A few years ago, a trip to our local food pantry with fresh eggs from the farm left an impression I never forgot. Now that our community has given us a hall, a kitchen, and a place to gather, Sarah and I want to use it to give something back: a hot bowl of soup, fresh bread, and a seat at the table for anyone who needs one.

Tribute is the world's most expensive commercial mead, crafted from honey harvested from a hive hidden within a fallen cemetery oak near Ben Wheeler, Texas. After years of aging, it was fermented by Vinland Meads Head Mead Maker, Clyde Hays, in the tradition of his ancestors. The mead was sealed into individually crafted hand-blown glass vessels and released in an edition of only 26 bottles. Twenty-five bottles were designated for collectors, while the twenty-sixth was reserved for tasting experiences at Vinland Meads. Discover the story behind one of the rarest meads ever produced and why its legacy can never be recreated.

Something sweet is brewing in Texas — and it’s not just the mead. As black bears begin to wander back across the Red River, locals are starting to wonder if they’re following something more than instinct. From the buzzing meaderies of Austin to the honey-rich fields of East Texas, the state’s craft mead boom might just be tempting the “honey bears” of legend to return. At Vinland Meads in Murchison, where tradition meets Texas folklore, even the wildlife seems to have developed a taste for the good stuff.