12-2-25 Tonight we're talking with Matt and Lauren Bloom, owners and meadmakers at Bløm Mead and Cider in downtown Ann Arbor, Michigan. Bløm Meadworks (pronounced “bloom”), makes modern ciders and session meads – they’re light, dry, carbonated, and remarkably sessionable. For their meads, they start with the same ingredients as a traditional mead - honey, water and yeast - which means they can source all of our ingredients from Michigan. They ferment it like a dry craft cider, so the result isn’t nearly as thick or sweet as traditional mead. So, if the word “mead” automatically conjures a drinking hall filled with Vikings for you, think of theirs as its friendly, approachable descendants, without the pillage and plunder. After years in the nonprofit sector, Lauren realized that what had become her hobby and outside-of-work stress reliever was actually the thing that she cared about most – food. And more specifically, local food production. Soon after, she joined the board of Slow Food Chicago, an organization that advocates for the value and pleasure of good food for all. A few years later, Lauren and Matt moved to Ann Arbor, looking to put down roots in their home state and open Bløm - a business that would allow them to create sessionable brews and highlight some of the mouth-watering ingredients grown in Michigan. Matt started his professional life as a financial geek. Turned out it was far more exciting to apply those geeky skills to brewing chemistry than options software. He kicked off this new career as a home brewer in Chicago and was lucky enough to have two friends who were passionate enough to start a brewery with him. While owner and head brewer for Begyle Brewing, Matt sadly learned that he was among the unfortunate crew that can't process gluten - his love affair with beer had come to an abrupt end. Hooked on the creative fermentation process, and always intrigued by the quirky possibilities for mead and cider, Matt found Bløm to be the perfect love child of what he enjoys making and drinking. Join us to see what Lauren and Matt are doing with their meads and ciders! Sponsor: Look no further than Honnibrook Craft Meadery in Castle Rock, Colorado, for your go-to destination for wonderful, light, and refreshing mead! We have 20 meads on tap and four seasonal mead slushees.  Go to honnibrook.com for review our tap list, upcoming events and to order online! If you want to ask your mead making questions, you can send us a question via email, join to ask a question on the show, or via X @realGotMead and we'll tackle it online! The show runs from 9PM EDT/6PM PDT (United States) for about 2 hours. To join live, you can use this link, and here are instructions on how to join in. Once you enter the waiting room, we get a notification and will bring you in! Upcoming Shows We are done for 2025. We return January 13, 2026. Show links and notes Let There Be Melomels by Rob Ratliff The Big Book of Mead Recipes by Rob Ratliff Let There Be Session Meads by Rob Ratliff Upcoming Events Dec 4 - Dancing Skeleton Meadery, Sepulpa, OK - Trivia Night Dec 4 - Adesanya Mead & Microbrewery, Grandville, MI - Trivia night Dec 5 - Nate and Jake's Meadery, Edmore, MI - Locked In live music Dec 5-7 St. Ambrose Cellars, Beulah, MI - Bee Merry Weekend Holiday Festival Dec 6 - Slaymaker Cellars, Idaho Springs, CO - Meadery Tour with tasting Dec 6 - Manic Meadery, Crown Point, IN - Ornamentpalooza - make your own angel ornaments Dec 7 - St. Ambrose Cellars, Beulah, MI - Sunday Brunch Dec 9 - The Old Lifeboat House, Penzance, UK - Meadery and Medium - book ahead Dec 12 - Manic Meadery, Crown Point, IN - Paint and Drink Dec 13 - Wandering Wind Meadery, Charleston, WV - Christmas at the Meadery Dec 13 - St. Ambrose Cellars, Beulah, MI - Barefoot live music Dec 13 - Nate and Jake's Meadery, Edmore, MI - Comedy Night Dec 13 - Crafted Artisan Meadery, Mogadore, OH - Pressed Flower Cardinal Paint and Sip class Dec 13 - Honeytree Meadery, Nashville, TN - Pictures with Krampus Dec 17 - Washtenaw Food Hub, Ann Arbor, MI - Community Mead Making w/ Rachel Kanaan Dec 20 - Dawg Gone Bees Apiary and Meadery, Hanover, PA - Mead Making Class Dec 20-21 - Brimming Horn Meadery, Milton, DE - Yule Market Dec 21 - Meduseld Meadery, Lancaster, PA - Meadery Dance Dec 26 - Windchaser Meadery, Williamsburg, VA - Comedy Night Dec 27 - Four Brothers Mead, Festus, MO - Tom Borek and Veronica Mary Agnes live music Dec 31 - Ironsword Meadery, Ridge Spring, SC - New Year's Eve celebration You can buy mead online at https://shopmeads.com