Today we’d like to introduce you to Dan and Deb Clapp.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
13 years ago, we had two beautiful twin girls, nearly 9 weeks early. Soon after their arrival, Dan received a call from his aunt in Maine wondering if he could take her place on a genealogy trip to Denmark with my cousins. He looked at me, and made the ask “can I go?” “For how long?” I replied as I bounced and bobbed cradling the babies. Off he went to Denmark for a week. Upon his return, he gave me a bottle of mead he had purchased as a gift… we had never had it before. We had brewed beer for many years and even tried our hand at wine too. That bottled stayed in our liquor cabinet a few years and we finally opened it one night when friends were over for dinner. It was delicious! Dan was hooked and had to learn how to make it. He researched and read up on mead and then tried his first batch… it was, how do I say this nicely… gross! There was an odor of old sponge – the women of the neighborhood were like “NO.” The guys though, they either could not smell it or did not care! But as mead takes so much honey to produce, I offered that maybe he ought to get a bit better at it as honey was so expensive! Dan, always to learning or new things, delved back in the books, online, and researched more and his next batches were better and better! Then one day, about 10 years later, his mid-life crisis hit. “I think I want to open a meadery. I am bored with hardware and software design…” Okay then. A quick calculation and assessment told us 3 things: 1. it was not a convertible or motorcycle or mistress for his midlife crisis, 2. it was alcohol so really everyone wins and 3. if it was a huge flop, well, we could always get “day jobs” again to save for the kids’ college fund! Now, 26 months after first opening the tasting room door, here we are! 8 farmer’s markets and over 40 wine shops and liquor stores later, here we are!
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Dan was VERY prepared going into this endeavor. He is a planner, a researcher, not one to make rash calls. He worked up a detailed business plan, did a ton of analysis on trends of beer, cider, and mead, and did hours of research in preparation. We stumbled upon the “for rent” garage / office that used to be a HVAC place, then a motorcycle detail shop, and we thought it would be perfect! The hardest part has been completing all of the legal paperwork: federal licenses, state licenses and town licenses and more. Our poor assistant to the town manager knows more about mead then I am sure she ever wanted to!
Now our struggle is to keep up with demand! Which I guess is a good thing!
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the 1634 Meadery story. Tell us more about the business.
We are a small, artisanal meadery, making honey wine, or mead. I like to say we make wine without grapes! Mead is the most ancient of all fermented beverages known – it predates wine, beer and cider. It is in a class all by itself. Many folks think of the Vikings and knights of the renaissance when they think of mead but it is much, much older. We combine local raw honey with fresh locally sourced fruits and herbs to make distinct, unique meads. When we first began embarking on this meadery dream, there were only 30-some meaderies all across the US. Today, assuming all licenses granted, there are well over 350! There are currently 4 in Massachusetts and can only imagine this number will be growing!
I think what makes us stand apart from other meaderies is our commitment to supporting local agriculture and beekeepers. We know our farmers and our apiarists.
We try to keep all of our ingredients local. Local ingredients, whole berries, make better mead. We use fruits in season. For example, strawberries come from Marini Farm, right here in Ipswich, as well as the well know Cider Hill Farm in Amesbury for example. We also use Marshview Apiaries, again from Ipswich, for our staple Puritan Pride Mead. Even our T-shirts and labels are printed from Northshore companies (when I know we could go elsewhere and get cheaper prices). We support local so hopefully others will too! The other cool thing about us is that we try to tie in local history with our mead titles, such as Puritan Pride, Choate Bridge Cysrer, or even the Devil’s Footprint.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
We were very fortunate to have stumbled upon the location for rent.
We are SOOO lucky to have had awesome friends and neighbors who stood by us, helped hauling and building the tasting room…. helped on opening day, fill in when others call out, cooked for us when were came home exhausted, helped with child care when we are both on the road… outstanding support. Could not be here without them. And we have amazing employees!
We just hope the honeybees here in New England continue to thrived. CCD or Colony Collapse Disorder and Varroa mites are the black cloud always in the periphery.
Pricing:
- Our mead ranges in price from $19.95 to 23.95 (price based on ingredient cost)
- A full mead flight only costs $6! For north of Boston, it is a steal!
Contact Info:
- Address: 1634 meadery
3 Short Street, Ipswich, Ma 01938 - Website: www.1634meadery.com
- Phone: 978-325-6215
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/1634Meadery/
- Twitter: @1634Meadery
Image Credit:
Deb Clapp
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