Eater Inside

Tour Illinois’ First Mead Taproom, Wild Blossom, Opening Soon on the South Side

Beverly’s new meadery and brewery hopes to open in March

by Ashok Selvam@Shokdiesel Jan 24, 2017, 4:30pm CST

Wild Blossom Meadery’s tasting room in Beverly

Ashok Selvam is the editor of Eater Chicago and a native Chicagoan armed with more than two decades of award-winning journalism. Now covering the world of restaurants and food, his nut graphs are super nutty.

Mark March 3 on those calendars, as that’s when Illinois’ first meadery plans to open. Wild Blossom Meadery & Winery sits across from Beverly’s dry line, so they’re allowed to sell alcohol in a neighborhood that’s mostly dry. Owner Greg Fischer opened up his new tasting room to give Eater Chicago the first peek inside the new facility where they’ll make mead and brew beer while bees make honey.

Honeycombs are omnipresent inside the tasting room that comes with an eight-seat bar and room for 60 people. Many brewers avoid using honey in their beer because it’s too expensive, but that’s not a problem at Wild Blossom, where they’ll make their own. That will lead to the consumption of lesser-known drinks such as braggots, a honey-based low-alcohol type of mead that’s not overly sweet, as it allows for many floral characteristics to be highlighted. They’ll also make wine.

Fischer said they’re still working on the landscaping, so when the temperatures rise, they’ll celebrate the completion of their outdoor space with a grand opening in the spring/summer. The property backs out to the Dan Ryan Woods and guests will be able to drink outside.

Wild Blossom is an expansion of Bev Art, Fischer’s company that runs wine-making and tasting classes. They’ll host a few events in the new space before the official opening — be on the lookout for a few Valentine Day-related classes including wine-making and a mead tasting. Taste some honey with your honey or something like that.

March isn’t that far away, so check out the photos below in the meantime.