HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Huntsville welcomes the first meadery in North Alabama on November 26, located inside of Lowe Mill Arts & Entertainment.
Roo Kline is the owner of Ravenwood Meadery, a project that took fourteen months to develop.
Kline says that the strict alcohol laws in Alabama made the process of opening a meadery extremely challenging.
"The whole idea of starting the meadery to begin with, I was a little hesitant because I knew that the laws were strict," Kline said. "I know that a lot of people had dreams of starting something like that but were scared. To be honest with you, even though the laws have changed, and I hadn't experienced them before, the process was grueling."
Kline has been a part of Lowe Mill for several years and enjoys the community. As the City of Huntsville grows, she wants the meadery to continue to have a 'small town feel'.
"We could have done this without the support of the community," Kline said. "Our social media following has been there from day one when it was an idea, and without them we could not have made it this far."
What is mead?
Mead is a fermented alcoholic beverage. Its made with honey, water and yeast. It is similar to wine and beer, but it's in a category of its own.
How does it taste?
Community member Bethany Martin describes the taste, "It is delicious. It finishes kind of like an apple juice which is surprising. like the aftertaste on the tongue is kind of juice-like which I didn't expect."