ABOUT US
Discover who
we are & what we do.
OUR STORY
USA’s mead specialist.
Clear Skies Meadery is the result of a dream between two friends, Manisha and Yancy. They decided to put all of their passions and energy into a business that provides a place for their local community to gather over food and drink.
Yancy started out brewing mead at home. After Manisha tried Yancy’s mead she decided to start on a business venture. They drafted a rough plan on the kitchen table over some mead, and one year and a couple months later, in March 2020, what began as a dream in a Gaithersburg basement turned into a 12 tap meadery in the Kentlands.
Opening only a few days before the covid shutdown, they faced several obstacles. Thankfully, due to the amazing support of the Kentlands community, they made it through and even thrived! After only 2 years Clear Skies Meadery was able to expand from a 12 tap meadery to a 28 tap meadery in rockville.
Yancy Bodestein
The Meadmaker
Yancy has been making mead and home brewing for the last seventeen years in Gaithersburg, MD. He has a scientific background in chemistry and epidemiology. His interest in mead began at several Renaissance Festivals and since then, he has won local, national, and international awards for his meads. He is excited to introduce this craft beverage and become a part of the local Gaithersburg business community.
MEET OUR TEAMS
Manisha Eigner
Business Operations
Manisha is a former biotechnology industry professional and a military spouse. She inherited her family’s entrepreneurial spirit and has been eager to start a small business. For the past year she has channelled her energy setting up Clear Skies Meadery. She has lived in Korea, the Pacific Northwest and North Carolina where she enjoyed learning about the local cuisines and building new communities.
Jacob Latour
Assistant Brewer
Jacob studied environmental science at Juniata College where he was able to pursue additional interests in brewing, wine making and food fermentation. He furthered his education through the American Brewers Guild where he completed the Brewing Science and Engineering Program. With a passion to create and a hands-on approach, he was fortunate to find CSM and helped build the company from the ground up. When not brewing, he enjoys cooking, mountain biking, disc golfing, woodworking, and spending time with his family.
Matthew Fehr
Matthew is an inherent creative who studied journalism at the University of Missouri. After college, he found a passion for culinary arts and leadership. Food service expanded his pallet and taught him about the fun of fermentation. His favorite things to do are hiking, writing, making music, and going downtown for DC sports. He manages our sales and distribution department and has been with Clear Skies since 2021.
Max Hyman
Max Hyman is passionate about local beer and wine, with over 10 years of experience in Montgomery County’s craft beverage community. He is dedicated to showcasing a broad range of flavors and mead styles, as well as curating a diverse lineup of events in our tasting room—ensuring that every guest can find something to love at Clear Skies. If he’s not behind the bar, you can find him playing at our weekly board and card game meet-up or hiking and birding in one of our state’s beautiful parks.
Rob Komlo
Rob studied neuroscience at Muhlenberg college. After working in pharmaceuticals and academia for a few years he wanted to try something new. He spotted Clear Skies during a bike ride around Rockville’s Millenium Trial and headed in to try a flight. He always wanted to try bartending and found out they were looking for some front of house staff. He was working the bar a week later. While he had no previous experience in the craft world, he enjoys trying local beers and crafting cocktails at home. When not working he’s usually watching movies, cycling, playing board games, and cooking.
Ryan Holt
Ryan is a dedicated member of our sales and distribution team. He joined the company in May 2024, but has been working in the local craft beverage scene for nearly 5 years now. With a bachelor’s degree in communication from the University of Maryland, Ryan has a passion for meeting new people and being able to educate folks on mead. Outside of work, Ryan is a big sports fan, enjoys cooking, and loves music as well, having experience working as an audio engineer at a local recording studio.
Courtland Daverne
Courtland studied communications at The College of Saint Rose in Albany, NY where he was first introduced to mead. He later started homebrewing mead while living in Detroit as a media producer. In August of 2024 he joined Clear Skies Meadery as an Associate Meadmaker, while furthering his fermentation education by studying at Cornell University and gaining a Craft Brewing certificate. He later became the Assistant Meadmaker while also achieving the Winemaking certification from Cornell University. When not mead making, Courtland enjoys reading comic books, watching football, and spending time with loved ones.
Mac Burgoyne
Mac is the social media & events coordinator at Clear Skies Meadery. She has a background in communications & content creation with experience in women’s political advocacy, public diplomacy, and the music industry. If it’s not pretty, why post it? Catch her responding to your Instagram comments or performing with her riot grrrl band in the local DMV punk scene.
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The Process of Mead Making
We brew our meads in our state of the art Taproom in our (how big are the conicals??????). We use traditional brewing techniques and use multiple varieties of honey, since each honey varietal imparts its own distinctive flavor to our meads.
OUR HAPPY CLIENTS
“Great vineyard tour and tasting!”
Went for the first time tonight with a co-worker; we both had a blast! We both had flights...
Hannah
“Great vineyard tour and tasting!”
I had no idea mead could be so varied and delicious. They offer flights and growler so you...
M. Marzulla
“Great vineyard tour and tasting!”
We recently discovered mead and have been checking out different places in Virginia and Maryland and this one...
Jeff Carter
“Amazing piece of history”
Stopped by to try the mead, shared a flight of 10 between two of us. Great choices ask...
William Hulsey
“Fabulous Grounds”
The mead here is super great! Love all the flavors they have on tap, and it switches seasonally....
Alexis P
“Great vineyard tour and tasting!”
Very happy to have found this meadery! Delicious tasting mead and friendly service as well. My favorites today...
Henrry Palacios
OUR HAPPY CLIENTS
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