This post has been a long time coming. See, at the end of spring I happened across a sale on Sociable Cider Werks offerings at a local bottleshop--each four-pack was four bucks. I nabbed the one billed as "Sparkling Honey" because I have been known, on occasion, to enjoy a honey cider or two (please note that I hadn't registered the name plastered on the cans).

I got home and stuck a can in the fridge. That evening, I cracked it open, only to be shocked. What I purchased wasn't a four-pack of honey cider; no, it was a four-pack of mead. For $4. That's a dollar a can. For mead. The next day, I went back to the bottleshop and grabbed two cases (each with 24 cans). That's a deal you can't find anywhere else (another bottleshop nearby sells non-discounted four-packs for $12).

So, yeah. I've had this mead before. In fact, I've had quite a bit of it. But I'm still really excited to share my thoughts on it with you. Since, starting the day after tomorrow, we'll be breaking into four months of seasonally-dictated posts, today's my last chance for sharing those thoughts until January. Meaning that, today's the day. Here we go!

You might remember a little over a month ago when I broke into my first Black Is Beautiful (Streetside's variant of the world-wide collaborative stout effort, conceptualized by San Antonio, TX's Weathered Souls Brewing Company). The whole point of the effort is for breweries to commit to equality, make the beer (while possibly putting their own twist on the recipe), and give the proceeds from it to local organizations that support police brutality reform, legal defense funds for those who have been wronged by the police, and entities that support inclusion and equality. Information on the effort can be found on the official Black is Beautiful website.

I wasn't sure how many takes on Black is Beautiful I'd get to address here. Truth be told, I was excited to find the first from Streetside. I'm happy to break into my second today, Rhinegeist's variant, which is a 10% ABV Imperial Oatmeal Stout. Let's get to it.