For the August Chronogram, following on the heels of the beekeeping article, I profiled a new meadery up near Albany. Helderberg Meadworks, a tiny operation, could be the beginning of a renaissance of the ancient craft the way distilling and hard cider have both exploded into major new sectors of the agricultural economy. Those are oak barrel staves that Peter Voelker puts in the fermentation tanks to impart the flavors his Norse ancestors would have had in their barrel-fermented mead.
