Ever since Ken Schramm received a home-brewing kit for Christmas in 1987, his life has revolved around beverage production. But after more than three decades of producing award-winning honey wine and craft beer, Schramm, owner of Schramm’s Mead in Ferndale, is facing a dilemma.
Beginning in February 2012, right before signing the lease for the meadery, Schramm had a heart attack, which he ignored, only to find out about the event months later when he finally visited a cardiologist. As a result, Schramm underwent a quintuple bypass to alleviate blockages in his heart.
Since then, he’s suffered multiple bouts of ventricular tachycardia, a type of irregular heartbeat that can prove fatal if not addressed immediately. After the second incident in August 2025, Schramm had a pacemaker installed, which helps keep his heart in check.
Despite making every effort to curb these health scares, the reality is that life in the food and beverage industry is filled with stress, and that poses a problem for Schramm’s livelihood.
The History of Schramm’s Mead
While Schramm’s has been in business for 12 years, Schramm himself has been an industry legend since the early ’90s. Aptly known as “The Godfather of Mead” in home-brewing circles, he founded the Mazer Cup — the world’s largest oldest and largest mead-only competition — in 1992. His book, The Compleat Meadmaker, was published in 2003 and was considered the definitive resource on the subject at the time.
A voracious reader, Schramm includes allusions to classic literature in some of his mead labels. His most well-known mead, The Heart of Darkness, was the top-ranked beverage in 2024 on the beer social network Untappd and is named after Joseph Conrad’s seminal masterpiece. It is made with black currants and cherries grown on Schramm’s six-acre orchard in Rochester Hills and goes for hundreds of dollars at retail (if you can find it).
Schramm has always sought the freshest fruits and honey for his meads, which is why, in 2018, he purchased the orchard with his daughter Alyson, who co-founded the business. His other daughter, Sarah, oversees the crops and lives on the property.
“We knew that if we could grow the fruit ourselves, we could produce world-class beverages,” Schramm says.
And while Schramm’s is doing just that, it hasn’t been without its fair share of financial and logistical complications. Like many in the food and beverage industry, COVID-19 put Schramm’s on its heels, forcing it to shut down its tasting room in Ferndale and lay off much of its staff. Left with a skeleton crew to manage both the orchard and the manufacturing facility, the stress piled up.
The Unknown Future of Schramm’s
In the end, Schramm was left with a choice: the business or his health. It may seem like an easy decision, but when you have given so much of your life to the world of mead, it’s not that simple.
Schramm put the orchard and the meadery up for sale in August 2025, with the hope that someone in his family could buy it from him. At press time, Schramm’s is still owned by the family, and Alyson continues to run the day-to-day operations.
As of now, it seems unlikely that either of his daughters will be able to buy him out, but Schramm says they are exploring all possible options. In order to purchase the orchard and keep the business alive, Schramm has incurred debts that he is also looking to get out from under. If the meadery can’t go to one of his daughters, Schramm hopes it will at least go to someone who understands everything he put into the business and can continue the brand’s legacy.
“Finding the right person who is willing to pick it up and run with it — and hopefully support Alyson and Sarah and all the other people involved — is the goal,” Schramm says.
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