I wonder if that brand can be found here in TN? Is mead in or near the beer section?
Who likes Mead?
- Thread starter SuperChris
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I love mead, we have a meadery in town as well. It's a bit on the sweet side for me so I limit how much I drink, not to mention it's on the pricey side so it's definitively a treat drink for me.
Depends on the mead. I've seen it from around 5% abv to 20% abv. Viking Blod is 19% and I've only seen it in 750ml bottles. Perhaps it comes in a smaller size? So, a bottle per person would be close drinking half of a bottle of standard 40 proof whiskey. So around the equivalent of 12 bottles of beer.
Mead is honey wine. As such it's in the wine section. Sometimes you have to hunt for it. It's found in different areas depending on the store. Many stores only carry Chaucer's, if any. Check and specialty area or possibly near the dessert wines. Also check the local section.
It's about as expensive as a low-mid price bottle of wine. I treat it as such.
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Basic mead is honey, water, yeast...... that's it. It's just fermented honey, so yeah, it's pretty sweet.
When perusing the title to this thread, I noticed that without my glasses an M looks a lot like an H.
I don't think I've every had mead. Does it taste like Sauternes?
I don't think I've every had mead. Does it taste like Sauternes?
To piggy back on what SuperChris said, it is more like honeywine than anything else. Wine is made from yeast eating the sugars in grapes and turning it into alcohol. Mead is made from yeast eating the sugars in honey and turning it into alcohol. You are more likely to find mead in the wine section of a liquor store than where the beer is, usually close to the sake as well. Mead is expensive because honey is expensive. Just like you can have dry wine, table wine, port, sparkling wine, sweet wine, dessert wine, so too with mead. I have made a few dry meads, a few sweet meads, a few straight meads. I have made probably 12 different 5 gallon batches of mead and a few 1 gallon batches as well. Mead also has different varieties:
Cyser: apple mead
Pyment: grape mead
Melomel: my favorite so far has been blueberry or cherry
I made 5 gallons of a cyser that drinks like a sweet thick apple juice but will make you light headed after 6oz because the alcohol is hidden so well.
I have made a few batches of JOAM (joe's ancient orange mead) which ferments in like a month but all the ingredients were purchased from a grocery store and it was fantastic. The recipe is honey, oranges, raisins, cloves, water, and bread yeast. I ferment the 1 gallon batch in a gallon jug that originally had wine. All you need is a way to bottle it and an airlock. Honey is very forgiving to work with, but it takes a while to ferment. Because it uses the same yeasts as wine, the alcohol content is usually similar: 11%-19%.
edit: I took too long to write thevez2 gave pertinent information before I could
Cyser: apple mead
Pyment: grape mead
Melomel: my favorite so far has been blueberry or cherry
I made 5 gallons of a cyser that drinks like a sweet thick apple juice but will make you light headed after 6oz because the alcohol is hidden so well.
I have made a few batches of JOAM (joe's ancient orange mead) which ferments in like a month but all the ingredients were purchased from a grocery store and it was fantastic. The recipe is honey, oranges, raisins, cloves, water, and bread yeast. I ferment the 1 gallon batch in a gallon jug that originally had wine. All you need is a way to bottle it and an airlock. Honey is very forgiving to work with, but it takes a while to ferment. Because it uses the same yeasts as wine, the alcohol content is usually similar: 11%-19%.
edit: I took too long to write thevez2 gave pertinent information before I could
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- #28
I'll have to check with the shops around me and see if I can find some Honeywood
To piggyback on what a few others have said, mead is a delicious wine-like drink that can pack a punch. The consistency and mouth feel can be very much like wine, but the flavors are quite different. Given all the different kinds of honey from different plants and locations, the varieties and flavors can be as varied if not more so than for wine, so it can be quite the palate sensation.
Also, as others have stated, mead blends well with other ingredients, and though it is called different things, it is still fermented honey water.
Cyser is delicious, and I don't know what a mixture of cyser and metheglyn would be called, but I have made one with honey, cider, rose, and lavender that is quite delicious.
The Viking Blod sounds great, and I know what my next drink will be.
As to where to find it, the recommendations here are good, though I would say look for a local meadery, as the product will likely be as good as anything else you will find and you will be supporting your local economy which is always a good thing. Happy drinking!
Also, as others have stated, mead blends well with other ingredients, and though it is called different things, it is still fermented honey water.
Cyser is delicious, and I don't know what a mixture of cyser and metheglyn would be called, but I have made one with honey, cider, rose, and lavender that is quite delicious.
The Viking Blod sounds great, and I know what my next drink will be.
As to where to find it, the recommendations here are good, though I would say look for a local meadery, as the product will likely be as good as anything else you will find and you will be supporting your local economy which is always a good thing. Happy drinking!
Anyone who thinks mead is expensive hasn't priced German dessert wines or Sauternes recently.
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- #31
I usually get mine at Brewmasters, its a bottle shop/bar/deli in Wilson NC close to where I work.
Here are the ones I've tried.
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- #34
If you get the chance, you should look into some of B. Nektar's offerings
Definitely not found in my area. I've hit every store I can find in search of mead. I'm also, kind of a purist. I like straight honey mead. Not a fan of other flavors added to it. I have the Vikings Blod in my area, but never tried it due to the other flavorings (and partly the price).
I've only had Bunratty Mead, but it was very good.
Fascinating thread! Question: How is it typically served? I would imagine chilled but one never knows!!
I like it chilled, but you can drink it room temp, or even warmed. The Chaucer's comes with mulling spices you can add to it if served warm.
When I've ordered it out, it seemed that the lower abv ones were served at lower temperatures. So, 5-6% (and carbonated) where chilled like a beer. 12%+ (and still) were served around wine cellar temperature 55 °F (13 °C). I know that some people mull the higher abv still ones with spices and serve it warm, and I had some at a party like that.
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