The verdant pastures of Monmouthshire are known for having some of the best food and drink in Wales.
The Abergavenny Food Festival and Usk Show are two of the many upcoming events that will once again showcase much of the classy nosh and fine wine that some of Wales’ most impressive chefs and winemakers have to offer.
But even by the standards of culinary ingenuity this county has grown accustomed to, brewing is done in a modest industrial estate in Caldicot.
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Brothers Matt and Kit Newell of Chepstow, who started making mead from honey at home, hope to turn Matt’s passion for bees into a thriving business.
Matt – a 32-year-old former geologist who started his job in the construction industry when he returned to the UK from Australia – found himself unemployed. After 15 years of beekeeping, in 2018 he decided to turn his hobby of beekeeping from his kitchen into a bizarre brewery.
“I worked for a beekeeper when I was a teenager,” recalls Matt of her large warehouse and bar on the Severn Bridge Industrial Estate, which will open to the public on September 18th, and I loved it. “
Kit, a 31-year-old former product designer, moved home from Reading to help Matt with the business.
“We did it for fun on the side, but then we won the Great Taste Award in 2019 for one of our flavors and thought we should really try and make it bigger,” said Kit. “We were so busy that I didn’t really have the time to do both jobs.”
Former construction worker Matt took his love for bees and turned it into a thriving business
(Image: Mark Lewis)
The brothers now have more than 150 apiaries in the Wye Valley that Matt maintains for most of the weeks.
They hope that the beehives combined with their fermenters in their new location will be the golden ticket to restore the love for a traditional drink with a modern twist.
In Wales, mead – in its most original form made from honey, water and yeast – dates back at least to the year 550, written in the bard Taliesin as Kanu y Med – Song of Mead. In Beowulf, between 700 and 1000, the Danish warriors also drank mead.
Throughout human history, bees have been kept to make candles, and honey and mead are by-products that make mead likely the oldest alcoholic beverage in the world. But in a constantly modernizing world of technology, it is making a surprising comeback.
“I used to have to explain what it was to everyone,” Kit said. “When we went to the fine food shows and wine fairs, people had no idea what that meant.
“Now last year we have definitely noticed that people come to us looking for mead. People seem to be happy about it. “
With the help of school friend Tim Tucker, who normally lives in China but got stuck in the UK due to Covid restrictions, they were able to work on making new and trendy sparkling wine mettles but were surprised at the demand for their traditional product.
Tim Tucker, stuck in the UK due to Covid restrictions, is on board
(Image: Mark Lewis)
“The original plan was to make the mead and market it as a new and quirky drink,” explained Kit. “But people seem to have come to us in search of the old-fashioned mead.”
It’s not hard to see why and without other meaderies building up excitement in South Wales – and the Newells have put all their chips into the company.
Since far more honey is sold worldwide than bees produce, real, high quality honey is hard to come by and can be an expensive and lucrative business.
“It was a risk in the beginning,” said Kit. “Because we decided to do it last January and we had a lot of plans and we spent £ 30,000 getting a loan to get equipment. Then everything is tight. We had to borrow money from family and friends to get through.
“On the plus side, we’ve had all the time to do everything ourselves and make sure we’re ready to properly reopen. We learned how to drive excavators and we turned the area inside out. It was completely empty for over 10 years.
“Then it is also expensive to manufacture. It’s a risk because a jar of honey has good value. So we’re taking a risk by trying to make something different out of it. “
Matt joked how much his GCSE qualification was very useful to the drama given the brothers’ regular TV appearances
(Image: Mark Lewis)
You’re already seeing rewards, said Matt. “It was brilliant. People keep showing up and asking when we’re open. It’s hard to turn people down, but once we’re open we want to be really open – it’s important that we get it right the first time.
“We were very interested in our tours and tastings, which we will do once a month for the time being.
“I think during the lockdown, people probably had a lot of time to experiment with different things.
While the pandemic has been a time of stress for the couple, who have moved from their much smaller base in Chepstow and have not been receiving wages since early 2020, pressures to produce top beer and mead have increased.
Though tough, they were lucky enough to consult a friend Matt met in Australia who knows everything about what makes a great alcoholic drink.
Like Tim, Nick Galton-Fenzi, who is stuck in the UK due to Covid restrictions, is helping in exchange for a bed for the night.
Matt Newell and Nick Galton-Fenzi test the pH of a honey beer
(Image: Mark Lewis)
Kit said Nick, who worked with Heineken and Guinness, allowed them to “really expand and get started”.
“Nick is a fantastic consultant brewer and we are really lucky to have him like this,” he said. “We effectively caught him.
“He’s helped us build our confidence and really grow and try because if you put a brew on it it costs thousands of pounds in ingredients and we can’t afford to screw it up. Nick was invaluable for that.
“He’s never made mead, so we introduced him to it, and he introduced us to some beer brewing, which we do now.”
A lot has changed since Nick owned his own brewery a few years ago.
Matt said, “If breweries come out with a decent but rather boring product now, it won’t sell. Carling wasn’t going to sell now. People drink it because they are familiar with it. New drinks now have to be different in order to be sold. “
The brothers’ mead is now sold in more than 60 stores in Wales and England, but is also consumed in Israel and China. This could have something to do with her regular appearances on national television.
In the last month alone they filmed with Alan Titchmarsh, the Hairy Bikers, for the Farmers’ Country Showdown and also appeared on Countryfile.
The brand new seating area at Wye Valley Meadery in Caldicot, which opens on September 18th
(Image: Mark Lewis)
“My drama GCSE turned out to be very practical,” joked Matt. “We’re not looking for him,” Kit said. “I think people just love the bees and it makes good TV. Matt is so passionate and charismatic in front of the camera when he talks about the bees and wildlife here. We just try to say “yes” to everything when asked. I often think that we’re probably not screaming enough because we’re on TV – maybe we need to make more of it. “
On the horizon is the Abergavenny Food Festival later this month, a pop-up shop in John Lewis in October, and a mobile trailer to take their mead to the streets.
But for now, the brothers are concentrating all their efforts on a smooth and busy opening.
“We want it to be buzzing,” added Kit. “We want to create a trendy place that we think is missing here.”
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