Colony Meadery
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Alcoholic beverage |
| Founded | 2013 in Allentown, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Founder | Mike Manning, Greg Heller-LaBelle |
| Headquarters | Easton , United States |
| Products | Mead, hard cider |
The Colony Meadery was established in Allentown, Pennsylvania in 2013 and later moved to Easton toward the end of 2022. It offers a wide variety of bottled and canned meads, featuring numerous flavors and brands, along with four different hard cider options.
History
The company was created by entrepreneurs Mike Manning and Greg Heller-LaBelle. Manning transitioned from brewing craft beer at home since 2002 to making mead in 2008. After connecting with Heller-LaBelle, a craft beer blogger, in 2012, they launched commercial production on a full-time basis in 2013. At that time, Colony was among only four meaderies operating within Pennsylvania. All meads are brewed internally using honey pollinated by orange blossoms, sourced from apiaries located in South Jersey.
Early growth
From 2013 until 2022, Colony Meadery operated within a business incubator in Allentown and rapidly earned industry accolades, including the first-ever "Commercial Mead Maker of the Year" award at New Hampshire’s 2014 "Mead Free Or Die" competition. In 2015, the product range grew to include mead slushies.
The company actively markets mead throughout the Lehigh Valley by hosting events and forming partnerships designed to increase sales both for itself and other Pennsylvania-based meaderies. It co-hosts local brewery contests and takes part in regional events such as Bethlehem’s ChiliFest and Lehigh Valley Pride, extending its reach into South Jersey markets.
Colony is recognized for its Philadelphia sports-themed offerings; notably, its "Joel Em-Mead," introduced in 2018, sold out within minutes and was retained as a regular product due to strong demand.
In 2019, during Musikfest, Colony opened a tasting room in South Bethlehem, replacing an earlier Bethlehem location (operational from 2015 to 2018) that closed following property acquisition. This tasting room also showcases craft beers from the Lehigh Valley region.
In 2020, the company collaborated with local animal shelters to feature adoptable dogs on their cans, promoting pet adoption efforts.
Plans to enlarge the brewery were postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic and state restrictions that limited alcohol-serving establishments without accompanying food service.
Weyerbacher Brewing partnership
Seeking to grow beyond its temporary Allentown incubator space, Colony Meadery partnered with Weyerbacher Brewing to produce mead at Weyerbacher’s facility and establish a new tasting room on the brewery’s ground floor. This collaboration followed Weyerbacher’s second bankruptcy within 25 years and a significant revision of its business strategy.