Pips Meadery La Hire Mead 375ML

Pips Meadery La Hire Mead 375ML is a 12% ABV cranberry melomel crafted with orange blossom honey in a 375ml bottle. Produced by Pips Meadery in Gurnee, Illinois — recognized by Hop Culture as a top-rated beverage producer in the state — La Hire delivers an intensely flavored, dessert-leaning mead that has earned a 4.61 rating across more than 1,600 reviews on Untappd.

Quick Facts: ABV: 12%  |  Origin: Gurnee, Illinois, USA  |  Style: Cranberry Melomel  |  Meadery: Pips Meadery

Production & Heritage

Pips Meadery operates out of Gurnee, Illinois, at 1350 Tri-State Parkway. The meadery has built its reputation by working primarily in the dessert mead category, deliberately pushing past conventional balance to coax intense, concentrated flavors from its ingredients. La Hire is a melomel — a mead fermented with fruit — combining cranberries with an orange blossom honey base. The result is a mead that leans into bold tartness and sweetness rather than subtlety, reflecting the house philosophy of favoring intensity and unique flavor combinations over restrained tradition.

Tasting Notes

Aroma: Cranberry and honey dominate the nose immediately, followed by broader red fruit notes. A faint floral quality from the orange blossom honey emerges as the mead opens up in the glass.

Taste: The entry is distinctly tart, with cranberry acidity hitting the palate sharply before a wave of orange blossom honey sweetness rounds out the mid-palate. At its peak, berry intensity and a noticeable tannic grip create a layered, almost wine-like mouthfeel that keeps the sweetness from becoming cloying.

Finish: The finish is medium-long with lingering tannins and a persistent cranberry tartness. A residual honeyed sweetness slowly fades, leaving a dry, fruity impression.

How to Drink La Hire

La Hire is best served chilled, between 45–50°F, in a small tulip glass or wine glass to concentrate its aromatic intensity. The 375ml format is well-suited for sharing between two people as a dessert pour. For mixed drinks, try it in a Mead Spritz — topped with sparkling water and a twist of orange peel — where the cranberry tartness provides a natural effervescent backbone. It also works in a Cranberry Mead Mimosa, replacing traditional juice with La Hire for a richer brunch drink. A simple Mead Sour, shaken with lemon juice and a dash of simple syrup, plays off the existing tartness for a bright, balanced cocktail.

Best For

• Sharing as a dessert course after a holiday meal
• Gifting to a craft beverage enthusiast exploring meads beyond wine and beer
• Pairing alongside a cheese and charcuterie board for a tasting evening
• Introducing someone to melomel-style meads with a highly rated example

Frequently Asked Questions

What does La Hire taste like? La Hire is intensely tart and sweet, dominated by cranberry fruit and orange blossom honey with noticeable tannins that give it a wine-like structure. The balance tilts toward bold, dessert-style intensity rather than dry or delicate.

How does La Hire compare to Schramm's Cranberry Mead? Both are cranberry-based meads from highly regarded American meaderies, and drinkers frequently draw comparisons between the two. La Hire tends toward a more intensely sweet and tart dessert profile, while Schramm's is generally noted for a slightly more polished, balanced approach — though both rank among the top-rated cranberry meads in the country.

Is La Hire good for sipping neat? La Hire is an excellent neat sipper when served chilled, as the 12% ABV and concentrated fruit flavors are designed to be enjoyed slowly in small pours rather than in large glasses.

Where is La Hire made? La Hire is produced by Pips Meadery at their facility located at 1350 Tri-State Parkway, Suite 124, in Gurnee, Illinois. The meadery is based in the northern part of the state, near the Wisconsin border.

What foods pair well with La Hire? Sharp aged cheddar complements the cranberry tartness with savory richness. Duck breast with a fruit reduction mirrors the berry intensity. Dark chocolate truffles contrast the tannins and honey sweetness. A fresh arugula and goat cheese salad echoes the acidity, while roasted turkey — particularly at Thanksgiving — creates a classic cranberry-and-poultry pairing.

What sizes does La Hire come in? La Hire is available in a 375ml bottle, which is the standard format for many dessert-style and specialty meads.

Is La Hire worth the price? La Hire positions as a premium craft mead from one of the most highly rated meaderies in the United States. The 375ml format and dessert-style intensity place it alongside specialty wines and high-end meads, and its consistently strong consumer ratings suggest strong value within that tier.

Why La Hire?

La Hire stands out in the American mead landscape because Pips Meadery has earned its reputation through sheer intensity of flavor rather than playing it safe. With a 4.61 Untappd rating across more than 1,600 reviews, it ranks among the most consistently praised cranberry meads available. The combination of orange blossom honey and cranberries in a melomel format produces a tart, tannic, dessert-style mead that drinks closer to a fruit wine than to the light, neutral meads many newcomers expect. For anyone looking to understand what contemporary American meadmaking can achieve at its most ambitious, La Hire is a direct and unapologetic example.