Superstition Meadery

Superstition Meadery is a beverage producer based in Prescott, Arizona, specializing primarily in mead while also operating as a winery and cider house. Mead is an alcoholic drink made by fermenting honey with water, sometimes with fruit, spices, botanicals, grape juice, or other flavoring ingredients. Superstition developed its identity around treating mead as a contemporary craft beverage rather than as a narrowly historical drink, building a portfolio that spans traditional honey wines, fruit-forward melomels, spiced metheglins, grape-based pyments, and richer dessert-style products. The business was founded in 2012 by Jeff and Jen Herbert. The couple had begun making mead as home brewers around 2007 before moving into professional production. In the early commercial phase, Superstition entered an alternating proprietorship arrangement with Juniper Well Ranch in Skull Valley, Arizona. This arrangement provided a path into licensed production before the company established its own dedicated facility. In 2014, Superstition opened a production site and tasting room in the cellar of the Burmister Building in Prescott, giving the brand a physical destination for visitors as well as a base for manufacturing and direct customer engagement. The company's range has included more than 85 different meads, with recipes using ingredients such as blackberries, mangoes, vanilla beans, Belgian dark candi sugar, and grape juice. Many products have been aged in American oak or in previously used bourbon, wine, craft-beer, and port barrels. This production approach gives the portfolio a wide stylistic range: lighter and semi-sweet traditional meads sit alongside fruit wines, heavily flavored specialty releases, and dessert-oriented barrel-aged products. Named examples include Lagrimas de Oro, a semi-sweet traditional mead; Marion, a berry-based melomel; Ragnarok, a mango-based melomel; Tahitian Honeymoon, a vanilla metheglin; and Aphrodisia, a grape-based pyment. The White Series consists of barrel-aged dessert meads built around berry juice and white-chocolate character. Superstition's reputation has been supported by competition results and small-business recognition. At the 2016 Mazer Cup International mead competition, the company received four gold medals and one silver medal. It has also been recognized in mead competitions including the Mazer Cup International and Mead Free or Die, and received an ASHy award from the Arizona Society of Homebrewers. In 2019, the Arizona Small Business Development Center Network named Superstition the Arizona Master Award winner in its Success Awards. The business was also recognized as Arizona's Small Business Persons of the Year, leading to an invitation to Washington, D.C., where the Herberts competed for national recognition and received the 2019 U.S. Small Business Administration Small Business Persons of the Year award. Distribution has combined local wholesale, broader account sales, direct-to-consumer shipping, and international exports. Arizona availability has been supported through a distribution partnership with Hensley Beverage Company. Reference material describes direct-to-consumer shipping to 40 U.S. states and account distribution in 25 states, alongside international distribution in Denmark, Thailand, Japan, and Singapore. In 2016, the company was reported to produce approximately 6,000 gallons annually. Superstition Meadery's positioning therefore rests on specialty craft production, experimentation across adjacent beverage categories, barrel aging, and the elevation of mead into a premium and collectible product category.

Jeff and Jen Herbert began making mead at home around 2007. Their early experimentation eventually developed into a commercial venture, and Superstition Meadery entered professional production in 2012. The company initially operated through an alternating proprietorship arrangement with Juniper Well Ranch in Skull Valley, Arizona, allowing the founders to establish a production business before opening their own Prescott facility. A major early step in the brand's development came in 2014, when Superstition opened a production facility and tasting room in the cellar of the Burmister Building in Prescott. The tasting room gave the company a consumer-facing home and helped connect its products with the tourism and craft-beverage culture of northern Arizona. The business operated across several related beverage categories, describing itself as a meadery, winery, and cider house rather than limiting its activities to a single traditional mead style. Superstition built its product identity through variety and experimentation. Its portfolio grew to more than 85 meads, incorporating fruit, spices, vanilla, grape ingredients, Belgian dark candi sugar, oak, and spirits or wine barrel aging. The range included traditional meads, melomels made with fruit, metheglins flavored with spices or botanicals, pyments made with grape-based ingredients, and dessert-oriented releases. American oak and previously used bourbon, wine, craft-beer, and port barrels were used in different products, broadening the brand's flavor and aging profile. Competition recognition helped establish the company within the developing American mead industry. At the 2016 Mazer Cup International competition, Superstition won four gold medals and one silver medal. The company was also associated with awards from Mead Free or Die and the Mazer Cup International, as well as an ASHy award from the Arizona Society of Homebrewers. In 2016, reference material reported annual production of approximately 6,000 gallons. The brand expanded its route to market from its Arizona base. Hensley Beverage Company supported distribution within Arizona, while Superstition also used direct-to-consumer shipping and account-based wholesale distribution in other U.S. states. The company additionally reached customers outside the United States, with distribution reported in Denmark, Thailand, Japan, and Singapore. These channels allowed a small specialist producer to sell beyond its tasting-room audience while retaining a craft and specialty positioning. In 2019, Superstition received significant small-business recognition. The Arizona Small Business Development Center Network selected it as the Arizona Master Award winner in its Success Awards. The business was also named Arizona's Small Business Persons of the Year and was invited to Washington, D.C., to compete for national honors. It subsequently received the U.S. Small Business Administration Small Business Persons of the Year award. Together with its competition medals, these honors reinforced the company's profile as an award-winning Arizona craft beverage producer. The available reference material does not establish a later ownership change, acquisition, closure, public listing, or corporate parent. Superstition Meadery is therefore presented as an active, founder-led Arizona beverage brand whose core identity is built around mead innovation, barrel aging, specialty ingredients, and a multi-channel distribution model.

• 2019

  Arizona and national small-business awards

  [1]Superstition Meaderyen.wikipedia.org

  Superstition receives the Arizona Master Award from the Arizona Small Business Development Center Network and later the U.S. Small Business Administration Small Business Persons of the Year award.

• 2016

  Mazer Cup medal success

  [1]Superstition Meaderyen.wikipedia.org

  Superstition wins four gold medals and one silver medal at the Mazer Cup International mead competition.

• 2016

  Reported production and distribution expansion

  [1]Superstition Meaderyen.wikipedia.org

  Reference material reports annual production of about 6,000 gallons and distribution across multiple U.S. states and several international markets.

• 2014

  Prescott production facility and tasting room open

  [1]Superstition Meaderyen.wikipedia.org

  The company opens a production facility and tasting room in the cellar of Prescott's Burmister Building.

• 2012

  Commercial production begins

  [1]Superstition Meaderyen.wikipedia.org

  Superstition Meadery is founded and begins professional production through an alternating proprietorship arrangement with Juniper Well Ranch in Skull Valley, Arizona.

• 2007

  Founders begin home mead production

  [1]Superstition Meaderyen.wikipedia.org

  Jeff and Jen Herbert begin making mead as home brewers, laying the foundation for their later commercial business.

A premium craft mead producer focused on broad stylistic variety, unusual ingredients, barrel aging, and competition-recognized small-batch beverages.

• Traditional mead

  Lagrimas de Oro

  A semi-sweet traditional mead representing the honey-centered side of Superstition's portfolio. It is positioned as a comparatively classic expression, relying on fermented honey character rather than the extensive fruit, spice, or barrel combinations used in many of the company's specialty releases.

• Melomel

  Marion

  A berry-based melomel that illustrates the company's use of fruit to build fuller aroma, color, and acidity around a honey-wine base. The product belongs to Superstition's fruit-forward range and reflects its emphasis on mead styles that can appeal to craft-beverage drinkers beyond traditional honey wines.

• Mango melomel

  Ragnarok

  A mango-based melomel combining tropical fruit character with fermented honey. It is an example of Superstition's approach to using recognizable contemporary fruit flavors to broaden mead's appeal while retaining the beverage's honey-wine foundation.

• Vanilla metheglin

  Tahitian Honeymoon

  A vanilla-flavored metheglin. Its profile demonstrates the brand's use of spice and botanical-style flavoring, with Tahitian vanilla providing a dessert-like aromatic direction within a fermented honey beverage.

• Pyment

  Aphrodisia

  A grape-based pyment combining the traditions of mead and wine. The product represents Superstition's movement across beverage categories and its use of grape-derived character alongside honey fermentation.

• Barrel-aged dessert mead

  White Series

  A group of heavier dessert meads made with barrel aging, berry juices, and white-chocolate flavor associations. The series is part of Superstition's richer specialty portfolio, which also includes products aged in American oak and previously used bourbon, wine, craft-beer, and port barrels.

• 2016

  Broaden distribution beyond the home marketStrategy

  Background

  Superstition sought to extend the reach of a specialist mead portfolio beyond its Prescott tasting room.

  Action taken

  The company used Hensley Beverage Company for Arizona distribution, combined direct-to-consumer shipping with account distribution in other U.S. states, and exported to selected international markets.

  Aftermath

  Reference material described access in 40 U.S. states through direct shipping, account distribution in 25 states, and international distribution in Denmark, Thailand, Japan, and Singapore.

  Source

• 2014

  Open a dedicated Prescott facility and tasting roomStrategy

  Background

  Following its initial production phase, the company needed a permanent base for manufacturing and customer engagement.

  Action taken

  Superstition opened a production facility and tasting room in the cellar of the Burmister Building in Prescott.

  Aftermath

  The site became the brand's identified production and visitor location in Arizona.

  Source

• 2012

  Move from home brewing to professional productionStrategy

  Background

  After several years of home mead-making, Jeff and Jen Herbert sought to establish a commercial beverage operation.

  Action taken

  They founded Superstition Meadery and began professional production through an alternating proprietorship arrangement with Juniper Well Ranch.

  Aftermath

  The arrangement provided the company's initial commercial production pathway and preceded the opening of its own Prescott facility.

  Source

• 2019

  Superstition Meadery wins Arizona and national small-business recognition[1]Superstition Meaderyen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  The company received the Arizona Master Award in the Arizona Small Business Development Center Network's Success Awards and later received the U.S. Small Business Administration Small Business Persons of the Year award.

• 2016

  Superstition Meadery receives multiple Mazer Cup medals[1]Superstition Meaderyen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  The Prescott producer won four gold medals and one silver medal at the 2016 Mazer Cup International mead competition.

• 2016

  Superstition Meadery expands distribution beyond Arizona[1]Superstition Meaderyen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  The company was described as distributing through Arizona partner Hensley Beverage Company, shipping directly to consumers in 40 states, selling through accounts in 25 states, and exporting to Denmark, Thailand, Japan, and Singapore.

1. 1Superstition Meaderyen.wikipedia.org