Page 16 - Indulge December/January 2016
P. 16
— continued from page 15 —
Valley Beer Society, a group of suds-loving folk who’d swap
stories and sample brews. Manning, new to the society,
was fresh out of beer, so he brought a home-brewed mead.
Heller-LaBelle was hooked, and, as his partner puts it,
“bugged” Manning for months to go commercial.
Heller-LaBelle used to write about craft beers and
has a background in marketing and startups. “I
told [Manning], ‘If I can’t sell this I have to
completely re-evaluate every decision I’ve
made … All the things I have studied … medieval marriage
and care about have combined for this
moment,’ ” he recalls. customs called for In August, they opened a tasting
In about three months, they were providing the groom and room at The Moravian Book Shop
shaking hands over a contract — and
they’ve been growing ever since. Their bride enough mead to in Bethlehem, another deal that, in
product is now available in New York, business terms, took place overnight:
New Jersey and at select bars and last a moon cycle. Heller-LaBelle and his mom were
restaurants across Pennsylvania. “Our walking along Main Street on Mother’s
production is up about a factor of 10” Day when a friend told him a deli,
from 2014, says Heller-LaBelle. Manning housed inside, had just closed. The friend
says at one point this year, they were using 1,440 gave him a card, he put it in his wallet and “didn’t
pounds of honey every three weeks. do anything for about a month.”
When he finally called, he says, the book store asked
for a business proposal almost immediately. In the end, the
tasting room was open by Musikfest.
“We just thought The Colony would take us in a whole
new direction. We thought it would be a perfect fit,” says
Dana DeVito, the Moravian Book Shop’s general manager.
“Dave McAdoo [who manages the meadery’s book store
branch] puts together great tastings and pairings. We’ve had
nothing but positive reactions.”
And that’s just what The Colony wants. “We’ve been
aggressive since day one, and we’re gonna stay aggressive,”
Heller-LaBelle says. “For us, that’s continuing to develop
this market and new markets.”
16 | INDULGE • DECEMBER/JANUARY 2016
Valley Beer Society, a group of suds-loving folk who’d swap
stories and sample brews. Manning, new to the society,
was fresh out of beer, so he brought a home-brewed mead.
Heller-LaBelle was hooked, and, as his partner puts it,
“bugged” Manning for months to go commercial.
Heller-LaBelle used to write about craft beers and
has a background in marketing and startups. “I
told [Manning], ‘If I can’t sell this I have to
completely re-evaluate every decision I’ve
made … All the things I have studied … medieval marriage
and care about have combined for this
moment,’ ” he recalls. customs called for In August, they opened a tasting
In about three months, they were providing the groom and room at The Moravian Book Shop
shaking hands over a contract — and
they’ve been growing ever since. Their bride enough mead to in Bethlehem, another deal that, in
product is now available in New York, business terms, took place overnight:
New Jersey and at select bars and last a moon cycle. Heller-LaBelle and his mom were
restaurants across Pennsylvania. “Our walking along Main Street on Mother’s
production is up about a factor of 10” Day when a friend told him a deli,
from 2014, says Heller-LaBelle. Manning housed inside, had just closed. The friend
says at one point this year, they were using 1,440 gave him a card, he put it in his wallet and “didn’t
pounds of honey every three weeks. do anything for about a month.”
When he finally called, he says, the book store asked
for a business proposal almost immediately. In the end, the
tasting room was open by Musikfest.
“We just thought The Colony would take us in a whole
new direction. We thought it would be a perfect fit,” says
Dana DeVito, the Moravian Book Shop’s general manager.
“Dave McAdoo [who manages the meadery’s book store
branch] puts together great tastings and pairings. We’ve had
nothing but positive reactions.”
And that’s just what The Colony wants. “We’ve been
aggressive since day one, and we’re gonna stay aggressive,”
Heller-LaBelle says. “For us, that’s continuing to develop
this market and new markets.”
16 | INDULGE • DECEMBER/JANUARY 2016
