Moose Jaw has always been a great place to visit. There’s plenty to see, do, eat, and drink. Tourism has certainly taken a hit in 2020, yet some businesses are adding to their offerings this year, instead of cutting back. Prairie Bee, Saskatchewan’s first craft meadery, did just that, introducing their Bee-to-Bottle Winery Tour at their production facility near Moose Jaw. Moose Jaw is the perfect day trip from Regina, and now there’s even more to discover. I have to say, though, that prior to visiting Prairie Bee, I wasn’t really sure what to expect when it came to mead.
What is Mead?
Mead wasn’t even on my radar until I came home to Saskatchewan. I knew it was an alcoholic beverage made from honey, but that was about it. I had pictured in my mind a dark, thick, sickeningly sweet liquid. I will try most things once, but I didn’t anticipate that I would like it. I guessed it would be akin to Pedro Ximénez sherry… Probably best consumed in a sauce. (I lived for two years in the sherry capital of the world, so please forgive my obscure frame of reference.) I could not have been more wrong. Thank goodness! The mead at Prairie Bee is a honey wine that is neither sickeningly sweet, nor thick, and unless it is a fruit variety, it has almost no colour at all.
I can’t pretend I’m not picky about wine. Not in the wine-snob sense, mind you, but in the sense that I don’t like many varieties of wine. Red is not for me, and white is hit and miss. Thus, I was pleasantly surprised that mead hit the sweet spot for me (all puns intended in this article).
Mead is made from the simplest of ingredients. Honey, water, and yeast for fermentation. Flavoured meads are made by adding the desired fruit. Mead has been around for a while, a really long while. The first evidence of mead comes from India about 4000 years ago. Its popularity was widespread, from China, to Egypt, to Europe. In fact, it was so popular it was mythologized, and people believed it held magical properties. The Irish Examiner has a great article on the history of mead. Prairie Bee doesn’t claim any magical properties in its mead, but it tastes delicious, and that’s enough for me.
The Bee-to-Bottle Winery Tour
Fortunately, unlike our Gem Lakes adventure, Google Maps took us directly to Prairie Bee. We were met by Crystal, and a very friendly pooch. Although Prairie Bee has been selling mead for several years, they just started tours of the winery in 2020. We headed off into the berry patch to talk about bees, the lifeblood of the mead industry. With prairie vistas and classic Saskatchewan living skies in the background, we had a casual conversation about the life cycle of the bees. But don’t worry, unlike an 8th grade science class, it was definitely interesting. Bees are crucial pollinators and produce that delectable, sweet liquid we all love.
What to do with all that honey? Why make mead, of course! Mead is gaining popularity in the U.S. and Canada, with new meaderies popping up each year. One of the great benefits of the location of Prairie Bee, is that the ingredients can be sourced locally. The honey is from Saskatchewan, and in my opinion, we have some of the best honey right here at home. Yes, I have tasted many varieties of honey in various countries, and my opinion holds. Alfalfa, clover, and wildflower honey is used to produce the mead.
Back inside, we have views over the production facility, as we sip the mead varieties Crystal has selected for us to sample. We start with the traditional. As I mentioned previously, I was pleased to be wrong about what mead would be like. The flavour was light and slightly dry, but not too dry for my taste. We each had our own favourite, but mine was the Strawberry Splash. Sweet and fruity, it was exactly what I would hope for in a fruit wine. Apparently, I’m not alone, as this is a popular flavour at Prairie Bee.
We ended up taking three varieties home with us at the end of the tour: rhubarb, traditional, and strawberry. However, there were plenty of other varieties to choose from, including haskap, a berry I only just learned about this year. It seems to be showing up everywhere from wines, to jams, to muffins at local coffee shops. You can purchase Prairie Bee mead at their main shop in downtown Moose Jaw, the Regina Farmer’s Market, and many other locations in the province. Check their website for a full listing and online shopping. However, I absolutely recommend the tour. Hearing about the history of mead, how it is made, seeing the lovely bees, and sampling the product right where it is made is a great experience. Fall tours are still available until the end of October, but it’s also never too early to start your Sask bucket list for next year. We all need an excuse to get out of the house right now, and this is the perfect one!
There's a Bonus
Mead may be the main attraction at Prairie Bee, but there’s a small bonus for us animal lovers. A calf named Ferdinand. Sheep named Muffin, Cupcake, and Cream. What’s not to love?
Pingback: Surveying South Sask: Great Day Trips from Regina - Danee with Destiny
haha, poor Destiny!
She never gets treats, that’s for sure!
New to me. Glad mead is available in so many locations now.
Always good to try new things, you never know what you might discover!