By: Mat Cloak
The Parsons Advocate
While the outdoor recreation industry is an economic focus in the Tucker County area, Healthberry Farm in Dry Fork contributes a different type of tourism to the area: agritourism.
Agritourism brings interested visitors to an agricultural operation. Pick your own farms, wineries, breweries, distilleries, horseback riding, and even beekeeping are all examples of agritourism models.
“I would love to see West Virginia become the honey state,” Ben McKean said, owner of Healthberry Farm and creator of Honey River Meads. Much like the wine trails popping up in many eastern states, McKean would like to see a meadery trail in West Virginia.
Mead is an ancient alcoholic beverage that dates back thousands of years in Europe. Also known as honey-wine, mead is made by fermenting honey with water. A meadery is a winery that produces mead.
West Virginia is naturally suited for honey production, because there is an abundance of flowers that are ideal for honey production. Due to the elevation change throughout the state, there are longer bloom cycles for the flowers. This gives bees a chance to follow the blooms up the mountains. In flat areas, blooms happen more quickly.
A large portion of West Virginia is not ideal for agriculture, but McKean insists this type of agriculture would flourish in the state because beekeeping does not require large tracts of land. “Here’s something that is perfect for rugged terrain, and all the flowers are already here,” McKean said.
Honey River Mead is styled after traditional, old world practices. McKean learned these practices from his mentor, Ferenc “Frank “Adroczi. Adroczi had a Hungarian farm winery in Buckhannon, Wv. The two met when McKean saw a winery sign and decided to stop by for a visit. McKean started his farm in 1993, apprenticed with Adroczi in 1996, and became a licensed winery in 2012.
McKean studied sustainable agriculture at Slippery Rock University. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree at West Virginia University. “I came here in pursuit of a healthy lifestyle. I wanted to pick one type of crop that I could sell, some type of perennial crop that would promote health in our lifestyle.”
Honey is McKean’s main product, while the mead serves as a value added product. “Part of what I learned at Frank’s winery, and I embraced, was the seasonal differences of fruit, honey, the weather, and what does well.” Similar to how wines differ from year to year, meads change even from season to season. “So at this winery, as was his, we are not trying to replicate exactly the same wine every time, we are celebrating the seasonal differences.”
These seasonal differences are tied closely with the bees’ diet at certain times of the year. There are a lot of flowers that bees can subsist on, but few that bees can garner enough energy to produce a crop of honey. With a winery you have the grapes and the weather. With mead, you add honey to that mix.
McKean makes traditional meads, as well as melomels, mead with added fruit. Grape, peach, blueberry, raspberry, pear, and elderberry are added to make his different melomels. When this variety of fruit is combined with the seasonally diverse honey that his bees produce, some outstanding pairings take place in his products. The different fruit and honey shine through in each pairing. .
After a tasting, we walked out to see those who are doing the heavy lifting: the bees. After we layered up to avoid stings to the upper body, Ben began distributing smoke to the tops of the hives with a handheld smoker. “When we smell smoke in our houses, we are not worried about a burglar coming in the backdoor.” The guard bees that usually protect a hive are no longer worried about an intruder when they smell smoke.
With bees flying hither and thither, feasting on goldenrod flowers right next to their brightly colored hives, it is easy to see why the region is suitable. Ben keeps his beehives in different locations, so that there is diversity in their strengths and weaknesses. If all the hives were in one location, they would all be subject to the same pests or diseases.
“It’s really a labor of love,” McKean said in regard to his work. Agritourism may be a viable economic supporter to a region in flux.
Honey River Mead is available at Camdens Corner Mart in Dry Fork, Riverfront Antiques in Thomas, S&T’s Bees in Elkins, and by the glass at Stumptown Ales in Davis and TipTop in Thomas.
Tours are available by appointment only by calling 304-227-4414. More information is available at http://www.healthberryfarm.com.
