What is Mead?

The fermented beverage known as mead, or honey wine, has a rich and winding history, believed to be one of the world’s oldest fermented alcoholic beverages. Though its exact origins are debated, many theories suggest mead was first discovered in Africa when early tribes encountered honey-filled hives inside hollow tree trunks. After rainwater collected inside the hive and fermented naturally—thanks to airborne wild yeasts—the first accidental batch of mead was born.

Archaeological evidence shows that a fermented honey-based beverage was consumed in China as early as the 7th millennium BCE, made with honey, rice, and fruit. Similar discoveries on the Island of Crete date back over 8,000 years. Across many ancient cultures, mead was revered—especially in Ancient Greece, where it was famously referred to as the "nectar of the gods."

In Norse mythology, mead takes on a more legendary role in the tale of the Mead of Poetry. According to the myth, the gods created a man named Kvasir, the wisest being in existence, from their combined spit. After he was killed by the dwarves Fjalar and Galar, they drained his blood into two vats and mixed it with honey—creating a magical mead that granted wisdom and poetic talent to any who drank it. Through a series of betrayals, murders, and clever dealings, the Mead of Poetry passed through the hands of giants before eventually ending up with Odin, king of the gods.

Mead has also made its mark in literature and pop culture. In the epic poem Beowulf, Heorot, the grand hall of King Hrothgar, is known as a mead-hall—a place of joy, celebration, and kinship. In Chaucer’s “Canterbury Tales”, mead is mentioned in The Miller’s Tale as a sweet drink shared during courtship. J.R.R. Tolkien included mead in The Lord of the Rings, where it appears as the Elvish cordial miruvórë, described in the poem Namárië and translated simply as "mead."

In modern times, mead has found a loyal following in television, fantasy literature, and pop culture. It appears frequently in HBO’s Game of Thrones as a favored drink among warriors and nobles, and features in Netflix’s The Witcher, based on the book series by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski—books which, by the way, we highly recommend. Mead is also a staple at Renaissance faires, where it’s enjoyed as the drink of choice for kings, knights, and festival-goers alike, celebrating its deep historical roots and mythic allure.

At its core, the process of making mead is beautifully simple. All you need are three basic ingredients: honey, water, and yeast. Of course, like brewing beer or making wine, there are countless variations and techniques that can be used to craft your ideal mead. From traditional methods to modern twists, mead-making offers endless creative possibilities—and that’s part of what makes it so exciting.

One of the most common misconceptions about mead is that it's always sweet because it’s made from honey. In reality, mead can range from very sweet to bone dry. However, mead can range from incredibly sweet to completely dry, depending on the balance of honey to water and the fermentation process. A higher ratio of honey to water typically results in a sweeter mead, while using less honey creates a drier, more crisp flavor.

The strain of yeast also plays a crucial role in determining both the flavor profile and alcohol content of the finished mead. Some yeasts ferment more sugar and produce a higher ABV (alcohol by volume), while others leave more residual sweetness behind.

Mead is exciting because it offers endless possibilities to create unique flavor profiles by experimenting with different brewing techniques and flavoring ingredients. There are specific names for various styles of mead, each defined by the fermentation process and the ingredients used to enhance its flavor.

Show Mead -  A plain mead made with no additional flavors, just water, honey, and yeast.

Methiglin - A mead that is flavored with spices and/herbs. 

Melomel - Mead made with fruits or fruit juices.

Pyment - Mead made with grapes. 

Cyser - Mead made with apples. A cyser can also be made with pear, cherry, or peach.

Rhodomel - Mead made with rose. This could be rose petals, hips, or extract.

Braggot - More of a beer style mead made with malt and sometimes hops.

Bochet - Mead made with honey that has been caramelized or burnt before being mixed with water and yeast.

Sack Mead - a mead made with a much higher ratio of honey, resulting in a very sweet and almost viscus drink. Not to mention a higher alcohol percentage.

Capsicumel - Mead made with chili peppers.

Rhyzamel - Mead made with root vegetables.

Hydromel - A mead that has been watered down, resulting in a lower ABV. Hydromel is also the French name for mead.

t'ej – Ethiopian mead fermented with gesho, or shiny-leaf buckthorn, that results in an earthy flavor

ydromeli – Greek mead

hydromel – French mead 

aguamiel – Spanish mead

balche – a Mayan ceremonial drink that is prepared with the bark of the balché tree which has mind altering properties. 

chouchen – Mead made specifically in Brittany (France)

miruvór - Elvish (Tolkien)

hidromel – Portugese mead 

idromele – Italian mead 

med – Bulgarian and Ukranian

meddeglyn or myddyglyn – Welsh spiced mead

mede – Dutch mead

medovina – Czech and Slovak mead 

medovukha – Russian mead 

medu – Old High German/Old Saxon/variant of Old English, Mercian and Northumbrian 

medus – Lithuanian and/or Latvian honey 

meis – Eritrean mead 

meodu – Old English, West Saxon 

met – German mead

midus – Lithuanian mead 

miòd – Polish mead 

mjød – Danish and Norwegian mead 

mjöd – Swedish mead 

mõdu – Estonian honey beer 

nabidh – Arabic mead 

sima – Finnish mead