Today we’d like to introduce you to Savannah Castillo.
Hi Savannah, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Fox and Raven Mead was found in 2022 by Savannah and Bryce a husband and wife team. After going trying mead at a local renaissance faire, we tried to find some mead to enjoy at home but it seemed like a variety in mead in North Texas was hard to find. This was around 15 years ago. Bryce was already dabbling in homebrewing beer, so he decided to switch to making mead instead. Trying to see if he could homebrew something as good or as better than what we tried at the ren faire.
I was supportive but told him that he could not drink all of the mead that he made himself. After a little bit, his hobby started to get out of control taking over our utility closet. He started giving away bottles to friends and incorporating their feedback to tweak recipes and create new ones. Soon, we were getting really positive feedback.
I started wondering if we could turn this into a business. I wrote up a business plan, and started using my unfinished graphic design degree to design a logo. It took a trip back to Bryce’s home state of Washington, and speaking to a couple of established meadery owners before we decided to take the plunge.
Today we are an award winning meadery focusing on full balanced flavors ranging from sweet and fruity to spiced and even spicy. We create mead inspired by the stories that have shaped us. From tall tales to epic journeys and everything in between. Each mead is created with woven threads pulled directly from beloved story themes.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Although the road has not always been smooth, I think getting started was the hardest part. In the time leading up to our opening supply chain interruptions were still an issue due to COVID. I remember our fermenting tanks took about six months to arrive after we ordered them. We also faced challenges getting bottles since there was a glass shortage at the time.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Fox and Raven mead was found in 2022 by husband and and wife team Savannah Castillo and Bryce DeShazo. We are a North Texas Meadery focused on creating meads with expressive flavors based on our love of storytelling. We pride ourselves on using real fruit, real honey, no artificial sweeteners, and being naturally gluten free.
Bryce and I met at a movie theater and bonded over our love of movies, games, books: basically anything with a good story. We are in awe of the way a good story has to power to move you and so we try to infuse our meads with a thread of that same feeling. Storytelling, whether through books, movies, song, or oral tradition has always been a time honored way for humans to connect to each other. Stories can be used to inspire, warn, or comfort in a profound way. We believe strangers become friends through the stories they share. It is in that spirit that we share our mead with our community.
Our rule is that we will not release anything that we would not want to drink ourselves. All of our meads go through a meticulous testing phase where we will adjust flavors until it is just right. Our hard work has paid off.
We are an award winning meadery and have been recognized by the Texas Mead Association and the National Honey Board.
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
Trust the process. Starting a business can feel overwhelming, but as my Grandma used to say: “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.”
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.foxandravenmead.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/foxandravenmead/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/foxandravenmead/
- Other: https://untappd.com/FoxRavenMead
