Where it all began
Meadiocrity started, like so many small businesses, in a garage, when we made the leap from, “Hey, this homebrew mead is pretty good” to “Hey, people would buy this!...Right?” Launching a craft brewery in Southern California is not a very original plan these days, but we decided to embrace the mediocrity and make it something truly spectacular. Mead itself has been made for thousands of years, but for most people, it is still new. Most people think we run a "meatery" (which isn't necessarily a bad stage two). We hope to help the industry grow in recognition so we are not constantly living as a mispronunciation.
So, who's making this stuff anyway?
The Meadiocrity quartet is made up of John, the meadmaker, brand guru, and benevolent dictator who keeps us all in line; Mark, the resident "sommelier" and customer liaison who spreads the joy of mead to the community and gives our mead that extra special finish; Andrew, the bee nurturer and mad scientist who keeps our meads top quality; and last but not least, Nate, the king of the queen bees who keeps our bees happy, healthy, and producing lots of exquisite honey. We are all San Diego natives and formed a surprisingly well-adjusted rag-tag team to get the job done.
Keeping bees and making mead in San Diego. From left to right: John, Andrew, and Mark. (Nate not pictured)
Good mead comes from good honey
In our experience, good mead comes from good honey, and good honey comes from our backyards -- literally. We are beekeepers who make mead with honey from our own hives, or from bees cared for by local partner beekeepers. This isn’t generic blended honey from across the US or China with who knows what mixed in -- it’s local San Diego County honey, raw and unfiltered, with distinct characteristics that change with the seasons so each batch is unique.
Growing some wings
Although we’re new to the world of commercial production, we’ve come a long way from the early days of homebrew mead. Harnessing the talents of our quartet of renaissance men, we’re making mead that is anything but mediocre.
Meadiocrity could not have launched without the help of the first San Diego meadery, Golden Coast Mead. We fermented our first meads with Golden Coast, and greatly appreciate the support they have given. We look forward to growing, moving out, and helping other meaderies and meadmakers get started like we did. We are already planning our next stage of growth, so stay tuned for the next steps.