“Texas Mead Fest 2025” Pouring with Texas’ Finest
A Sweet Success: Vinland Meads at Texas Mead Fest 2025
This past weekend, we took Vinland Meads on the road to New Braunfels, Texas for the Texas Mead Fest—and what a weekend it was! We rolled in with the Mead Boat, our brand-new trailer, packed with our mead and gear, ready to pour, share, and celebrate the growing Texas mead community.
Vinland Meads Crew on the way to Mead Fest 2025
Arriving Early and Lending a Hand
We showed up a day and a half early, hoping for a Friday night mixer, but learned from Isaac, the president of the Texas Mead Association and owner of Valkyrie’s Kiss Meadery, that there wasn’t one planned this year. Instead, we put the time to good use—helping Isaac and his crew set up the festival grounds. Being a good steward of the mead community means lending a hand where you can, and it felt good to pitch in and be part of the foundation of the event.
Later that afternoon, we stopped by Valkyrie’s Kiss Meadery west of New Braunfels. Isaac has transformed his warehouse space into a warm, rustic mead hall with oak barrels, plank counters, and that unmistakable “meadist” charm. We sampled a wide range of his meads—different in style from ours, but excellent in their own right—and even tried a rare treat: a vodka distilled from honey he’d brought back from meaderies in Canada.
Isaac, President of the Texas Mead Fest in his Meadery, Valkyries Kiss
Tacos, Fellowship, and a Toast to the Journey
That evening, the patio at our hotel turned into an unexpected gathering place. A local Hispanic crew was cooking dinner, and before long, we were trading tacos for a bottle of Vinland mead and swapping stories over good food. Clyde even showed them how to make a proper michelada with tomato juice and beer—a perfect blend of cultures and flavors to kick off the weekend.
The crowd was large and full of Mead drinkers, turn our of our 500 people.
Festival Day: Mead, Music, and Community
Saturday morning, we arrived early to set up our booth—and this time, with ice buckets to keep our bottles perfectly chilled. We premiered our Heritage Reserve Select, a small-batch mead aged for over 18 months and finished with a hand-dipped wax seal. It was an instant hit—our best seller of the day—and we were honored by how many folks came back for a second pour.
This year’s Mead Fest broke records with over 450 pre-sold tickets and many more walk-ups throughout the day. Big credit goes to Isaac for marketing and rallying the crowd. Thanks to that effort, we’ve already seen new online orders from the New Braunfels area—proof that the mead message is spreading!
We poured alongside an incredible lineup of Texas meaderies:
Valkyrie’s Kiss Meadery (New Braunfels)
Fox & Raven Meadery (Dallas)
Bee Immortal (Round Rock)
Dancing Bee Winery (Rogers)
Rohan Meadery (La Grange)
Bee & Brew (Fort Worth)
Thirsty Bee Meadery (Tomball)
RenMead (Plantersville)
Thorin's Viking Mead (Paige)
The Ferm Meadery (Conroe)
…and several others we look forward to visiting next time.
The grounds were alive with live Celtic and rock music, food trucks, and plenty of room for folks to sit, sip, and chat about mead. The Texas Mead Cup didn’t run this year so the focus could stay on public engagement, and judging by the turnout, that was a smart call.
Vinland Meads test was rocking, we even took our mead taster, “My Other Brother Clyde”
A Family Affair
This was truly a family meadery weekend. Our nieces Korri and Anna joined the team—Korri with her bartending experience, and Anna freshly certified with her server’s permit. Both were professional, cheerful, and a huge help. Wyatt came along, too—though under 18 and unable to serve, he kept busy setting tables, handling trash, and keeping everything organized. Vinland Meads has always been about family, and seeing them all pitch in was a proud moment.
Heading Home with Full Hearts
After a full day of pouring and storytelling, we stayed an extra night to explore New Braunfels and rest before the drive back to East Texas. When we got home, new online orders were already waiting—clear evidence that Texas Mead Fest 2025 was a success.
We’re deeply grateful to the Texas Mead Association, Isaac and Valkyrie’s Kiss, and every meadery that poured beside us. The Texas mead scene is thriving, and we’re honored to be part of it. See you at next year’s festival—horns up and hearts full.
Clyde pouring mead at the Texas Mead Fest 2025
