What are the differences between mead and beer? Where can I try one in the US? From my understanding, mead is primarily made from honey and may or may not have hops added.
Is mead considered a style of beer, or more of a wine, or a completely separate kind of beverage?

Are they brewed similarly? More specifically, would it be reasonable to think a brewery I like may make, or consider making mead as well?
Mead is not considered a style of beer, since the sugars in mead come from honey, not from the starch of a grain. Hops are sometimes added to mead for flavor and as a preservative.

The process for making mead is more similar to wine making than brewing beer. There's no brewing (boiling) stage necessary in making mead. All of the fermentable sugar comes from the honey in mead, so you just mix honey with water (and whatever spices you want) and go directly to the fermenting stage. Mead also has a higher alcohol content than most beers (8 - 20%, which is more similar to wine, or even brandy).


  ...would it be reasonable to think a brewery I like may make, or consider making mead as well?


Not really. At least not in the U.S. Beer is much more popular than mead, and the process for making mead is different, so relatively few brewers are going to make it. I tried mead once at a specialty beer &amp; wine store, which is your best bet for finding it in the U.S. You may have to ask around to see if a store can order some for you.