Plenty of buzz Brat Cat celebrates one year of fun, fizzy and refreshing session meads By: Ben Sigurdson Posted: 4:44 PM CST Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024

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This article was published 12/12/2024 (526 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

With just one year of commercial production in the books, Brat Cat Mead Co.’s dry, carbonated and fruit-infused modern meads have garnered a hive of local followers in Winnipeg.

“I wasn’t expecting it to take off so fast, but it’s new, it’s shiny,” says 34-year-old Steph Barten from the tap room of Devil May Care Brewing Co., the brewery where she makes her mead.

“There are other meaderies or mead in the city, but not like this.”

Barten began homebrewing in 2016 as a hobby, making wine and then beer before trying her hand at mead.

“I hadn’t tried making mead before — I tried it and liked the process of it. Taking care of it and learning the science behind how to balance everything is fun.”

It was during the pandemic, when Barten couldn’t go into her office job, that she began expanding her basement mead production.

“Once I started working from home, my basement basically turned into a little nano-meadery. I was using different types of honey, different types of yeast, working at different temperatures with different flavours. I had about eight, 10 fermenters, carboys, going at the same time. What else are you going to do when you’re stuck inside?” she says.

Among the types of locally sourced honey Barten tried were sunflower, clover, canola and wildflower, each of which brings its own flavour profile.

“Honestly, I think canola makes the best session mead. Even after fermentation, you still get that nice honeyed note, those floral notes without any musty or grassy notes,” she says.

With her passion for homebrewing, Barten had been looking for a job in the beer industry. That chance came in 2022, as Colin Koop and Steve Gauthier began working on opening Devil May Care Brewing Co. at 155 Fort St. The pair had already been contract brewing their beers at other local breweries and had decided to open their own bricks-and-mortar facility.

“I knew Colin and Steve through the industry — they said, ‘Hey, I know you’re looking for a production job, would you be interested?’ Obviously I jumped at that,” she says.

After six months of construction at the Fort Street location, Barten began brewing beer for Devil May Care, where she continues to quarterback the bulk of the brewery’s production today.

But Barten still had mead on her mind.

“The entire time, they knew and I knew I was trying to open up a meadery — I thought it would be kind of fun to have a brewery and a meadery in the same spot,” she says.

Enter Brat Cat, which celebrated its first anniversary in November at a daylong event that saw Barten offering a half-dozen small-batch flavoured meads alongside her five infused core products — Raspspspberry (raspberry), Catittude (philly sour), Zoom Operator (lemon and green tea), Good Omen (blackberry) and the most popular offering, La Uña de Gato (prickly pear).

Brat Cat’s latest release is Someone’s Feral Aunt, a cranberry-infused session mead that’s available on tap at Devil May Care and will have a wider release in cans once Barten gets the labels, which have been delayed by the postal strike.

Offering a drink made in-house that isn’t beer has been beneficial for both Devil May Care and Brat Cat.

“It’s something different to have on tap for people who can’t drink beer, or don’t like beer, or want to try something different — it keeps people in the seats. It’s also gluten friendly, which is kind of nice — it’s a bit more inclusive,” says Barten.

“Taking care of it and learning the science behind how to balance everything is fun.”–Steph Barten

Misconceptions about session meads are quickly put to bed once curious imbibers try the stuff.

“Mead is traditionally quite sweet, super strong. This is the complete opposite of it. Most people, once they try it, they’re like, ‘Oh, this is nice, it’s refreshing.’ They’re a little surprised,” says Barten.

Using real fruit purées in Brat Cat’s core session meads has proven to bring its own challenges.

“I only use real fruit, and different fruits will taste and look different depending on the season — especially prickly pear. If it’s out of season, you have to add more fruit to adjust the flavour and the colour. And, you know, raspberries don’t always taste nice,” Barten says.

Making a traditionally niche beverage such as mead in a consumer-friendly style and learning about adjusting to seasonal variation are just two of many challenges Barten has faced since making beer and mead full-time — including the pains of bureaucratic red tape, and being a woman in a traditionally male-dominated industry.

“It’s a very real thing — I’ve gotten a lot of ‘no’s,” she says.

But Barten has been able to reach out for support and advice from fellow producers such as Marcus Wiebe from Winkler’s Dead Horse Cider Co., who Barten says has been “a wealth of knowledge.”

And local establishments have offered support as well — Park Alleys in South Osborne, Smith at Inn at the Forks, Kilter Brewing Co. in St. Boniface, the Yellow Dog Tavern on Donald Street and The Common at The Forks Market all offer or have offered Brat Cat meads.

One year in, interest in Brat Cat continues to grow — particularly once people taste Barten’s offerings.

“It’s something new and exciting, and it’s local, and a Métis woman-owned business,” she says. “Friends and family have helped and volunteered a lot to help me get where I am, but otherwise I’m basically a one-woman show here.”

uncorked@mts.net

@bensigurdson

 

What is mead?

Mead is thought to be among the oldest alcoholic beverages, with examples found in China estimated to be 9,000 years old. Technically it’s neither beer nor wine; the former is made from fermented grains, while the latter from fermented grapes (or other fruit), while mead is made from fermented honey.

Traditionally mead has often been sweet and viscous, conjuring up images of Vikings sipping on the stuff out of chalices. Brat Cat’s meads, by contrast, are decidedly modern — dry, carbonated and lower-alcohol (five per cent) examples of the drink to be enjoyed like a beer. That’s why Barten has dubbed Brat Cat products “session” meads — as in, you could drink more than one of them in one session.

Tasting notes

Brat Cat meads are $5.50 per 473ml can, and are available at Devil May Care Brewing Co. (155 Fort St.), Liquor Marts and select beer vendors and private wine stores (The Winehouse, Kenaston Wine Market).

Brat Cat Mead Co. Raspspspberry Session Mead

Very pale pink and hazy in appearance, with a nice balance of raspberry candy and honey aromas. Dry, light-plus bodied and tart, with fresh raspberry flavours coming with vibrant acidity and effervescence while the slightly sweet honey flavour and texture show well. Five per cent alcohol. 4/5

Brat Cat Mead Co. La Uña de Gato Prickly Pear Mead

Pale salmon pink and slightly hazy in appearance, offering lovely melon, floral and subtle honey aromas. Dry, light-plus bodied and slightly tart, with crunchy melon and watermelon Jolly Rancher flavours (but still dry!), bright effervescence and medium acidity, with the almost-sweet honey flavours adding complexity. Five per cent alcohol. 4.5/5