Deep in the Great Smoky Mountains, almost to the Tennessee border, Wehrloom Honey and Meadery invites you to experience the story of their bees and to sample their honey, honey and beeswax products, and, of course, that magical, golden elixir – mead.
In 2012, Aron Wehr gave his wife Jessica 2 honeybee hives as a Christmas gift, and those hives soon turned into hundreds. The Wehrs, including daughters Anna and Abby, began selling their honey at festivals and farmer’s markets, and, in 2015, they opened their first brick-and-mortar store in Robbinsville, NC – Wehrloom Honey and Meadery.
Take a Bee-hind the Scenes Tour
At the farm’s observatory, you can watch the bees (from behind glass) hard at work making the honey and gain a better understanding of how crucial pollinators are to the environment. Of utmost importance to the Wehrs is the wellbeing of their bees, and they strive to keep the bees living as close to their normal state as possible. The Wehrloom beehives, housing about 300 colonies of bees, are located on land that is comprised of 2/3 national forest, so the purest of honey is derived from the wild nectar sources that surround them. This makes for some very happy bees!
Guided tours are offered for $10, but you can also tour by yourself for only $5.00. Reservations must be made for the guided tours by calling (828) 231-3833. Be sure to ask about their bee-keeping classes, too!
Buy Gifts For Your Honey
Then stroll over to the wonderfully smelling store for some truly unique gifts. Their raw, lightly filtered honey comes straight from the hives to make many unusual flavors, like Vanilla Bean Infused Honey, Sourwood Honey, Hot Pepper Induced Honey, and Chocolate Lovers Honey – oh my!
Wehrloom also offers natural skin care products, such as Oats and Honey Soap, Hive Essence Moisturizing Balm, and Lavender Lip Balm. Pick up some Jasmine Rose Honey Infused Tea or Green Tea with Lemon and Ginseng or beeswax candles like the Flower Candle shaped with petals and the ADORABLE Square Bee Candle designed to look like a little honeybee in honeycomb. Bring some of these home to your pet sitter, and they will probably offer to watch Nugget for free next time you go out of town!
Catch a Buzz
You watched the bees work, learned how valuable they are to the environment, picked up souvenirs, and now all that’s left to do is to celebrate the bee culture with a glass of mead from their onsite Meadery! Mead is an alcoholic drink of fermented honey and water, sometimes referred to as ‘honey wine.” Step up to the counter and order a glass straight from the tap.
Some favorites include the Black”bear”ry Mead with Lavender, Hibiscus, and Vanilla or the refreshing Strawberry Lemonade. You also don’t want to miss the Everybody Loves a Ginger Mead with Ginger, Green Tea, Lemon, and Lime. But why choose when you can order a flight and sample a variety of these fermented honey elixirs?
A New Hive
Wehrloom Honey and Meadery recently opened a new Meadery at 32 Banks Street on the hip South Slope in Asheville, NC. Move over “Beer City” and make room for mead! And the best mead at that, brought to you directly from the Nantahala National Forest in Graham County, NC.
For more to see and do, where to eat, and where to stay in Robbinsville and nearby Fontana, visit The Explorer’s Guide to Robbinsville and Fontana, NC.