The couple said that while some people expect mead to be sweet, mead is made with a variety of ingredients, including fermented honey, water, yeast and fruits, and may vary in taste.
The meadery offers mead by the glass, in bottles and growlers as well as charcuterie boards and its honey products at its tasting room. Its honey products include beeswax candles, creamed honey, beeswax bars and raw honey.
The setup
Matthew Brantley’s father kept bees in his backyard, and Kelly Brantley grew up in the Tomball area, prompting the couple to expand their BZ Honey business—which has been in Tomball since 2017—into a meadery.
Kelly Brantley said that at the time, the Tomball area lacked a destination for mead and natural honey products.
The couple has beehives in multiple locations in the Tomball area, including Plants For All Seasons, The Arbor Gate, Tomball Community Garden and the Tomball Farmers Market.
“They asked us about putting hives out there, and when we did, they said their yields just went through the roof with the bees right there on-site,” Matthew Brantley said.
Diving in deeper
Kelly Brantley said the couple wanted to introduce the Tomball area to mead and provide a variety to offer something for every taste.
“We do have a wide variety of meads, and they vary from dry to sweet, and that's not always common at meaderies,” Kelly Brantley said.
Thirsty Bee Meadery offers up to 12 options of mead per season. Its mead products are rotated every three to four months. The Meadery recently added housemade wine, including pinot noir and chardonnay for those who prefer wine over mead.
Some rotating customer favorites include the White Paw, a semisweet strawberry and peach melomel; Three Goddesses made with apple honey; and Tomball Tea made with black tea. Matthew Brantley said one of the most-liked meads includes the blackberry and lemon mead; however, due to the amount of product and time it takes to make that mead, it is only available once a year.
While Thirsty Bee Meadery has been located at 108 Commerce St., Tomball, the meadery has plans to relocate to a larger location at 212 W. Main St., Tomball, by early January.
Matthew and Kelly Brantley said with the expansion they plan to host member events, larger parties and live music indoors.
“We stay connected with our community through our bees and do what we can to give back to the community,” Kelly Brantley said.
- 212 W. Main St., Tomball
- www.thirstybeemeadery.com
