Three elements define mead, a distinct class of alcoholic beverage: yeast, water, and fermented honey. Mead is thought to have existed for around three thousand years before wine and is the first known alcoholic beverage used by humans.
Given the similarities between the processes involved in producing wine and mead, mead is now frequently referred to as "honey wine." The main distinction is that honey is used as a sugar substitute instead of grapes.Similar to wine, mead is traditionally sold by the bottle, has an alcohol content of 10–14%, and can be aged for months or years. The beverage is gluten-free and prepared without grains, with the exception of braggot meads.
For those who don't know, mead is a fermented honey beverage that was among the first to be produced with alcohol. Keep exploring!
Oliver Camelot Mead
This tasty, reasonably priced, and readily available mead from Indiana meets all of our requirements. Made from orange blossom honey, this floral-forward mead is bright and crisp, bursting with flavours of white flower petals, honey, and sweet citrus. Drink with light cheeses and fresh fruit.
Sky River Mead
This medium-bodied, bone-dry mead from Washington State is bursting with flavours of honey, sweet stone fruit, nectarine peel, and white floral elements. We wholeheartedly concur with Sky River's suggestion to pair this delectable nectar with Asian-inspired dishes like curry, ginger, and sesame. This mead has less than 1% residual sugar.
Chaucer's Mead
This very fragrant sweet mead from Chaucer's is made with raw honey and contains no artificial flavourings or additives. It tastes a lot like honey, tinned peaches, and acacia. The mead is made without adding a neutral distillate, although it has a body akin to fortified wine. Instead, it's a delicately alcoholic juice. Enjoy warm or cooled on its own.
Read More: Know About Mead: The Honey Wine
Redstone Meadery Mead
Redstone Meadery's semi-sweet mead, packaged in its recognisable blue bottles, combines the greatest qualities of both worlds. This wonderful mead, with notes of honeycomb, freshly cut oranges, and citrus rind, is neither too sweet nor too dry. This mead pairs nicely with savoury meals, desserts, and spicy food because of its well-balanced flavour profile, which includes a hint of sweetness and plenty of acidity.
Moonlight Meadery Mead
Made with an organic honey foundation from Brazil, Moonlight Meadery offers a variety of meads that are worth trying. With half-bottle sizes, it's simple to sample their offerings. If you enjoy currants, black cherries, and blueberries, you should definitely try the meadery's "Desire" bottling (which goes well with chocolate of any kind). On the other hand, citrus enthusiasts will love Moonlight's "Fling," which has flavours of orange flower and rhubarb. Mead connoisseurs should consider the fragrant and flavourful "Sensual" cuvée made with wildflower honey.
Enlightenment Wines Pét-Nat Mead
What surpasses wine for pét-nat? Pét-nat mead, naturally. This frothy mead, made in the heart of Brooklyn, blends the finest qualities from both the mead and natural wine industries. This delightful bubbly mead is fragrant and flavourful, bursting with notes of apple blossom, honey, and yeast. Made with well water and apple blossom honey, it is dry fermented and aged in barrels without the addition of sulphur. Drink with cheese-based hors d'oeuvres or fried nibbles.
Charm City Mead
Charm City offers mead that is portable. These low-ABV meads (just under 7%), which come in a variety of flavours, are more like beer than wine. This series of canned meads is ideal for enjoying at picnics, park get-togethers, and socially isolated barbecues with friends because it is ultra-refreshing and slightly carbonated. Some of the flavours that are available are hibiscus, raspberry, coconut, basil, lemongrass, hibiscus, and even pumpkin spice. Ideal for year-round consumption.
Nektar Mead
Nektar meads promise to please a wide range of palates and are arguably the most diverse selection available (marked by the most fascinating labels, no doubt). A few bottlings of the company's meads are prepared with unusual bases, such as agave mead, cherry chipotle mead, and more, while the others are made with classic orange blossom honey. Tasting these meads is the only thing more enjoyable than peeling back the layers to see their inventive labels and quirky names!