All photography by Elle Cartier
It’s a story we hear often, “we were driven to start our own business and we were looking between blank and Bellingham.” You know the rest.
Artivem Mead Co.’s Carlos Bassetti and Micah Mailand hail from the brew scene of Prescott, Arizona with a specialty in Mead making. This age-old tradition has been given a breath of new life in the hands of these craftsmen — and I’m not saying that lightly.
Prior to Washington’s “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” order in an office overlooking the bay, Chris, JeAnna, and I piled in around the display of bottles Carlos had ready and shared introductions. Over a 7-course meal of meadery, we met with TapTrail, the Herald, and Bellingham Homebrewers Guild.
I’m not going to pretend to be a professional taste-tester so my descriptions may be lacking in jargon, but I’ll do my best to paint a description worthy of the experience.
We started with the Cyser and, sitting back for our lesson, began the sweet journey of savoring our first sips.
At its most basic form, mead is honey fermented in water. This leaves the flavorscapes vast and varied, allowing for the easy inclusion of ingredients many hops- or wine grape-based beverages have a hard time serving. And Carlos is a wizard.
Derived from Custer-based backyard apples and local wildflower honey, the Cyzer was a crisp hit to the tastebuds with the softest essence of summer flowers. As it’s so aptly named, this pour would be the perfect introduction for those who are typically cider-obsessed and new to mead!
Our second glass was the Pyment, which was crafted through the fermentation of local wine grapes and honey. As we savored every last drop, Carlos went on to tell us how mead came to fruition.
In times of old, hunters and gatherers would occasionally come across honey. The easiest way to carry it was in their waterskins, as time passed and the honey sat, it would ferment. Creating a symbiotic relationship with the bag it was in, it would feed off the “resident yeast” and form an alcohol.
Today, Carlos says that process spans anywhere from 4 to 6 weeks (and rarely ever in a waterskin) but it could be longer. He also tells us he’s planning to add barrel-aging to the mix!
We rinsed our glasses and opened the “Cherry Pie”.
This white-port-reminiscent recipe had a fruity but cleansing experience, instantly bringing me back to a weekend in Ashland, OR where I first encountered an actual port. Both were surprisingly lighter in flavor than they were in color.
It’s important to note, before we get you any more excited, that Artivem doesn’t plan to brew the same thing twice in their first year—but that could extend. They hope to learn what the public responds to most and build a culture of exploratory taste-testing.
I’m saying this because this next batch is unreal and you should try a taste while you can. My exact notes were, “BLOWING MY MIND!”
The drink? Blueberry Coffee. Made with honey, blueberries, and whole coffee beans, it carried the effect of Dr. Pepper’s 23 flavors — but far more exciting! I think the most out-of-this-world aspect was that you could taste that it was unground beans. Again, mind blown.
As we readied ourselves for our fifth glass, Carlos shared the experience he hopes his future customers will enjoy.
Most batches of Artivem mead come in at around 13% alcohol content, making it more of a sip and savor endeavor. Carlos and Micah envision people coming in with friends to share a flight of 3oz glasses before everyone picks their favorite for a full pour (5oz) or growler to bring home.
With that, we picked up glasses and savored the Raspberry together.
A summer treat Whatcom knows well, raspberries are so famous we even throw them a yearly festival. Well friends, I’m delighted to say this drink could very strongly live up to the hype. Tart without being punchy, it evaporated in my mouth while holding the weight of a cider. But with berries only. And this one was bottled in 2015, so they age well!
We shared a couple more glasses of Carlos’ creation (though these were more cider-related) before final questions and going our separate ways.
We were expecting to end this piece with a call-to-action of “stopping by when they open this summer,” but the reality of this pandemic means many projects are on a slower trajectory.
In such a time of uncertainty we rely on our community to support one another. You can actively support them by purchasing merchandise available through their website. Then you can rock the heck out of that while we hype their launch.
And if you farm in any capacity and are interested in teaming up with Artivem, don’t hesitate to reach out. The guys are currently treasure hunting for local goods and that could be you!
Contact Carlos through the Artivem Mead Co. contact page or shoot our team an email at marketing@blu.ink or christopher@blu.ink.
Bellingham’s annual Beer Week is a 9-day event that generally ends in a huge fundraiser for the Max Higbee Center known as “April Brews Day”. This year April Brews Day will be changed to August Brews Day in light of current events.
Like you, we’re sad that so many things have been changing but we are steadfast in our excitement for what the future holds!
Tasty brews of all kinds!
We still have space in the Marketplace (and 2-floor rooftop bar) available. For all leasing and acquisitions information contact Christopher Erdmann of blu.ink real estate at christopher@blu.ink or by calling 360-739-4236.