A Taste of Texas Honey Wine

Historians have written, that during medieval times, people were always a bit intoxicated.  Water was seen as a risky beverage.  Water contamination was not understood; and medieval citizens knew how to pollute water like no one since.  Mead – a fermented honey wine – could be relied on to be safe. 

If you lived in the tenth century, being tipsy would have been very handy.  A typical night’s dinner at the castle could consist of vulture, cabbage, and fava beans.  How could anyone face that sober?

 In the Czech areas of Texas, honey wine is still a staple today, even though predatory-bird-eating has been replaced by kolaches — one of the world’s most perfect foods.

 In some Czech families, the ages-old custom of giving a honeymoon couple three months supply of mead, is still practiced.  Until recent years, that meant the gift giver had to gather the honey; add water to start the fermentation; wait for months for the process to complete; then flavor the mead with spices and fruit.  Today, commercially brewed mead is available in liquor stores.

We visited the original Texas meadery,  (Texas has three) to taste for ourselves.  Blissful Folly Farm where Wendy and John Rohan make their mead, is located down a quiet lane, somewhere between the towns of La Grange and Round Top.  John comes from a long line of mead brewers.   His Czech great-great grandfather came from Moravia to this part of Texas in the 1850s.  The Rohan’s farm is host to ten beehives, numerous fruit trees, grapevines, and a host of Texas wildflowers.  For $5.00, you can taste a selection of meads — from dry to sweet — accompanied by complementing chocolates.  Our favorite was a dry selection, flavored with pear and a hint of Texas lavender. 

Rohan Meadery hosts a number of events throughout the year, so check their calendar online before you go.  You don’t want to miss something great.  A warm weather visit will allow you to enjoy the outdoor patio with its views of live oaks and green pastures.  By the middle of March, those pastures will be dotted with flowers.  Whether or not mead suits your fancy, it’s still a great day’s experience.

 And about those kolaches — we think the ones at Hruska’s on Hwy. 71 at Ellinger are the best.  If you haven’t been, Hruska’s is sort of a Czech/German Buc ee’s with pickles and noodles and poppy seeds, not to mention great hamburgers and souvenirs.  So be sure and make that part of your visit as well.

We’ve fallen in love with the small towns in this part of Texas; and with the lemon-cream cheese kolache at Hruska’s.   Ask them to heat one for you and try a poppy seed one too.

 We’ll be back soon!