The Heart of Darkness

The Heart of Darkness (Batch 9)

Schramm’s Mead

Mead - Melomel

The Heart of Darkness is our capstone mead, made from hand-harvested estate fruit grown by the Schramm’s. The cherries are of the Schaarbeek variety,… Read More

The Heart of Darkness is our capstone mead, made from hand-harvested estate fruit grown by the Schramm’s. The cherries are of the Schaarbeek variety, an intensely flavorful, European Morello type. The raspberries are Heritage and Latham, grown in Michigan by the Schramm family for three generations, and the black currants are Crandall and Consort. Production is extremely limited, as the amount of care and labor which go into each batch is substantial. This mead is the finest representation of our core commitments to fidelity and quality of ingredients. It pours a deep purple in color, has a dense fruitiness and a mid-palate with considerable tartness and a lingering, balanced finish. Your empty glass will be redolent of the honey component. Read Less

The Heart of Darkness (Batch 8)

Schramm’s Mead

Mead - Melomel

This beer is no longer being produced by the brewery

The Heart of Darkness is our capstone mead, made from hand-harvested estate fruit grown by the Schramm’s. The cherries are of the Schaarbeek variety,… Read More

The Heart of Darkness is our capstone mead, made from hand-harvested estate fruit grown by the Schramm’s. The cherries are of the Schaarbeek variety, an intensely flavorful, European Morello type. The raspberries are Heritage and Latham, grown in Michigan by the Schramm family for three generations, and the black currants are Crandall and Consort. Production is extremely limited, as the amount of care and labor which go into each batch is substantial. This mead is the finest representation of our core commitments to fidelity and quality of ingredients. It pours a deep purple in color, has a dense fruitiness and a mid-palate with considerable tartness and a lingering, balanced finish. Your empty glass will be redolent of the honey component. The Heart of Darkness pairs well with spicy, grilled red meats, high quality dark chocolate, and blue cheeses. Read Less

The Heart of Darkness (Batch 7)

Schramm’s Mead

Mead - Melomel

This beer is no longer being produced by the brewery

The Heart of Darkness is perhaps the most highly sought after, hand-crafted honey wine in the world today. This melomel is crafted from Belgian dark,… Read More

The Heart of Darkness is perhaps the most highly sought after, hand-crafted honey wine in the world today. This melomel is crafted from Belgian dark, tart cherries, Crandall and Consort black currants and red raspberries grown in Michigan by the Schramm family for three generations. It is exquisitely balanced with structure from both the tartness of the fruits and the sweetness provided by carefully selected honeys. Read Less

The Heart of Darkness (2018 Private Reserve)

Schramm’s Mead

Mead - Melomel

This beer is no longer being produced by the brewery

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The Heart of Darkness (Batch 1)

Schramm’s Mead

Mead - Melomel

This beer is no longer being produced by the brewery

The Heart of Darkness is our capstone mead, made from hand-harvested estate fruit grown by the Schramm’s. The cherries are of the Schaarbeek variety,… Read More

The Heart of Darkness is our capstone mead, made from hand-harvested estate fruit grown by the Schramm’s. The cherries are of the Schaarbeek variety, an intensely flavorful, European Morello type. The raspberries are Heritage and Latham, grown in Michigan by the Schramm family for three generations, and the black currants are Crandall and Consort. Production is extremely limited, as the amount of care and labor which go into each batch is substantial. This mead is the finest representation of our core commitments to fidelity and quality of ingredients. It pours a deep purple in color, has a dense fruitiness and a mid-palate with considerable tartness and a lingering, balanced finish. Your empty glass will be redolent of the honey component. The Heart of Darkness pairs well with spicy, grilled red meats, high quality dark chocolate, and blue cheeses.

Batch #01
Release Date: 10-11-2013 Read Less

The Heart of Darkness (Batch 6)

Schramm’s Mead

Mead - Melomel

This beer is no longer being produced by the brewery

Batch 6. Released September 2018. After Batch Five’s raspberry fruit and raspberry honey exploration, Batch Six returns to a more cherry-driven profile.… Read More

Batch 6. Released September 2018.

After Batch Five’s raspberry fruit and raspberry honey exploration, Batch Six returns to a more cherry-driven profile. The intent with this batch was to understand if the fruit impact of tHoD could be set to “11” so to speak. We returned to Orange Blossom honey, and pushed the fruit content beyond where it had been in any previous batch. The result is a dense, powerful and extremely delicious mead that again pushes boundaries. On the nose, all components can be teased out, but the throaty perfume of the Schaarbeeks is most readily apparent. Other notes include plum, cocoa and cinnamon. The flavors assault the tongue. Words do not do this mead justice. Compact but not impenetrable, the taste also delivers other dark berries, cocoa, and mixed spices. Luscious. Long, captivating aftertaste. Anticipated maturity: Now-2028. Read Less

The Heart of Darkness (Batch 5)

Schramm’s Mead

Mead - Melomel

This beer is no longer being produced by the brewery

Batch 5. Released April 2017. Batch Five of The Heart of Darkness will be unique among its peers for a few reasons. First, it is the most raspberry-centered… Read More

Batch 5. Released April 2017.

Batch Five of The Heart of Darkness will be unique among its peers for a few reasons. First, it is the most raspberry-centered of the batches we have released. The raspberry crop in 2015 was spectacular, and Jean did a tremendous job of growing and harvesting the fruit. As a result, the percentage of raspberries in each five gallon batch increased from the customary blend. The elevated tannic content from the raspberry pips is evident. This mead is quite delicious today, and for those who would prefer a touch less “grip,” Batch Five is one that will reward aging.

Secondly, to further highlight the raspberry strength of this mead, we purchased a full drum of extremely high-quality Raspberry Blossom honey. This drum was some spectacular honey - raw and unblended, ethereal on the palate, with outstanding aromatics. It was worth the additional expense. Raspberry Blossom honey is one of the few honeys in which the flavor and aroma of the honey can present some of the same characteristics of the fruit itself.

The Schaerbeek cherry crop from 2015 was not heavy, but the quality was strong, and the character of the cherries in this mead is unmistakable, as always. The contribution from the spicier, more floral Crandall Black Currant may also be more evident than in previous batches, as it had a great season in 2015.

Anticipated Maturity: 2019 – 2040. Read Less

The Heart of Darkness (Batch 4)

Schramm’s Mead

Mead - Melomel

This beer is no longer being produced by the brewery

Batch 4. Released January 2016. Batch #4 of Schramm’s “The Heart of Darkness” is perhaps the most softly balanced of the releases. There were solid harvests… Read More

Batch 4. Released January 2016.

Batch #4 of Schramm’s “The Heart of Darkness” is perhaps the most softly balanced of the releases. There were solid harvests of both black currants and Schaarbeek cherries in 2014, but the raspberry harvest might have been 10% smaller that previous years, due to the early frosts of the second harsh winter in succession, and because we re-planted a portion of the berry plot to increase production. The cherry crop came in late due to a very late bloom. Brix levels were slightly above average, and flavor was excellent. There were three cherry pickings, two pickings of the Consort currants, at least four pickings of the Crandall Currants, and dozens of raspberry pickings from the early season Latham and ever bearing Heritage raspberries. Fruit quality overall was strong.

Another differentiation between this batch and previous releases was the Orange Blossom honey used in this batch, purchased from award-winning beekeepers Roxanne and Jennifer Holmes of Bee Made Honey in Jupiter, Florida. Theirs is some of the most aromatic and vibrantly floral Orange Blossom honey I have tasted, and its clarity and distinctive “focus” was a joy to behold. Its contribution is noticeable. Read Less

The Heart of Darkness (Batch 3)

Schramm’s Mead

Mead - Melomel

This beer is no longer being produced by the brewery

The Heart of Darkness is our capstone mead, made from hand-harvested estate fruit grown by the Schramm’s. The cherries are of the Schaarbeek variety,… Read More

The Heart of Darkness is our capstone mead, made from hand-harvested estate fruit grown by the Schramm’s. The cherries are of the Schaarbeek variety, an intensely flavorful, European Morello type. The raspberries are Heritage and Latham, grown in Michigan by the Schramm family for three generations, and the black currants are Crandall and Consort. Production is extremely limited, as the amount of care and labor which go into each batch is substantial. This mead is the finest representation of our core commitments to fidelity and quality of ingredients. It pours a deep purple in color, has a dense fruitiness and a mid-palate with considerable tartness and a lingering, balanced finish. Your empty glass will be redolent of the honey component. The Heart of Darkness pairs well with spicy, grilled red meats, high quality dark chocolate, and blue cheeses.
Batch #03
Release Date: 02-07-2015 Read Less

The Heart of Darkness (Batch 2)

Schramm’s Mead

Mead - Melomel

This beer is no longer being produced by the brewery

The Heart of Darkness is our capstone mead, made from hand-harvested estate fruit grown by the Schramm’s. The cherries are of the Schaarbeek variety,… Read More

The Heart of Darkness is our capstone mead, made from hand-harvested estate fruit grown by the Schramm’s. The cherries are of the Schaarbeek variety, an intensely flavorful, European Morello type. The raspberries are Heritage and Latham, grown in Michigan by the Schramm family for three generations, and the black currants are Crandall and Consort. Production is extremely limited, as the amount of care and labor which go into each batch is substantial. This mead is the finest representation of our core commitments to fidelity and quality of ingredients. It pours a deep purple in color, has a dense fruitiness and a mid-palate with considerable tartness and a lingering, balanced finish. Your empty glass will be redolent of the honey component. The Heart of Darkness pairs well with spicy, grilled red meats, high quality dark chocolate, and blue cheeses.

Batch #02
Release Date: 02-08-2014 Read Less