LOCAL: Mead Me at Melovino

This past weekend, E, Nathan, and I went to lunch at our favorite spot in Maplewood, Arturo’s. I CAN’T get enough of their kale caesar salad! Since we were already out and about, we decided to FINALLY check out Melovino Meadery in Vauxhall, just a town over from Maplewood.

As you know, E is a big beer connoisseur. He heard about Melovino from one of the many Facebook beer groups that he is a part of (yes, you heard that right). Everyone said great things about Melovino’s PB&J Sammich mead. We just had to try it!

Melovino is the first meadery in the State of New Jersey. What is mead, you ask? Essentially, mead is honey, water and fermented yeast. The fine folks over at Melovino give a much better and detailed explanation than I do, so I will link you THERE.

While we initially had a little trouble finding the entrance (NOTE: use the VERY helpful map they have on their website), we made it! It is actually located right behind Walgreens. When we walked in we were greeted by the bartender, who explained what Melovino was all about and a little something about each mead. We selected the PB&J Sammich, Peachy Palmer, Focus Group (an IPA-style mead made with Mosaic and Citra hops, inspired by The Alchemist’s Focal Banger) and Nice as Pie.

My favorite of the group was the Peachy Palmer. It was easy to drink and definitely delivered on the classic Arnold Palmer flavor, but with a peach twist. While E loved the PB&J Sammich for its intense peanut butter smell and blueberry/grape jelly flavors, it was just a little too strong for me at 14% alcohol by volume. I definitely did get the flavors of both the peanut butter and the jelly, though. The Nice as Pie was reminicient of an apple pie. A little sweet with a little tart, and it wasn’t too alcoholic tasting despite also being 14% abv. The Focus Group had a lot of the nice hoppy bitterness that The Alchemist Focal Banger IPA has but, for me, it was still a little too sweet from the honey.

We really enjoyed our Melovino mead tasting, and will definitely be back soon to try their new creations!

Melovino Meadery – 2933 Vauxhall Road, Rear of Mall, Behind Walgreens, Vauxhall, NJ 07088