About Us

Pull up a chair near the fire and relax. I’ll tell you the tale of the Ozark Viking Meadery, LLC.

Many years ago, a man began to explore a reenactment that allowed him to be a Viking! While attending local events, he spent evenings around the campfire listening to stories of the adventures of brave men and women — their deeds on the battlefield and their skills with broad axe and arrow. Along with these tales of daring and the warmth of companionship came bottles of mead. A friend suggested they make some, and so our brave and adventurous warrior learned the basics of crafting this special brew — the combining of yeast, honey, and water. He watched it ferment, sometimes adding berries or spices to create the delicious beverage called mead.

Our hero was intrigued and began exploring the process in depth — the types of yeast, the various recipes he found in books on mead-making, on the mystical Internet, and through his own trials and experiments to perfect the many flavors of mead. Along the way, he shared his results with friends and family until he developed recipes and gained the kind of knowledge that cannot come from books — the knowledge of experience, of speaking with others who brew this beverage and comparing techniques and results.

With encouragement from family and friends, our hero entered two of his mead flavors into an amateur wine contest in November 2019. His experience there not only showed that his mead could appeal to a larger market, but his Blackberry Mead won the contest, and his other flavor trailed by only three votes (and would have taken second place, had there been one).

Next, our intrepid hero began to investigate the possibility of opening a professional Meadery. With only a few assets, he sought assistance through federal, state, and local grants and loans. He invested his retirement savings to rent a basement and establish a kitchen in which to make the mead. He applied for the licenses needed to meet federal and state regulations. Then COVID struck, and the pandemic slowed everything down.

At the end of May 2021 — a year and a half after beginning the licensing process — the final state license came through, marking the true beginning of the Ozark Viking Meadery and its production of mead. Alas, due to limited business and personal assets, he was unable to secure financial backing from traditional lenders. He therefore received some assistance from personal investors and contributed his own funds to begin realizing his dream of the Ozark Viking Meadery, LLC. The beginning was much smaller than he had hoped, but it would open for wholesale clients in late December or early January, with a Grand Opening planned for spring 2022.

The Ozark Viking Meadery, LLC has determined that, to maintain the quality of its mead, it should be made the “old-school way” — in small batches. Six-and-a-half-gallon carboys are used to make the mead. It is allowed to ferment until ready, then racked to remove the sediment from the bottom. It is pasteurized, allowed to rest, and racked a second time to clear any remaining residue. The mead is then tasted, its flavor checked for the desired complexity and adjusted if needed. It rests a bit longer until fully ready, then is bottled, labeled, and prepared for sale. This process takes about six months — from yeast, honey, and water (sometimes with berries or spices) to the smooth, delicious meads you’ll taste.

The flavors that the Ozark Viking Meadery, LLC is beginning to produce include Wildflower Mead, Orange Blossom Mead, Elderberry Mead, Spiced Elderberry Mead, Cinnamon Vanilla Mead, and Viking Brew. Later additions will include Strawberry Mead, Apple Pie Mead, and other flavors still in development.

To begin with, our hero, Daniel Watkins, is the brewmaster, with over 20 years of knowledge and experience. He has been steadily filling carboys with mead, performing the racking, and working with Rose, who has been indispensable on the technology side. He also began working with his son, Bo, teaching him the processes for making the finest mead you’ve ever tasted. Today, Bo is an active participant in the production of the family’s special brews.

The Ozark Viking Meadery, LLC has a mission not only to create the best mead commercially available in Missouri, but also to contribute to the local economy by eventually creating more jobs in the area, using locally sourced Missouri ingredients, and becoming a favorite destination for tourists. People now visit the area for its natural wonders, fishing, camping, and river floating. In the future, plans include tours of the Meadery, sales of local crafts, and a tasting room for retail sales.

Up soon: A Social History of Mead