6-30-26 Glenn Lavender – Silver Hand Meadery – Williamsburg, VA

6-30-26 Tonight we're getting together with Glenn Lavender, owner and meadmaker at Silver Hand Meadery in Williamsburg, VA.

Glenn Lavender is a musician, mead maker, entrepreneur, and educator who founded Silver Hand Meadery in Williamsburg, Virginia, now in its 11th year.

His journey into mead began in an unexpected place: on the road as a touring musician and in the pages of homesteading and historical fiction books, where a curiosity about honey bees and mead grew into a passion for varietal honey, fermentation, and the ancient craft of mead.

Through Silver Hand Meadery, Glenn has built one of Virginia's most recognized mead brands, with a mead club of more than 800 members, distribution throughout Virginia including Virginia ABC and Total Wine, and private-label projects for historic institutions such as Colonial Williamsburg and Monticello. The meadery's tasting room and educational space has introduced thousands of people to the diversity of honey, the magic of the honey bee, and the creativity of modern mead making. Silver Hand has recently expanded beyond mead into cider production, continuing its commitment to crafting distinctive fermented beverages.

An advocate for mead education and industry growth, Glenn played a pivotal role in helping create the Virginia Mead Trail, supporting the visibility and success of mead producers across the Commonwealth. He has also been a featured speaker at the American Wine Society National Conference (2025) and the North Carolina Winegrowers Association Conference (2026), helping introduce new audiences to mead and its place within the broader world of wine and fermentation. In May 2026, Silver Hand Meadery's mead was served on the Today Show, bringing national attention to America's oldest fermented beverage. Glenn's passion for varietal honey and terroir continues to shape Silver Hand's approach to mead making and education.

A lifelong musician, Glenn continues to connect his passions for music, hospitality, and community through Silver Hand Meadery, which has become Williamsburg's home for jazz, hosting regular performances that bring together local musicians and audiences. Whether discussing honey varieties, fermentation, entrepreneurship, or the future of American mead, Glenn's goal remains the same: helping people discover something worth savoring.

To listen live, you can find us on Youtube, Twitch, X (Twitter), and Facebook on the Gotmead Page. On our new platform, chat is part of the pod