Why isnt mead popular

Another difference between beer, wine, and mead is alcohol content. Meads range between 6 and 20 percent ABV, depending on the fermentation; whereas wine and beer typically come in at a much lower ABV. Mead pre-dates both beer and wine by not hundreds, but thousands of years. According to a recent article by BBC , in Northern China, pottery vessels containing chemical signatures of a mixture of honey, rice, and other fruits, along with organic compounds of fermentation, were dated around 6, and 7, BC.

In Europe, it is first attested in residual samples found in ceramics from 2, to 1, BC. As mead production became popularized across the globe, it was drunk by the likes of Vikings, Mayans, and Egyptians, and factored into early English medicine. In the booze-soaked pages of history, mead is about to stage its glorious return.

The water beer? Overnight, the craft industry was born. We all know what happened next. But put down that seasonal dry-hopped double IPA and focus on mead for a second. It's having a moment. Robin Hood. Even Harry Potter and Game of Thrones , whose characters favor butterbeer and wine respectively, have made the medieval and fantasy cultures -- mead cultures! Alright, maybe call it a comeback. The sine qua non vessel of mead is the mazer cup.

Now for the fun part: drinking the stuff! Having mercilessly badgered Colangelo, Webber, and a few other mazers to finger their favorite meads, I give you this: the Thrillist Guide to Meading Like a Master Mazer. Get in here:. Kill all the Golfers B. Nektar Meadery "This mead is made with tea, lemons, and honey and tastes like a great Arnold Palmer. They also offer a mead-making kit, for those that want to make their own 'nectar of the Gods.

You'll also find more and more meaderies, or wineries that specialize in mead production, opening their actual and virtual doors. All-Wise Meadery , founded by actor Dylan Sprouse, launched in with a proprietary mead recipe utilizing the best honey New York State has to offer. Other taprooms are available across the country. Superstition Winery in Prescott, Arizona, has more than types of mead available online and in their tasting room, which has coffee and chocolate-infused, grapefruit, and vanilla bean mead flavors, to name a few.

Maine Mead Works in Portland, Maine, combines chai tea, lavender, and craft beer in their meads, available to taste at their establishment that's ideally located between a brewery and a distillery.

They also offer a mead club membership, which ships six of their newest flavor creations several times a year to mead aficionados that join. With so many flavor combinations and presentations, there is a version of mead for everyone. Because the honey-based beverage has been enjoyed in almost every culture, it's certainly worth trying, even if it doesn't make you immortal.

You'll find that most states have a local meadery, and you can find ones in your area through the American Mead Makers Association. Learn more about the ancient honey wine that's having a resurgence in the spirits industry. By Jessica Farthing. Mead was seen as the drink of those barbarians that were previously in charge, wine being much more sophisticated and elite.

I lack the knowledge to comment on whether Viking branding is doing a service or disservice to mead becoming popular again in the long run. There are only a few yeasts that are commercially viable to make a nice tasting mead and even they are often difficult to manage, requiring very specific temperature ranges and nutrient additions. If not carefully prepared these mead yeasts can also be outclassed by wild yeasts in honey honey is naturally anti-biotic due in part to low water content however when water is added to the mix those previously dormant feral yeasts will have a field day If this happens the batch is soured.

It requires almost hospital levels of hygiene. Without modern yeasts, nutrients, sanitisers and other winemaking equipment, I expect making a good mead throughout history would have been difficult in comparison to the cheaper raw materials like wine or beer. That is changing beginning to change though.