I like mead. I'm not a wine person (red goes straight to my head, seriously I can have a six pack and be mildly happily buzzed, couple shots, few cocktails whatever, but half a glass of red and I'm swinging from chandeliers), I like beer and liquor though tequila, rum (any sweet liquor really) and hypnotiq are banned from my cupboard due to poor effects on me or awkward associations.
So, mead. Let's define it shall we? This is what wikipedia has to say int its first passage regarding mead:
"Mead (
/ˈmiːd/ meed; Archaic and Dialectual "medd" from Old English "meddu"), also called honey wine, is an alcoholic beverage that is produced by fermenting a solution of honey and water. It may also be produced by fermenting a solution of water and honey with grain mash; the mash is strained off immediately after fermentation.
Depending on local traditions and specific recipes, it may be flavored with spices, fruit, or hops (which produce a bitter, beer-like flavor).
The alcoholic content of mead may range from about 8% ABV[4] to 18%. It may be still, carbonated, or sparkling, and it may be dry, semi-sweet, or sweet.
Mead is known from many sources of ancient history throughout Europe, Africa, and Asia, although archaeological evidence of it is ambiguous. Its origins are lost in prehistory. "It can be regarded as the ancestor of all fermented drinks," Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat has observed, "antedating the cultivation of the soil."
Claude Lévi-Strauss makes a case for the invention of mead as a marker of the passage 'from nature to culture.' " (site)
So mead is old and AWESOME!
I prefer the dry to the semi-sweet or sweet (for the same reason I tend to avoid rum and other sweet liquors it plays havoc with my stomach), though there's an awesome fireweed mead by FairWinds Refinery out of Port Townsend that's pretty dang delicious. It has an almost nutty kind of bready undertaste that lingers with the warmth of the booze. Very tasty. There is at least one other local refinery/brewery/thingy that does an acceptable mead as well, though I've only been able to find their semi-sweet and sweet variety with any regular success, their dry though, is quite good. I'll add a note once I've hunted down the name of the joint.
There are all kinds of varieties of mead and spins on it as the wikipedia article hints at, I've seen spiced mead, mead with huckleberries and other fruits, I haven't had a chance to try sparkling mead though I wouldn't mind.
Mmmm meeeeeeaaaaad. Hell if it's good enough for Vikings, god only knows how many of our ancestors, and Ancient Celts, who am I to say no?
So, mead. Let's define it shall we? This is what wikipedia has to say int its first passage regarding mead:
"Mead (
/ˈmiːd/ meed; Archaic and Dialectual "medd" from Old English "meddu"), also called honey wine, is an alcoholic beverage that is produced by fermenting a solution of honey and water. It may also be produced by fermenting a solution of water and honey with grain mash; the mash is strained off immediately after fermentation.Depending on local traditions and specific recipes, it may be flavored with spices, fruit, or hops (which produce a bitter, beer-like flavor).
The alcoholic content of mead may range from about 8% ABV[4] to 18%. It may be still, carbonated, or sparkling, and it may be dry, semi-sweet, or sweet.
Mead is known from many sources of ancient history throughout Europe, Africa, and Asia, although archaeological evidence of it is ambiguous. Its origins are lost in prehistory. "It can be regarded as the ancestor of all fermented drinks," Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat has observed, "antedating the cultivation of the soil."
Claude Lévi-Strauss makes a case for the invention of mead as a marker of the passage 'from nature to culture.' " (site)
So mead is old and AWESOME!
I prefer the dry to the semi-sweet or sweet (for the same reason I tend to avoid rum and other sweet liquors it plays havoc with my stomach), though there's an awesome fireweed mead by FairWinds Refinery out of Port Townsend that's pretty dang delicious. It has an almost nutty kind of bready undertaste that lingers with the warmth of the booze. Very tasty. There is at least one other local refinery/brewery/thingy that does an acceptable mead as well, though I've only been able to find their semi-sweet and sweet variety with any regular success, their dry though, is quite good. I'll add a note once I've hunted down the name of the joint.
There are all kinds of varieties of mead and spins on it as the wikipedia article hints at, I've seen spiced mead, mead with huckleberries and other fruits, I haven't had a chance to try sparkling mead though I wouldn't mind.
Mmmm meeeeeeaaaaad. Hell if it's good enough for Vikings, god only knows how many of our ancestors, and Ancient Celts, who am I to say no?
I used to brew beer with a couple friends of mine, and reading on it brought mead to my attention. I was going to make some, but then I read that it takes strong meads up to ten years or more to mature.
ReplyDeleteI like the names of the various versions of mead, like pyment, hippocras, and melomel, though I forget which is which. I think hippocras has fruit in it.
I do know that fermenting pure honey is difficult, because yeast need nutrients they don't get from just sugar. Mead-makers usually add "yeast nutrients" if they're working with pure honey; but if you add fruit, the problem is solved without other additives, which seems like a more elegant solution. Also, mead fermention is much slower than wine or beer, which makes it more tricky, because it has more of a chance to be spoilt with bacteria (every fermentation has the danger of bacterial infection, but usually the yeast multiplies so fast it doesn't let the bacteria grow much).
I haven't tried it in a long time, and the stuff I tried wasn't that great. I do like the whole heritage and lore of it, though. I'd like to try a good one, maybe I'll look around my environs.
There is evidently a tradition that mead makes you drunk from the waist down. You drink a few glasses, and try to stand up, and fall down. Do you have an opinion on this? :P
I've never actually gotten drunk on mead, more a sipping savoring sort of drinker regarding it.
ReplyDeleteSadly it turns out my two favorite brews, mead and cider, are evidently a challenge to home brew. I still may give it a shot one day :)
Mead can definitely be a different palate experience. I recommend going with a nice dry type and getting it very cold or serving a couple fingers over ice. The sweet varieties can be very cloying and as I said I avoid sweet alcohol anyway.
I love cider too. If you decide to brew something I can offer technical advice on siphoning, bottling, sanitizing and so on. :) All this talk about ancient liquors makes me want to brew something.
ReplyDeleteOh, I have an interesting factoid! The root of the English word "ale" originally referred to honey and mead. :DDD
Hee yeah I'll def consult you. It'll be quite some time though, 'cause I have zero equipment and no job atm :P
ReplyDelete