Those of you who were following the crazy conversation between me and my “spirit sistah” Crys on the Congratulations, Crystal post might have noticed us expressing our fondness for a beverage known as “mead” – which I fondly referred to as “Nectar of the Gods.”
Maybe you were wondering “just what the heck IS mead???”
Mead is not just one of the most wonderful alcoholic beverages known to man, it is also one of the oldest – if not THE oldest – alcoholic beverages in human civilization. Basically, mead is honey wine; made from honey, water, and yeast. If we stop to consider that honey was the only naturally occurring sugar in predawn civilization, and consider what would happen if that collected honey were to ferment naturally, it isn’t hard to understand how mead thus became the oldest alcoholic beverage known to humanity.
From the beginnings of man, honey has been seen as “godstuff” – a gift from the Divine Spirits, of which the honeybee was their heavenly agent. Ancient civilizations everywhere maintained a central core belief in honey as originating from the dwelling place of the gods, and thus imbued with divine qualities. Honeybees enjoyed a sacred relationship with these Immortals, and appear again and again in myth as their protectors and messengers.
By consuming honey, humans were allowed a glimpse of eternity…a taste of the nectar of the gods. In modern times, what better way to achieve immortality (if only temporary) than to sit and relax with a glass of honey wine… namely, mead?
While mead has played a significant role in the rites and rituals of various civilizations for thousands of years, perhaps one of the more endearing and enduring rituals occurs as part of the marriage ceremony. While the sharing of the cup of wine and the drinking of large quantities of alcohol is a common tradition at many weddings, there is another custom that is a direct reference to mead. In times past, weddings would take place during specific phases of the moon – oftentimes at the New Moon, to signify the beginning of a new life. The newly married couple would be given a supply of mead, with the instruction to share a glass of mead every night before going to bed – in the belief that doing so would bless the marriage (and in particular bring about the conception of a child). This act of partaking of the mead was to continue for a entire moon cycle (around 28 days) until the next New Moon. Thus during this month of mead drinking, the couple was engaging in the rites of the honeymoon.
While some of the best meads I’ve ever had were home-brewed, there are a number of good commercial meads to be found. One is called Chaucer’s Mead, produced by Bargetto Winery, which is located in the Santa Cruz Mountains of California. This is a nice sweet wine that can be enjoyed either chilled, or heated with spices for a delicious mulled wine that can warm you up on a cold winter evening.
Another so-called “mead” that I have often seen marketed is Bunratty’s Meade, which comes clear across the ocean from County Clare, Ireland. However, as you will read in the comments below, there is some debate as to whether or not this can be considered a true mead, or is in fact a honeyed wine – meaning that it’s actually white wine to which honey and flavorings have been added. This beverage is somewhat similar in flavor to Chaucer’s, but I think it’s not quite as sweet and has a bit more of a “bite” to it. I have to confess that since I have a soft spot for anything Irish, I do enjoy this one. But I can appreciate the feelings of those who see it as being little more than a “bastardized wine” trying to pass itself off as a mead when it doesn’t meet the true definition or standards of an actual mead – which technically requires that the basic composition be honey and water which is mixed together with yeast and then fermented, and to which other ingredients may be added. However, the fact remains that it is commonly found in wine shops and liquor stores, and truthfully I don’t think it’s a bad tasting brew (although others may disagree with me).
There are a number of small wineries and meaderies around the country that produce and sell mead, and some of them do have websites where you can order their potent potables. However, be aware that due to federal and state shipping laws, you may discover that these products can’t be shipped to your state. Be sure to check both your own state laws and with the mead producer to determine if you can indeed order from them and have your bottles or cases sent to you. Also check out your local fine wine shops and the larger well-stocked liquor stores or warehouses… you may find locally made meads sold there.
There are a couple of excellent websites where you can learn more about mead, and also find information about local wineries/meaderies for purchasing mead. One such website is GotMead.com, which is a great resource for those wanting to learn more about this beverage:
Another good site is HoneyWine.com, which provides information on how to order various meads over the internet, and a list of those states where meads can be shipped (click “meaderies” in the menu):
One of my personal favorite meads is Pirtle’s, made by Pirtle Winery, a small family owned winery in northwest Missouri near Kansas City. They make an Effervescent Mead – a bubbly champagne-style mead – which has won several mead competitions and in my humble opinion is excellent! They only ship to thirteen states plus the District of Columbia, but if you are one of those lucky folks residing in such a state, I highly recommend you try it. Their Blackberry Mead is excellent also.
Although most meads do tend to be on the sweet side, there are a number of meads that are rather dry, and those that taste more like drinking an ale. Some meads are flavored with fruit and spices, while others are left plain, allowing the honey flavor in itself to be savored. You may find you have to try several different varieties until you find one to your liking. I’ve had some meads I really enjoyed, and others I didn’t care for.
But when we find a mead we do like, Crystal and I can get blissfully happy on this Nectar of the Gods…
Here Ocean and Crystal Dolphin show a couple of the bottles enjoyed at a mead-drinking gathering… we’re both holding bottles on Bunratty’s Irish Meade, and on the table is a bottle of Chaucer’s Mead.
Nifty! I’ll have to try mead sometime.
Fantastic! Mead is THE best drink ever. I love it.
Honey is some very interesting stuff. Our re-enactment group (Ancient Celtic Clans http://celticclans.oakandacorn.com) has made 3 batches of mead so far. Brewing is an ancient skill that takes some practice to perfect.
In its natural state honey does not ferment and is in fact an anti-biotic. This is why water needs to be added to create a “must” before the yeast can do its job.
On the topic of different meads. Chaucers is certainly one of the better meads, though it is (as you might expect) sweet enough that you might want to think of it as a dessert wine. However, there are other meaderies that produce, semi-dry and dry meads.
Bunratty “Meade” is NOT a mead. It is in fact white wine that has had honey added to it. This is why Bunratty a) doesn’t spell “mead” correctly on their product and b) why they call it “honeyed wine” NOT “honey wine”. Their play on words is so slick it should probably qualify as lying.
Ahhhh… I have tasted mead years ago and it tasted sweet.
Which brings me to this subject… to the mysterious ailment of the honeybees… so far the disease is attacking, wiping out a large number of the colonies. I hope the disease would fade away and the bees would come back to the normal number, busy pollinating flowers…
Thanks for your info, Gobae!
You bring up a good point about honey being an antibiotic – it has and can be used in the treating of wounds for this reason. The fact that the honey has to be “watered down” before it can actually start fermenting is something I didn’t know, but it makes sense.
I have heard that same argument about Bunratty’s Mead. Not having actually seen it be made, I honestly don’t know. Their website of course suggests that it is actually brewed as a mead, but I am well aware that there are many “artificial meads” out there that are in fact wines to which honey has been added. I’m not going to debate the issue because I truly don’t have the facts one way or the other to take a stand.
Maybe someone from Ireland who knows the stuff better than I do can in fact vouch for whether it is a true mead or not. Not saying you are wrong, Gobae… just that there seems to be conflicting information out there as to if it is or isn’t, and it would be nice to get someone to verify it.
This is in fact one of the tricky things about meads – defining which exactly are true meads as opposed to simply wines that have had honey added to them. I have had a delicious “mead” that was actually made with an apple juice base to which honey, water, fruit juice and spices had been added and it was then left to ferment for 6 – 8 months. Even though it has honey in it, in reality this wouldn’t be considered a true mead, but more of a “cyser,” which is an alcoholic beverage that is basically fermented cider to which honey and other ingredients are added.
Soooo, as you can see there is some considerable debate as to which wines can actually be labeled as a mead. This is why some mead drinkers will say that the only way to get a true mead is to brew it yourself!
Very true!
For my money, I like to have flavored meads blended from mead and a fruit wine. Both fermented separately then mixed in “tasty” ratios 🙂
Honeyrun meadery has some fantastic blackberry, apple, and raspberry meads which they make in just that fashion. The only mead that was a stretch was their cranberry mead.
It would also be really neat to have some meads that were brewed from specific honey types (buckwheat, heather, clover, apple). For those that aren’t familiar, honeys from one predominant flower type have different flavors and consistencies. For instance buckwheat honey is almost as dark and strong as molasses, while heather is jelly like in consistency.
I too like the fruity meads, although I should warn folks that if you prefer your alcoholic beverages to be more dry or ale-like, this might not be to your liking, as most of these types of meads do tend to taste rather like a wine cooler… although I have had a few that did taste more like a fruity beer.
I also agree that meads made from different types of honey also take on a flavor all of their own. I suspect that the reason we don’t see more of such on a commercial level is due to the higher cost of creating such meads, since the honey required would be of a higher expense. Usually in order to get those meads using a diversity of honey types requires knowing someone who is a home brewer.
I do know a couple of home brewers who make their own meads, and hope to write a second post on the making of mead. If in fact you have any experience with doing so, please feel free to contact me at oceanwitch@insightbb.com and share your story…I would love to gather such information from various mead-makers – since you obviously know a lot more about the subject than I do!
I love drinking the stuff, but I have yet to attempt making mead myself, although both my father and my grandfather did make wine when I was a kid – I have a recollection of finding a bottle of blackberry wine in my grandfather’s basement and proceeding…
Well, you get the idea. 😉
I really want to try mead
cool now you can send me a bottle blackberry of coursee lol, iv’e only tasted mead once at a beltane celebration years ago bb birch
True mead is oft hard to come by. And “honey flavored white wine” which I have seen labeled as mead is such a sad substitute.
Hubby has the goal of one day making our own.
Mama Kelly
I’m an actual ordained minister, which means I am licensed to perform weddings…(anyone getting married soon? 😉 )
At my own wedding (which in Pagan terms is called a “handfasting”) we had the sharing of the cup of mead during the ceremony, and then a bottle of mead which was passed around for guests to take a sip, plus two bottles to take home with us.
And when I perform weddings myself, I always bring a bottle or two of mead to give to the couple as a wedding gift, and sometimes we incorporate the “sharing of the cup” into the ceremony itself.
It’s really a nice little tradition to incorporate into the ceremony, or as part of your celebration afterwards! 🙂
Gobae and I – who are both true mead lovers – were discussing how to go about creating a list of recommended meads or whatever that one can refer to in seeking out this “nectar” to try for yourself.
It’s a little challenging to compile such a list, since most of them are made by small local wineries and meaderies and thus may not be known on a national level. Chaucers is one of the few meads I know that is manufactured in large enough quantities to be found pretty much nation-wide…Bunrattys is as well, but as Gobae pointed out, is generally not viewed as a true mead. This brings up another challenge one may confront – the fact that there are wines out there which may be labeled as meads, but legitimately aren’t.
My recommendation for those of you wanting to try drinking mead is to click on the graphics for the two sites shown – Gotmead.com and Honeywine.com and go to their websites. On their sidebar menus you will find information linking you to pages that list various meads and the meaderies or wineries that make them. You can look for such places in the area where you live, and then click on individual websites to find out more about their meads.
There is a wealth of information on both of these sites, and I would encourage you to take advantage of it to learn more about mead itself, purchasing and drinking it, and even about making it if you’re so inclined.
With the weather getting better, you might want to make a tour of a meadery the perfect weekend get-away with the one you love!
Truthfully, the best meads I have ever tasted were home brewed by fellow Pagans and/or mead makers. The mead that was used at my handfasting was actually made by the High Priest who officiated over the ceremony.
One way to sample mead is to go to an event where mead will likely be served – this would include Pagan gatherings, events put on by the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA), Rennaissance Festivals, Celtic events, Shakespearian Faires, etc.
But in any case, I encourage you to sample this Nectar of the Gods…and experience your own moment of immortality.
DO YOU HAVE A COMMERCIAL MEAD THAT YOU HAVE SAMPLED AND RECOMMEND?
If so, please do leave a comment and tell us about it! Let us all know which meads you have tried and would suggest that we check out.
As I mentioned in my post, I highly recommend Pirtles Winery located in Weston, Missouri near Kansas City. They make excellent meads (and their other wines are good as well).
I’ve been told that Long Island Meadery in Holbrook, NY also makes excellent meads, but I have never tried them. I’m not sure if they ship or not, but they do have a website at http://www.limeadery.com
The only thing you left out is how mead can kick butt. LOL! I don’t know what it is about mead (aside from the relatively high alcohol content), but that stuff goes quickly to my head and I have to be careful or I end up practically falling down drunk. Unusual for me as I have a good head for the drink, as they say. No wonder the Vikings went berserk. LOL!
I did get to taste my new batch of mead while we were home in the Bogs and I was thrilled with how well it turned out. I added strawberries and lemongrass to this batch during the initial fermentation period and it’s yummy. I took some photos but they didn’t turn out all that well due to fingerprints on the glasses. By the time I looked at the photos, we’d finished the bottle of mead we opened and I didn’t want to open another since it’s less than 6 months old and can use a bit more aging.
I enjoyed this post. Very informative! 🙂
Wonderful article, well thought out and written. Shoot, if I get time and honey doesn’t soar out of control due to the bees dying, then I might try my hand at making some mead.. I am sure Ocean will be my willing taste tester!
I’ve never tried mead. I am a red wine person myself, and don’t like the overly sweet wines, however, I do like a good wine cooler now and then. If I ever find any mead, I will buy it to try.
[…] over at Deaf Pagan Crossroads has written a wonderful post about mead: Got Mead? Head on over and have a read if you’d like to learn a little about this nectar of the […]
[…] But if you’re going to eat a fresh tossed salad, then it’s only proper that you put a fresh homemade salad dressing on it. Here’s a delicious recipe that comes from The Vineyards Restaurant in Weston, Missouri…a small touristy town just outside of Kansas City. It’s also the home of Pirtle Winery, which makes one of my favorite meads (check out my post on this delicious beverage at Got Mead?) […]
I always thought mead was like beer…
Really depends on the mead and the added ingredients.
Some meads do indeed taste much like beer, while others taste more like a sweet dessert wine. Still others taste more like drinking a hard cider or a wine cooler.
Meads can really vary in their flavors.
But for many mead drinkers and brewers, it does tend to be on the sweeter side, as opposed to being like beer.
I was first caught by your photo of the tree-girl, which is stunning, but then noticed the mead entry. I have been in love with the stuff for decades…
Anyone following the comment line, don’t be afraid to try making mead; it’s simple, not too messy, and VERY rewarding. I’d be glad to send a brief instruction sheet by e-mail to anyone.
Nice blog!
Andy
andlittlefishes@gmail.com
My husband brews beer and has also taken to making meads. We are at this very moment making two meads for the winter holidays to be shared by family and friends and my circle at Yule. One is a clove mead and one is a strawberry mead. Fantastic. Actually having a bit of the clove mead left from the last batch. Not hard to brew your own at all. Check your local brewing shops and the web (you may need to educate yourself on the basics of beer brewing and then look for mead recipes), but certainly worth a try!
I’ve brewed and bottled a good bit of beer in my days, but never yet mead. I had thought about trying a batch, but never got around to it. Now, you’ve got me plotting and planning concerning some homemade mead for Yule! 😛
(hmmm… Now where did I put that brewkettle?)
[…] Mead […]