First Local Meadery to Open in Ellwood City

If you want to partake in the drink of the Norse Gods, you might want to stop into Fitzgibbon Meadery at 536 Lawrence Avenue.

You also can stop in if you just enjoy a delicious mead or country wine in general.

The locally owned and sourced meadery will be opening its doors on November 28. There will something for every palate ranging from dry to sweet in a variety of flavors.

Owners Eric and Misa McAnallen look forward to introducing their community to their homemade meads.

“As Ellwood City’s only Meadery, we’ve taken it upon ourselves to introduce our corner of Western Pennsylvania to the wonderful beverage that is Mead,” Eric said.

The McAnallens discovered their love for Meads and each other while participating in another hobby— medieval reenactment. While on a battlefield at Cooper’s Lake Campground during the annual Pennsic War in 2005, Eric met Misa and the rest is history. Fast forward a little to when the happily married couple expanded their love for the middle ages into a mead making adventure. It began as a two-batch experiment made from local honey and wild grapes harvested from their back yard in Ellwood City. One batch— Alawicious—really took and became popular among friends who would often request it as a favorite at an annual gathering. Since then, Eric and Misa have combined forces and talents to turn their hobby into a business.

“We really do complement one another,” Misa said.

Misa invents all the recipes. They make the mead together. Eric does the artwork and labels. Both have respective talents in IT and accounting. They are the perfect team.

Their love of everything medieval extends to every facet of their business—its theme, the meads and their names, and their storefront.

The McAnallens have turned their Lawrence Avenue location into a Mead Hall, which is as big of a part of Viking culture as the mead itself. They are hoping to appeal to local mead drinkers as well as to become a special destination for out of town visitors, especially those who attend the Pennsic War at Cooper’s Lake.

“We are hoping that our meadery will become a destination for these people,” Eric said.

They also hope that others will enjoy the Viking culture that will be an integral part of their meadery.

In addition to the Viking undertones, each experience with mead will be different when visiting Fitzgibbons.

“No two batches are ever going to be the same,” Misa said. “Flavors are specific to a batch. We can never be sure we will get the same thing twice. That’s mead for yah.”

The reason is honey. Mead is made with honey, and according to Misa and Eric, batches of honey can vary.

“Can’t make the bees do what you want them to do,” Misa said.

Misa uses all local honey sourced from Hickory, Pa. Fruits are also locally sourced if at all possible.

When Fitzgibbon Meadery opens on November 28, they will be offering six 1oz tastings. Because of COVID-19, there won’t be sit down options at this time. However, the McAnallens hope to offer flights, limited seating, and live entertainment in the future. They also hope to sell wine and mead related merchandise like cheese boards and coasters.

“We want it to be a relaxing place to be,” Eric said.

Most meads will cost between 15 and 20 dollars a bottle.

The meadery will be open Wednesday-Friday from 5 to 8 p.m. and Noon to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

To learn more about Fitzgibbon Meadery, how meads are made, where the name Fitzgibbon originated from, and the menu of flavors available, Click Here to visit their website.

You can also find them on Facebook.