Hyattsville meadery taps College Park figs for seasonal cyser mead

Maryland Meadworks has put a seasonal cyser mead on tap in SoHy, turning figs grown in College Park into the latest proof that a small Prince George’s County beverage maker can build a brand around nearby farms, backyard harvests and limited-run experimentation.

The meadery at 4700 Rhode Island Ave. Suite B sits next to Shortcake Bakery at the intersection of Route 1 and the Northwest Branch bike trail, and its tasting room doubles as a neighborhood stop with a small stage for live entertainment and other events. Maryland Meadworks opened in 2018, and the Maryland Wine Association said that year it was the first meadery in Prince George’s County. Its current site still leans into that identity with the line, “Drink Mead, Save the World!” and with growler fills and delivery for customers who want the product at home.

Ken Carter, the owner, has been working with fruit, spices and other ingredients to keep the business distinctive in a crowded beverage market. He said he first tried to make fig mead a few years ago after receiving figs from a friend, and this year’s warmer conditions helped produce a stronger crop. The new batch blends mead and cider elements, using apple cider, wildflower honey from Pennsylvania and smoked local figs, a combination meant to push beyond a standard seasonal pour.

Fig mead is not new in concept. Mead is one of the oldest alcoholic beverages on the planet, with origins dating back to 8,000 B.C., but Maryland Meadworks is making the style feel very current on the Route 1 corridor by tying it to produce from nearby homes. A 2023 fig mead called Figgitiboudit used 20 pounds of figs harvested from a single location in College Park in October. Another batch used 17 pounds of figs from the College Park home of friends Michael and Dominique. The new release continues that pattern, using hyperlocal sourcing as both flavor and marketing.

Maryland Meadworks marked the launch with an event listed for April 30, 2026, and the move points to the larger business logic behind the bottle. In Hyattsville and College Park, where small businesses compete for attention along Route 1, place-based products give customers a story as well as a drink. For Maryland Meadworks, that story now includes figs from just up the road, a cyser on tap and a product line that keeps expanding without losing its neighborhood identity.