A friend in mead is a friend indeed

• Published date: 25 May 2023
• Publication title: Te Puke Times

Big Mountain Mead in Ohakune produces a selection of modern sparkling mead flavours made with locally sourced honey and botanicals, sold in cans with beautifully designed printed labels

Expatriate Englishman Austin Hobson found his perfect home in Ohakune 20 years ago after travelling to many of the world’s best skiing and snowboarding destinations.

“From a climate change perspective, it’s not responsible to keep moving around because you’re contributing to the planet’s problems,” he said.

“For people who love snow sports, the best thing we can do is settle somewhere and help care for the environments we love.”

Hobson established his beer brewing company Ruapehu Brewing in 2017 and, when his friend Greg Hickman approached him about starting mead production alongside the beer brewing, Hobson believed it would add some extra sparkle to Ohakune.

“Greg had been living in Asia and said there was a market for mead and not many brewers making it,” Hobson said. “Using New Zealand honey and botanicals makes the mead very attractive to international customers.”

Big Mountain Mead opened in October 2022 and has proved popular with local customers as well as being a great export product.

The partnership is supported by food technologist Nicole Jerez who joined the team in 2021 to provide management and quality assurance at the Goldfinch St premises.

Around 75 per cent of the mead produced is destined for Australian, Asian and North American markets but Hobson said it would be great if New Zealanders developed more of a palate for mead.

“The mead industry is still very small in New Zealand and people who have tried it in the past often remember it as...