On this episode, Jen Otis, co-owner of KVLT, sits down with the GCP guys. KVLT Mead is Tacoma's first meadery with a mead taproom! Each batch is hand-crafted and produced on-site with premium and local ingredients, including PNW Clover Honey, PNW sourced fruits, and Cascadian glacial waters. She and her fellow co-owner are rabid consumers of metal music and wanted a place of their own to celebrate their love of metal music and the culture that surrounds it. KVLT is located at 5011 S Washington St in Tacoma; visit their website, kvltmead.com, for operating hours.
00:00 – Brogan kicks off the episode talking about having to work the day before, Justin and Brogan compare their boat shoes, and Brogan talks about how easy it was to find them. Jen shares where KVLT is located, explains what mead is, and what mead's primary fermentable sugar is. She talks about how mead products are never exactly the same, the agriculture component to honey, and how more mead makers are entering the market. Justin talks about his first introduction to mead, Jen talks about what got her into making mead, and they reference Tacoma as the Oakland of Washington.
13:01 – Jen shares how mead in the PNW is often Viking-themed, her love of metal music, and Justin reflects on growing up on Jagermeister and Highlife. He talks about getting introduced to the drink Starry Night, Jen talks about the cost of the bottles, and how they commission local artists to design the art on their bottles. She talks about it being slow to catch on in the community, how she likes the idea of the business growing organically, and how she works to keep a positive atmosphere at the taproom.
26:35 – Jen talks about how difficult it was to open a business in Tacoma, the amount of taxes tied to selling alcohol, and their plans to open to the Oregon market. Brogan talks about the ease for Washington to sell alcohol in Oregon and how hard it is for Oregon to sell alcohol to Washington. She talks about the events she's doing in the area, hosting the traveling dark art market Market of The Beast, and the metal-themed belly dancing coming up at KVLT.
37:25 – Scott talks about the history behind The Clown Hotel in Nevada, Jen talks about suffering from sleep paralysis, and starting a new music project. She explains the meaning behind the name of her latest project, being involved in the Doom Hags on Facebook, and they talk about their favorite metal bands. Jen discusses the great metal bands in the PNW and closes out this podcast sharing the bands performing that night at KVLT.
Thanks, Jen, for joining the podcast and sharing your love for mead and metal! Special Guest: KVLT MEAD.