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Beekeeper’s Secret- a Story of Cross Pollination
What do you get when you cross twin beekeepers, a brewery owner from Rochester, NY and a soon to be fellowship trained neurologist? Well....it's a secret- but here are some of the clues.
In early 2021, when Covid confined people to their homes and business was scarce, so many business owners were faced with a choice. Do it yourself or fold. Tim did most of the bartending, entertaining, keg cleaning and whatever else was necessary to make ends meet. To make a long story short, he met some really cool people along the way and that is what this business is all about. Check it out.
Dustin Smyth
Dustin Smyth (above)- soon to be fellowship-trained neurologist from URMC who was literally a homebrewing fermentation fanatic, showed up on one chilly Saturday. Tim and Dustin hit it off and spoke for at least six hours that day while Tim tended bar.
Dustin was super convinced that FBC should make hard cider and mead but Tim had never made either. He was curious, so Dustin ran home to get some samples to share. After a few drinks Tim was convinced Dustin was right! We needed to look into this.
They set a date to homebrew a couple of pilot batches. The business side of Tim was thinking that starting another line during Covid probably wasn’t a good idea but he'd been faced with challenges before and if he had not forged ahead, the world would be without Timbucha Kombucha and the Old Goat! It would be a very sad world.
It's a secret! Jacob and Jason working their magic.
Enter the Crown Jewel and Fluffy loving twin brothers, Jacob and Jason Wyland- They fought forest fires on the west coast for years, moved back to Rochester to hopefully get a job with the Rochester Fire Department and are currently in nursing school. One night while tossing around "What do you want to be when you grow up", the twins let on that they were also beekeepers. If they could do anything for the rest of their lives, they would be beekeepers. You can’t hide passion and they were so passionate.
Tim introduced them to Dustin and the rest is history. Within days the group was homebrewing mead and cider and the results were absolutely.... amazing! Jacob and Jason were hired on as bartenders and now are running the FBC mead program.
Why Beekeeper’s Secret?
One night the guys were experimenting, and a few friends asked what they were doing. Tim turned to them, put his finger over his lips and said, “Shhhhh.... beekeeper’s secret”. Truth was, no one really knew what they were doing but the response was perfect.
The Rest of the Story
We submitted our applications to New York State and to the federal government and we were off to the races. The homebrew continued and we hired Mason Marketing to knock out our label. On October 21, 2021 we got the green light. We are now New York State's newest meadery!
The Cool-Factor in Mead, for Us
Obviously making a beverage that has been around since the Vikings is pretty damn cool. We believe, as one of New York State's very first Farm Breweries, that we are sincerely connected to our environment, the farmers who farm it, and to nature. There is so much to learn about our new buzzing buddies! They work tirelessly to help us make an amazing beverage... just as long as we treat them with respect and protect them in doing what they were put on earth to do. Pollinate.
Mead Flavors
- Honeycomb: Semi-sweet mead; fermented raw wildflower honey produces a full-bodied mead balanced with just the right amount of sweetness and acidity, complete with an aroma of sweet esters straight from the honeycomb.
- Apple Fritter: Warm apple cinnamon sugar, medium body with a nose of a fall apple fritter
Mead Bottle Exchange Program
To encourage our customers to be environmentally friendly we ask them to bring their empty 375 or 750ml bottles back to either of our locations for a $4 savings on their next mead purchase.
