The seeds for Atheling Meadworks were sown when Stephen Ausband, son of a university English professor, was a child. After hearing his father read Beowulf aloud in Old English. young Steve was intrigued by the vision of the hero saving the King's mead hall from the monster Grindel.

He began experimenting with fermenting honey when he was 14 and continued that hobby through the years, as he graduated from medical school and became an emergency room physician. Now Dr. Ausband is about to bring his first mead, Lyres Song, to the market.

Atheling Meadworks is housed in the former Dr. Pepper bottling plant in Roanoke, Virgnina. While mead was traditionally sweet, many of the new varieties, including Lyres Song, are complex and dry. Lyres Song, available for order in June 2019, was specifically designed to allow the natural flavors of the honey to come through.

With other meads currently in development, Atheling will focus on small-batch, premium quality mead.