First Look: Mead Hall and Swarm Brewing in St. Charles

One of the good things about Mead Hall, which opened at 2236 First Capitol Drive in St. Charles on June 15, and specializes in mead (the fermented, honey-based beverage), is that it’s very close to the highway. If you’re in the mood for a beautiful, perfumy drink, you can get there quick. The other thing is that it caters so perfectly to people with gluten allergy (there’s no wheat in mead’s formula). The main thing is that the meads Mead Hall makes are just plain delicious. Although there’s really nothing plain about them. “It’s really cool,” said brewer Mike Fuson who co-owns Mead Hall with his wife Becky. “Bees pull the nectar from flowers, turn it into sugar and then I do my thing and turn it into a beverage.”

With roots in Africa around 20,000 B.C., mead is possibly the oldest fermented drink in history. Fuson’s particular meads are made with honey that is perfumed with wonderful things like raspberries and blackberries, orange blossom, cherry and chipotle. Although Fuson has his own hive in his backyard, one isn’t nearly enough for his off-site, 10-tank, 1,200-square-foot production meadery which served as a tasting room prior to Mead Hall’s opening. For example, his next batch will require around 800 pounds of orange blossom honey – which is the weight of a small horse. It is scheduled to arrive soon – on a pallet in 60-pound drums.

Fuson’s mead is made further complex – further sublime – by the barrels he ages them in: A whiskey barrel imparts a different flavor than a port barrel; and port infuses mead differently than rye. “It’s all kinds of fun,” he says as he pours a selection of little samples, one of which is pink and tastes like flowers.

In this new space, which is about 3,000 square feet, there’s another two-barrel brewing system for the beer arm of his business, called Swarm Brewing. Some of that beer will be available at Mead Hall, as well. Fuson said he will be keeping the eats at Mead Hall simple: He’s thinking along the lines of empanadas, partnering with Tango Argentina to provide that simple yet delicious snack. “We’re just scratching the surface of what we might do here,” he said.

For being on the edge of a little strip mall of a rather unhistoric character, the Fusons have done well in creating a moody space. Smudgy browns and warm grays are the colors here. Long, heavy wood tables, and a low-tiled ceiling make it easy to feel like you are somewhere else – another time, another place – entirely. Mead Hall has seating for 65, with eight stools at the bar. For the time being, it will be open Thursday through Saturday from 4 to 9 p.m.