Lost Cause Meadery was founded in 2017 by Billy (Worker Bee) and Suzanna (Queen Bee) Beltz. Prior to opening the meadery Billy was a national and international award-winning home mead maker, earning over 35 medals in three years including four medals from the Mazer Cup International, the world’s largest mead competition. During that time his research on mead making techniques was published in Zymurgy Magazine and American Mead Maker, the official journal of the American Mead Maker Association, and he became a BJCP Certified Mead Judge.

This would be a very long answer, but here's a (relatively) shortened version. Besides being delicious, mead is THE most versatile alcoholic beverage there is. And to us that makes it the most exciting and fun to make and to drink. It can range from crazy complex, rich and super-sweet to refreshing and bone-dry. Unlike beer, wine or cider, the base sugar in mead (honey) can pair with almost anything- and, the options for honey varietals are endless. Compare a bright and citrusy honey varietal like orange blossom to a dark, earthy and complex varietal like buckwheat blossom. Or the toasted marshmallow/vanilla flavors of meadowfoam blossom honey compared to the distinct fruitiness of a raspberry blossom honey. And each region can have entirely different flavor profiles for the same varietal of honey. And I'm just talking about the base sugar! From there, the possibilities for yeast profiles, other ingredients/additives, and aging vessels are endless. Not to mention that mead is free of dogma in styles or presentation. So although we're big craft beer, wine and cider fans, for us mead is the definition of craft.

We really wanted to build the company on the idea of pursuing crazy dreams and doing what you love no matter what others say. At the same time, we wanted to have some fun with the fact that we are trying to revive an ancient craft beverage in the heart of the craft beer capital of America. Our tasting room is almost literally surrounded by breweries on all sides, so starting a meadery and building a mead community in San Diego has become our “lost cause”.

Suzanna. Definitely Suzanna. As in life, so at Lost Cause.

Sigh. Mead has been produced and drank by almost every culture in the history of civilization. We appreciate the Nordic heritage associated with mead mostly for the fact that we love any history associated with mead. Mead has legacy, it has meaning, it ties us to the past and the future. We like that it is NOT just a new fad of creating an alcoholic version of beverages you already drink (looking at you, hard sparkling water or hard kombucha).

Survive to our first anniversary. Eventually thrive. Make some of the best mead in the world. Introduce world-class mead to the craft beverage community in San Diego and beyond, and celebrate our own community of fans as much as we can. Educate anyone that will listen. Throw big parties and enjoy the ride. Never go back to the corporate grind. Help the broader mead industry, especially our amazing mead neighbors in SoCal (we support and love all our meadery owning and mead making friends in San Diego and the rest of SoCal, and highly recommend you give them all a try if you haven't yet).