Artivem Mead Co., located in the Granary Building on Bellingham’s waterfront, is the newest addition to the North Sound’s beverage scene. You can order their meads online and have them shipped or, if you live within 15 miles of the building, you can have them delivered. The production facility and tasting room will open to the public once restrictions lift — check their website for up-to-date information.
The owners, Micah Mailand and Carlos Bassetti, first met at Superstition Meadery in Prescott, Arizona, where Mailand was the business manager and Bassetti was the head mead-maker. With a shared dream of branching out and establishing their own business, joining forces made perfect sense.
Mead is made from honey, much like how wine is made from grapes and cider from apples. According to Mailand, honey is not a dominant flavor, which is why many meads are blended with fruits and spices. The result is a drink with a higher alcohol content than most beer, and a flavor profile that ranges from sweet and fruity to dry and mild.
“The honey gives it a smooth, easy-to-drink base. It’s not harsh, [and] you don’t get high tannins like wine, or bitterness,” Mailand says.
Luckily, COVID-19 did not pose a major hurdle for Artivem. Mailand sees it as a blessing that they weren’t open when the pandemic started. The restrictions slightly delayed their opening, but Mailand maintains that it could have been much worse.
While they are still aiming to open this fall, much work has yet to be done with deciding what types of meads to produce.
“We are probably gonna open the door with somewhere between five to 10 meads,” Mailand says.
The exact flavors have yet to be decided, but there will be fruit flavored meads and eventually a classically flavored mead Mailand says. They hope to also produce cider.
While this is only the start of their journey, Mailand is excited about their decision to start their business in Bellingham.
“We are really hoping to connect with people. We love this small town feel,” he says. 1211 Granary Ave., Ste. 127, Bellingham, 360.726.2020, artivem.com
For more like this, visit our Taste section here.
