In the heart of the Celtic land of Wales, a story is whispered with the winds that sweep across its valleys and hills - the story of 'medd', or mead, an ancient beverage that intertwines with the very soul of Welsh history.
Introduction Mead, often revered as the ancestor of all fermented drinks, carries with it a history as rich and complex as its flavors. This honey-based alcohol, traditionally known as honey mead or mountain mead, has been a part of human civilization for thousands of years, spanning cultures and continents. In this blog post, we'll explore the fascinating history of mead, tracing its origins and evolution through time. The Ancient Beginnings The story of mead begins in the ancient world, where it's believed to be one of the oldest alcoholic beverages known to man. Historical records and archaeological findings suggest that mead could date back to 7000 BC in Northern China. The drink made its way across cultures - from the...
"I don't like mead it's too sweet" is something we hear our customers say at every mead event we go to.
And yes, mead can be sweet but it doesn't have to be. In fact, I would argue that most of the time, mead isn't any where near as sweet as people think it is.
You may have heard the word melomel when people talk about mead and a question that we get asked a lot is "What is a melomel?" The answer, in its simplest form is: "A melomel is a type of mead that is made with the addition of fruit" But in mead making, the answers to such questions are never simple. To start with, if you add apple, although it is technically a melomel, it is more commonly referred to as a cyser. If you add grape, then it is called a pyment. If you add grape and then add spices, it is called a hippocras. A blackcurrant mead is sometimes called a black mead and i'm sure there are others...
Mead... or is it honey wine?... or mead wine? err... What is mead again?.. and how do you make mead? Is it even a wine? Isn't it a beer? Isn't it made from honey? Ahhhhhhh! How did we manage to have so much confusion around what mead is? The most common question a mead maker will get is "What is mead?" but the answer to that question is not as simple as those asking it would hope. Mead is considered by most to be the oldest alcoholic drink and it has taken many different forms over the course of several thousand years. In it's simplest form: "Mead is an alcoholic drink made by fermenting honey" How do you make mead? Now as...
