Mead (known in Nordic history as “the nectar of the Gods”) is an alcoholic beverage brewed using honey, and it is about to hit Portland in a big way. Wyrd Leatherworks and Meadery is a company who opened their doors in Milwaukie, Oregon two years ago and have since built a name as the primary mead supplier for the Portland area in addition to making custom leather pieces ranging from cosplay attire, renaissance faire costume pieces, heavy metal attire, to full suits of functional leather armor, some of which have made it as far as on the set of the television show ‘Vikings’. They are now expanding their production as well as their offerings by moving into Southeast Portland and revamping a well loved classic bar space.
Ye Olde Town Crier was a colonial-themed restaurant and bar located at SE 41st and Holgate known for it’s decor that included log walls, large wooden colonial-style murals, and stone fireplaces that served home-style food. It is the perfect foundation for Wyrd to build out an old medieval mead hall aesthetic which will include everything from shields and swords on the walls, long antique wooden tables, and of course, drinking horns and plenty of mead.
Wyrd is very involved with the medieval fantasy, cosplay, Scandinavian folklore, renaissance faire, and the SCA crowds and that is why you may even find patrons dressed up and hanging out in costume at this new spot. They intend to take their visitors out of this world and into another when entering their place, and have a goal to have a very immersive ambiance to the their hall.
The company is also gaining some traction with celebrities who are in similar themed movies and shows. Actors from Harry Potter, the Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, and Avatar the Last Airbender have been known to sport their merchandise.
In addition to Wyrd’s own mead, they will highlight other meaderies products, focusing heavily on those produced in the Pacific Northwest. The new location will also host live music, karaoke, trivia nights, Hnefatafl boards (think something along the lines of Viking chess), and mead hall friendly foods such as charcuterie boards with a variety of meats and cheeses, breads, vegetables, and soups.
Wyrd’s meads tend to be non-carbonated much like a standard wine, with the alcohol perentages ranging from 12-14% ABV. In the new location they will also be able to produce “session” meads which are carbonated and lower ABV usually around 5-6% and plan on expanding into braggots which include grains and is a type of mead/beer hybrid.
In light of the economic impact of COVID-19 on many local businesses, Wyrd, has had to adapt their business model with curbside pick up, shipping (they are now able to ship to over 40 states), and local delivery. Despite this, they have been able to continue making their product available and having many of their recent batch releases even selling out within days of them becoming available. Meeting demand has in fact been difficult with their current facilities as Portlander’s seem to have quite a thirst for this age old drink, and Wyrd intends to meet it head on.
Keep an eye out this coming fall for this new space coming to Portland. You can follow them by visiting:
You can also back them on Indiegogo, a campaign to help raise funds for the buildout with awesome perk rewards for backers:
The Obsidian Crow 