What is Mead?
History of Mead
Types of Mead:
In ancient and medieval times, honey was expensive as it was the primary source of sweetener prior to the discovery of cane sugar. As a result, when making mead people experimented with fermenting honey with other forms of natural sugars in order to produce a cheaper beverage containing alcohol. This led to several distinct types of mead that are quite tasty. When an additional source of sugar is added to supplement the honey, then the name of the beverage changes. For example, a melomel is mead made from honey plus the sweet juice from berries, such as raspberry or blackberry. The ancients felt that mead possessed special healing and life prolonging properties. As a result, medicinal herbs and spices were often added to mead, either during or after fermentation. Such a beverage is called a metheglin.
Basic mead:
Mead: a beverage made by mixing water with honey and fermenting it. The color is golden and the drink takes on the aromatic properties of whatever honey is used. The different sources of honey contain the hidden characteristics of the flower nector from which is is made.
Hydromel: mead that is thinned with water and drank as a refreshing beverage on a hot summer day. A favorite drink of medieval royalty.
Sack Mead: Mead with additional honey added to make it sweet and bring out the honey character. A fine drink to finish a good meal.
Augmented meads:
Pyment: fermenting honey and grapes together. A popular drink in ancient Rome.
Clarre: grape wine with honey added after fermentation to sweeten the wine and give it character. Clarre is an Old English word. The Romans called the drink Mulsum and the ancient Greeks called it Melitites.
Melomel: honey and the juice of berries fermented together. The color, fragrance and flavors imparted by the berries add variety and delight.
Cyser: honey and apple juice fermented together. This was the precursor to the drink cider which is apple juice fermented by itself.
Braggot: honey and malted barley fermented together. Similar to beer, can be made by adding hops.
Herbal and spiced meads:
Metheglin: any mead that has spices or herbs added, either before or after fermentation. The word comes from the ancient Celtic word medclyglyn and the Welsh word meddylglin meaning medicinal which in turn are derived from the Latin roots medicus (medical) and llyn (liquor).
Hippocras: an ancient Greek drink named after Hippocrates, "The Father of Medicine". This drink was a pyment to which medicinal herbs and flavoring spices were added according to the ailment of the patient.
Rhodomel: a metheglin made with rose petals, drank by medieval royalty and thought to have life prolonging properties.