Clear Skies Meadery

Clear Skies Meadery is located in Rockville, Maryland and owned by Manisha and Yancy. The meadery started as a home brewing hobby for Yancy, grew into a partnership with Manisha, became a 12 tap meadery in the Kentlands and is now a 28 tap meadery in Rockville. Jacob Latour is their head brewer with a formal education from Juniata College. Manisha has a biotechnology background. We visited Clear Skies in June of 2025. The staff were very knowledgeable and happy to answer all of our questions. Admittedly, we didn't know much about mead or the process of making it so we inquired. It turns out it is very similar, mostly just swapping grapes in the fermentation process for honey. But they did note that you have to feed the yeast more due to honey having less proteins and more antimicrobial properties. We also learned that Clear Skies is only barrel aging 2 of their meads, the other 20+ are aged in stainless steel. We split a flight of 5 and also tried one of their cocktails, the espresso meadtini. Everything we tasted was dry since that is what we prefer and the range of flavors was interesting! The Tart for the Heart was tart with notes of passion fruit, peach, honey and melon. The Raven's Cassis was also tart and tannic with flavors of blackberry, current and pepper. Nevermore was similar but had less alcohol and was more tannic and tart. Sailor's Warning was hopped hibiscus and the Ginger Habanero was just that but it was a small, fleeting kick. They have so many size options to purchase too which is great. We left with a few cans but they have various sized growlers you can fill similarly to a brewery. The event's list was right on the bar and included upcoming events like drag brunches, rave parties, live music and jam sessions. We very much enjoyed our visit and feel much more knowledgeable about mead now!