Buzz Worthy

The BottleHouse Brewery has sweetened the pot for its swarm of fans. In June, the small-batch brewery in Cleveland Heights began offering mead. Historically made with honeycombs and water, the fermented honey wine gets a modern update with flavors such as passion fruit orange hibiscus and pineapple mint jalapeno. "We've taken a little of the traditional mead, and doing what Americans have tended to do with everything, we tweak them until they look nothing like the styles that you started with," says owner and brewmaster Brian Benchek, who experiments with the recipe by adding or substituting fruit, tea leaves or grape juice. You can try his varieties in 2-ounce tastings ($3) or 5-ounce servings ($7). Later this year, look for a Rising Star coffee chocolate mead and one with local apple juice. "We'll have some spiced meads with cinnamon, nutmeg and clove that are great for the fall and the winter," he says. 2050 Lee Road, Cleveland Heights, 216-214-2120, thebottlehousebrewingcompany.com