11-21-23 Bees, Honey and Going Pro with Tom Repas

Tonight at 9PM ET we'll be talking with Tom Repas. Tom has been on the show before, and we're having him back, as he's an absolute fountain of information! And he makes 'ok' mead. We're going to delve into the bees and their care. What you may not be aware of is that a year ago, Tom started making his 'ok' meads professionally. Apiflora Mead, made and available at Zymurcracy Beer Company in Rapid City, South Dakota. Apiflora is rapidly approaching the anniversary and December mead releases. Tom is a Master Beekeeper and owner of Canyon Rim Honey Bees, providing bees and honey in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Tom speaks on beekeeping all over the country, and has presented several times at the AMMA MeadCon on both beekeeping and meadmaking. Tom has won a large number of awards for his mead as well. Tom is a 4th generation beekeeper, and has been working with bees since he was a kid. He kept bees and sold the honey for extra money in high school. He went into professional beekeeping while he was still active as a medical doctor, and has developed a cross for bees that are gentle, overwinter well, and are mite resistant. On the mead side of things, Tom is a very talented mead maker who consistently wins medals with his meads, and has a skill for thinking outside the box for flavor profiles. His mushroom mead was the talk of the mead community for some time when he brought it out to taste. I got to try it, I was stunned at how good it was. Of course, Tom uses his own honey, as well as honeys from other providers and areas, and they're all good! Tom says his meads are 'ok'. We think they're better than that, lol. Join us on the live chat and don't be afraid to call in if you want to! This player will show the most recent show, and when we're live, will play the live feed. If you are calling in, please turn off the player sound, so we don't get feedback.[break] [break]Click here to see a playable list of all our episodes! Sponsor: Honnibrook Craft Meadery. Rated the very best winery in Colorado! Visit our state-of-the-art meadery and tasting room south of downtown Castle Rock, Colorado, in a converted man cave. Mention the Got Mead Podcast this month for a free draft taster!  Google H-O-N-N-I Brook for hours and directions. They love visitors!  www.honnibrook.com If you want to ask your mead making questions, you can call us at 803-443-MEAD (6323) or send us a question via email, or via Twitter @realGotMead and we'll tackle it online! 9PM EDT/6PM PDT Join us on live chat during the show Upcoming Shows December 5 - Brian Galbreath, Unpossible Mead Show links and notes Let There Be Melomels by Rob Ratliff The Big Book of Mead Recipes by Rob Ratliff Let There Be Session Meads by Rob Ratliff Upcoming Events Nov 22 - ARTifice Ales and Mead, Manheim, PA - Comedy Brews Nov 24 - Maniacal Mead Co, Ypsilanti Township, MI - Black Friday Bottle Release, Serpent's Deed, 14% apple pie inspired mead Nov 24-25 - Scale and Feather Meadery, Avondale, AZ - Mead-ieval Market - Black Friday Nov 25 - Hive Mind Mead/Wye Valley Meadery, Caldicot, UK - Groove Jackes LIVE at Wye Valley Meadery and food by Hungry Monkey Nov 25 - Triaxial Meadsmiths, Lake Orion, MI - Small Business Saturday - 10% off your entire bill Nov 25 - White Winter Mead, Iron River, WI - Holiday Open House Nov 25 - Wye Valley Meadery, Caldicot, UK - Groove Jacks Live Dec 2 - Grimsby Hollow Meadery, Middleville, MI - Drink Mead, Learn Things: Whisk-Broom Making Workshop Dec 6 - Oppegaard Meadery, Tukwila, WA - Mead and Cheese and Cheese and Mead pairings Dec 6 - Kingview Meadhouse and Winery, Mount Lebanon, PA - Trivia Night Dec 7 - Manaical Mead Co, Ypsilanti Township, MI - Thorsday, bring your viking horns Dec 8-10 -  Honeygirl Meadery, Durham, NC - Mead and Macaron tasting Dec 9 - Apis Mead and Winery, Carnegie, PA - 732 The Electric Duo - live music