft brewing, which lead them to open Brimming Horn. The name refers to a Norse drinking horn brimming over with mead. Briming Horn crafts their mead in the ancient brewing traditions of the Vikings while marrying those ancient traditions to modern creativity and crafting sensibilities. Their mission isn’t to merely make mead but to educate and share the culture and history of mead.
What I don’t know about mead would fill volumes. I think I may have tried mead once or twice over the years, and I couldn’t even remember if I liked it or not. The afternoon I visited I was the only customer, which was fortuitous because the bartender had plenty of time to answer my endless stream of questions. The day I was there, they were tasing four of their meads, so I ordered a tasting flight, which included the Know Hope, Scorched Meadows, Crimson Queen, and Joulupukki meads.
I work at a winery, and I am familiar with the fermentation process of grapes. Therefore, I was a bit surprised to learn that the fermentation of honey follows many of the same principles and procedures of making wine. I had assumed, for no reason at all, that mead production would be similar to making beer. The major difference between making wine and mead is just the length of the process. The fermentation process for mead is several months, wine fermentation can take years.
Of the four meads I tasted, I preferred the Scorched Meadows, which is aged in whisky barrels giving the mead a silky-smooth finish, much like barrel aged wine. I guess that makes sense, given I prefer red wines to white.
I think the biggest take-away from my visit was that mead, though made from honey, is not necessarily cloyingly sweet. It can be every bit as nuanced and varied as wine. But the real take-away is the passion and dedication of Talkington and Walker in their craft. I walked away from this visit appreciating the skill and hard work that goes into making a quality mead.
What else is there to do in Seaford?
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