Hive mentality
Hive Mind Mead and Brew Co., hasa
new range of naturally flavoured
sparkling mead in cans. The new
Hive Mind Sparkling Mead range is
4% ABV and comes in six flavours
- ginger, elderflower, rhubarb,
pure honey, sour cherry, and honey
& hops. For the first time, it will
be available in 330ml cans, sold
individually or as a boxed four-pack
containing one of each flavour.
All of the company's mead is
gluten free, made with natural
ingredients and uses British honey,
including honey from its own hives in
the Wye Valley, where its beekeeping
supports local biodiversity, habitat
conservation and important
pollinator populations.
Showcasing their beekeeping
heritage, the sparkling mead cans
carry new Hive Mind branding,
based around colourful honeycomb
illustrations, and highlight the
approximately 300,000 flowers
visited and 50,000 miles flown by
bees to make the honey for every can.
The meadery was launched in
2018 as the Wye Valley Meadery by
beekeeping brothers Kit and Matt
Newell, and has recently rebranded
as the Hive Mind Mead & Brew Co.
The brothers have been pioneers in
a UK resurgence in mead-making,
taking one of the world's oldest
alcoholic drinks and creating new
modern styles from session-strength
light and refreshing sparkling meads
through to stronger, more traditional
wine-style and barrel-aged meads.
The Hive Mind Sparkling Mead
range is available nationwide from
independent retailers, delis and farm
shops or direct from Hive Mind's
website.
www.hivemindmead.com
Brewing up a storm
Seven Bro7hers Brewing Co., has
launched two fruit beers for Aldi
stores for summer. The Salfordbased
brewery has introduced a
Watermelon Pale Ale and Passion
Fruit Pale. Pulling in Summer seekers,
the Watermelon Wheat Beer (4.5%
ABV) and Passion Fruit Pale (5%
ABV) are vegan and infused with
fruity undertones.
The beers are available in 850
ALDI stores nationwide, RRP £1.79
Seven Bro7hers Brewing Co., was
founded in 2014 by McAvoy brothers,
Guy, Keith, Luke, Daniel, Nathan,
Kit, and Greg, inspired by their dad's
home-brewing in their cellar at
home. In January 2023, the brewery
acquired Sis4rs Distillery. The buyout saw
the Sis4ers brand's craft
gin range, rum and vodka business
brought under the Seven Bro7hers
Brewing Co., banner, the merger puts
all 11 McAvoy siblings under one roof
in Salford.
Waterford winner
Waterford Distillery's latest Single
Malt 'Cuvée: Argot' has been launched
in the UK. The new whisky is an
introduction to the 'terroir-driven'
producer's Cuvée concept. Inspired
by Bordeaux's greatest chateaux,
the Cuvée concept is the apogee
of Waterford Distillery's radical,
novel philosophy. By harvesting,
distilling, and maturing Irish barley
farm by farm - each expressing its
own distinct terroir-derived flavour
profile - an unprecedented flavour
library is achieved. By drawing on
these building blocks, Head Distiller
Ned Gahan can bring them together,
layer by layer, to create the ultimate
in complexity - where the whole
is greater than simply the sum of
the parts.
Argot is matured fully in a mixture
of 37% first-fill US Oak, 19% Virgin
US oak, 19% Premium French Oak
and 23% Vin Doux Naturel - the
whisky is then bottled at 47% ABV.
Similarly to other whiskies from the
Waterford Distillery range, it carries
a unique TÉIREOIR Code showing full
transparency and traceability.
Waterford Cuvée: Argot is
available at selected retailers,
including Amazon. RRP £56.