“A Real Expression of Irish Terroir” – Kate Dempsey, Kinsale Mead

From fft.ie

When was the last time you tasted mead? If Denis and Kate Dempsey have their way, this honey-based drink (which averages 12% ABV) is about to follow in the footsteps of craft beer, cider and gin by undergoing a renaissance here in Ireland.

Kate and Denis hail from Coventry and Rosscarbery in West Cork respectively. They both worked in IT before being converted to mead on a trip to the US. “We’d heard about it in history and in literature, but we didn’t realise how delicious and versatile a drink it was until we tried craft mead in the US,” says Kate. “Then we were hooked.”

When an opportunity to take voluntary redundancy came up at work, the couple decided they were ready for a change. They started making meads with different honeys, fruits and botanicals at home and in 2016, they moved to West Cork and opened the Kinsale Mead Company – the first new meadery to open in Ireland for 200 years.

They now produce four types of mead. Their traditional-style Atlantic Dry Mead is made from raw orange blossom honey, water and yeast. They make two melomel styles, which involves fermenting the same orange blossom honey with fruit. For the Wild Red Mead, the honey is fermented with Wexford blackcurrants and dark cherries and for the Hazy Summer Mead, it’s fermented with six ripe summer berries.

“We also have a fourth small-batch mead made from West Cork honey,” says Kate. “Our Wildflower Mead is probably the first commercial mead made from Irish honey in centuries. It’s only for sale in our meadery and online.”

Currently, the Kinsale Mead Company sources its orange blossom honey from a family-run company in Spain while Paul Kelly at Chanting Bee Apiary in West Cork supplies them with the honey for their Wildflower Mead.
The fermentation process they follow is not dissimilar to wine. Honey is mixed with warm water and a wine yeast is added to it.
“We use frozen fruit for the melomel meads,” says Kate. “As the fruit defrosts, the juice is released and mixes with the honey and water. We control the temperature every day so that we get a smooth ferment. When it reaches the level of alcohol and sweetness we want, we bring the temperature down, rack off the lees and filter. Then we leave the meads to mature for six to 18 months before bottling them by hand.”

Kinsale Mead is finished dry because pairing the mead with food is important to Kate and Denis. “We would like to re-establish some of the terroir around mead,” says Denis. “There used to be so many meaderies in Ireland and if mead had developed in the way wine has developed in France, we’d now have meaderies all over the country, with regional varieties being paired with local food.”
“Mead is wonderful for food pairings and cocktails and a great alternative to wine,” adds Kate. “We are eager to collaborate with chefs and mixologists to bring this light, refreshing drink back into the mainstream.”

Based on their experiments to date, they have found their Atlantic Dry Mead pairs well with salty foods such as olives, oysters and blue cheese as well as making a great mule-style cocktail.
“Our local chocolatier uses our Wild Red Mead in his chocolate fillings and mixologists have used it in everything from spicy gins to Irish Manhattans,” says Kate.

The pair believe their Hazy Summer Mead could become the Irish answer to Pimm’s, and often suggest their Wildflower Mead as a chilled after-dinner drink served with salty cheeses or something creamy like a crème caramel.

Kinsale Mead Company has already won an impressive array of awards. “Our Hazy Summer Mead won gold at the 2019 International Mazer Cup which is like the Olympics of Mead,” says Kate. “We’ve also won Gold and Silver at Blas na hÉireann, gold at the Free from Food Awards and recently a 2 star Great Taste Award for our Atlantic Dry Mead. We are proud to be able to say that we are making world-class meads from our meadery here in Kinsale.”

Their meads are stocked on a growing number of shelves. “We are stocked in around 170 places in Ireland and we have recently ventured into the UK,” says Kate. “You’ll find us in SuperValu, O’Brien’s Wines, independent off-licences and speciality food stores.”

Their plans for the future involve exploring the world of mead even further. “We want to make more unique Irish meads as well as innovating with barrel aging,” says Kate. “There is also so much wonderful Irish food out there and we want our meads to be paired with it to give a true sense of place, a real expression of Irish terroir.”

https://www.fft.ie/a-real-expression-of-irish-terroir-kate-dempsey-kinsale-mead/29261

Couple aims to create Japan’s 1st meadery

From the-japan-news.com/news

CHICHIBU, Saitama — A couple in the town of Ogano, Saitama Prefecture, has produced samples of mead using local honey and spring water, taking the next step toward fulfilling their dream of opening a meadery.

The alcoholic beverage was created by Elena Kudo, 31, and her husband, Hiroki, 34, who runs an information technology company. Elena and Hiroki asked a sake brewery in Kitakata, Fukushima Prefecture, which has experience making mead, to produce the sample for them.

                                Elena Kudo displays a sample bottle of her mead at the                                                                                     town office of Ogano, Saitama Prefecture.

                                                      The Yomiuri Shimbun

Mead is made by fermenting honey with water and yeast used for wine.

After tasting the mead, Ogano Mayor Shintaro Mori said, “With its slight sweetness and fruitiness, it’s delicious.” The town will assist the couple in procedures to apply for use of the spring water as well as introducing local beekeepers, with an aim to help the mead become a local specialty.

Elena was born in Moscow but raised in Aizu-Wakamatsu, Fukushima Prefecture. She studied at Tokyo University of Agriculture and, seeking to take advantage of what she learned, moved to Ogano with her family in January to make mead.

The couple has already leased from the town office the gymnasium of a closed junior high school to use it as a brewing factory.

There are several criteria to obtain a brewing license, such as a constant scale of production. The couple is applying for a brewery license with an aim of setting up Japan’s first meadery, selling mead with an alcohol content of 8 percent to 10 percent in 375-milliliter bottles.

https://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0006100539?fp=3020fa0b1037492798c75a2035e4b82c

Honey drinks: here's the buzz

From stuff.co.nz

It should come as no surprise that, with the excellent honey produced in this country there would also be an abundance of top-notch honey-based drinks made here also. Mead is probably the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of honey and alcohol together – and although much has been made of the fact that it is not just for medieval enthusiasts or latter-day Vikings, if you're a nerd like me the ancient associations are added bonus, not a turn off.

That being said, there is nothing about these honeyed drinks that would be in anyway out of place in a contemporary setting.

Three of my favourite honey-based drinks are all home grown, none of them are cloying, and they are all classy enough to sit on anyone's table.

Three to try, from left: Moa's Mānuka Honey Ale, Peckham's The Bees Knees, Lone Bee Sparkling Mead.

Mānuka Honey Ale In a limited release Moa Brewing Co has teamed up with Comvita, the mānuka honey people, to make this delicious, lightly hopped ale. You can certainly taste the mānuka honey, which has its own slightly smoky sweetness, but it is balanced nicely with the beer so that neither hop nor honey overwhelms the other. At 8 per cent, it is certainly not a session ale, but if you are a dungeon master with a very special campaign planned, this would certainly bring an extra-ness to your session. The bottles also have a cork closure which makes them feel fancy.

Lone Bee Sparkling Mead
Lone Bee make one thing and one thing only: the most delicious sparkling mead you can find in New Zealand. It certainly tastes of honey, as you would expect, but it has a softness which makes it eminently drinkable. At 5.3 per cent, it is much lower in alcohol than a sparkling wine, but I would happily quaff a glass at a wedding reception over a glass of most proseccos – and the bottles are sophisticated enough to grace the poshest place setting.

Peckham's The Bees Knees It is no secret that I think Peckham's make the best cider in Aotearoa. If you can find a can of its 2018 Bees Knees cider, I definitely recommend giving it a try. It is a lovely dry cider that was left to wild ferment over Buller Bush honey which gave it delightful, earthy sweetness.

If you are looking for a non-alcoholic honey-based drink, the Swedish brand Brunneby makes a soft mjod which can be found at Scandinavian speciality stores. And Phoenix Organics has a new Raspberry and Honey Switchel (switchels, if you remember, are a vinegar-based beverage, much like a shrub) which is full of juicy goodness.

Cheers!

https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/food-wine/drinks/116813235/honey-drinks-heres-the-buzz

Mead Makers Rely on Their Creative Juices

From nbcsandiego.com/news

The trendy mead drink fits in with both San Diego’s craft culture, and a return to ingredients sourced from nature

For a few decades now, San Diego has been distinctively known as the craft beer capital of America. In the early 1990s, the local wine industry began to take off in the county, as well, followed by other micro drink alternative scenes, like cider, sake and even kombucha. Now, it appears the success of these beverage businesses has helped spawn another: meadmaking.

For the last 10 years or so, meaderies, or wineries (mead makers operate under the winemaking license) where honey is fermented with water to create the alcoholic beverage mead, have been springing up in San Diego.

   Meadiocrity Mead, located in San Marcos, does its own beekeeping, according to the company.

The first one, Golden Coast Mead, was founded in 2010 and opened its Oceanside location two years later. Since then, at least 10 others have also been established locally.

Frank Golbeck, founder, CEO and head mead maker at Golden Coast, is partially responsible for the recent growth in the local mead industry.

“We’ve helped a number of them (other local meaderies) get started,” said Golbeck, who got introduced to mead by his grandfather while studying international development in college. “When we got our own facility going and other mead makers were getting started, we offered our services and let them use our tanks, under our license. All they needed was retail distribution license instead of a production license.”

Golbeck said he worked with Twisted Horn Mead and Cider in Vista, Good Omen Mead and Hidden Hive Meadery, both in Escondido, and Honey Pot Meadery in Orange County, among others.

            Lost Cause Meadery, founded in 2017, serves a flight of six mead style flavours.
                                                     Photo credit: Lost Cause Meadery

Giving Back

The reason he wanted to help other mead makers grow their local mead businesses is because he faced some setbacks when he was attempting to get his going, said Golbeck. He said he reached out to about 80 wineries and breweries in town, and only got a handful of responses back, all of which said they couldn’t help. It wasn’t until he reached out to Triple B Ranches in Valley Centre that he found a willing partner, he said.

They said “we can help you out — let’s do a custom crush, or basically a production contract,” he said, adding that, as a result, Golden Coast was able to grow from five home brew batches to three hundred commercial batches.

He calls his collaboration with other meadmakers “coopetition,” a play on the words “cooperation” and “competition,” and said the current players in the local mead industry have all figured out their niche, which keeps things copacetic. Golden Mead’s, for example, is a sour, tart mead that is gluten-free, preservative-free and full of probiotics, said Golbeck.

“I think our craft brew culture really contributes” to the growth of the mead industry, he said. “San Diegans care about nature… There are also a lot of foodies here, lots of culinary options… So, we help each other grow, and in doing so, we help the entire mead market grow.”

Mark Oberle, owner and mead maker at San Marcos-based Meadiocrity Mead, founded in 2016, said San Diego is a fitting location for the budding mead industry.

Demand for New Tastes

“There is a constant demand for new beer, new wines and new craft drinks,” he said, “and drinkers within San Diego are engaged with the culture where their beverage comes from. Mead is a natural fit — it’s a unique beverage produced in San Diego and the raw ingredients come from San Diego as well. Some wineries may do that, but, typically, breweries don’t since they buy their grains from outside of San Diego.”

Meadiocrity, which does its own beekeeping (most others buy blended and filtered honey, he said) and focuses on accentuating the honey characteristics, opened its 3,400 square foot San Marcos location with a tasting room early October. He said the reason he chose to make beekeeping a part of his mead-making process is because he believes this is what gives the Meadiocrity mead its distinct character.

Finding Flavours

“Our beekeepers will move to make sure (the bees) have food, which changes what forage they have,” he said, adding that, as a result, the honey used in the Meadiocrity mead showcases the cultivated crops in San Diego.

“While orange blossoms were blooming, they were getting that orange flavour. Then they moved to buckwheat and sage. The combination of those nectars comes together within the honey which gives the mead aromatics of orange blossoms and herbal notes… So, we have different honeys based on blossoms,” he added.

Oberle explained that, while no one can date the first instance of the beverage, mead is the oldest alcoholic drink in the world; he said there are some findings in China that date back several thousand years.

The way mead is created, he said, is by mixing honey, water and yeast, the latter either wild or cultivated. The alcohol levels in mead can vary, between 3% and even above 20%, although the highest Meadiocrity makes is 13.5%, he said.

Oberle said, traditionally, a meadmaker uses up to three pounds of honey per gallon of starting mead mixture. Aside from being available at its tasting room, Meadiocrity mead is also available in Trader Joe’s and a couple of other smaller national retailers. 

https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/San-Diego-Meaderies-Trend-Golden-Coast-Mead-Lost-Cause-Meadiocrity-563725021.html

Making a business from honey: Beekeeper's mead mission

From bbc.co.uk/news

Not many people are lucky enough to turn a hobby into a career.

But that is what Matt Newell, 30, has done, using honey from his beehives to make mead - an alcoholic drink - that is now on sale across the Wye Valley.
Mr Newell, from Chepstow, launched his business, Wye Valley Meadery, a year ago after gaining mentoring and advice from the Prince's Trust Cymru, which supports young people in business.
He is now the winner of the trust's NatWest Enterprise Award, after transforming his idea into a "sustainable business".

"I've been beekeeping as a hobby for 15 years, and have wanted to make mead commercially for such a long time," Mr Newell said.

"But I had no business experience, so needed help with that and also how to market such a niche product in a competitive market."

Mr Newell's interest in beekeeping began in his teens, when a commercial beekeeper asked him to help out with his 500 hives.
"I loved it immediately," he said. "It seems so confusing at first, all the bees swarming everywhere, but behind it there is complete order.
"It's like a whole super organism working together for one goal - creating food for the winter and the expansion and survival of the colony."

                        Matt Newell and his brother Kit believe mead is making a comeback

Mr Newell's formal enterprise only began in earnest, however, after he quit a job in construction.
Determined to put his mead idea into action, he spent months testing recipes, before hiring space in a local brewery.
His brother Kit, 29, an app designer, began helping out and now the duo produce 2,000 litres (about 3,500 pints) of sparkling mead a month.
The drink, which has a 5.5% alcohol content and comes in a variety of flavours, is now stocked in 25 shops.
Mr Newell said: "Some people don't know what mead is or even that it comes from honey.
"But it is often popular with modern craft beer drinkers, and also female customers.
"We plan on making a low or non-alcoholic version soon, as this is where the demand is.
"We hope to help bring mead back into the mainstream and raise knowledge of the importance of bees too."

In order to produce enough honey for the mead, Mr Newell owns 130 hives, each containing roughly 60,000 Welsh honey bees.
The brothers also buy other local honey.

Mr Newell believes the fact mead is made with the honey from bees is appealing to customers who like environmentally sustainable products.
"Most people love bees," he said. "They are essential to society, with a third of our food pollinated by them.
"Their habitats are often under threat, though.
"Bees love brownfield sites, which are often filled with ivy, buddleia and other purple flowers which they are attracted to with their ultra-violet vision.
"But these are frequently built on, which is damaging to bees and all pollinators."
He admits, though, that being self-employed in the bee industry does have its challenges.

                                             The brothers have hives across the Wye Valley

"I work all the time," he said. "And I also get stung a lot, but that's because I choose not to wear gloves so I can do the fiddly bits in the hive.
"Bees also instinctively fear the brown bear - their only predator - so if they see something brown and furry, they go crazy. That's when you don't want to be around them."
The brothers are not the only ones trying to promote mead.
In America, brewing company Anheuser-Busch - behind beers such as Budweiser - has recently begun producing mead.
And in England, the conservation charity English Heritage claims to be the UK's largest retailer of mead through its gift shops and online. In 2018, it said it sold a bottle every 10 minutes.

Elsewhere in Wales, a heather mead produced by Afon Mêl Meadery in Ceredigion recently won "Best Product from Wales" in the Great Taste Awards, the first time a mead has won the accolade.
The meadery, based on New Quay Honey Farm, has been running for two generations and supplies independent shops across the UK.
Director Sam Cooper, said: "I know of four new meaderies in the UK that have opened in the past year. But the biggest change we have seen is in the awareness of customers.
"Young people now know what mead is, largely, I believe, thanks to Game of Thrones, on which it was often drunk."
Sophie Atherton, a beer sommelier, said: "I see the increase in the popularity of mead as linked to the craft beer boom and the surge of interest in gin.
"Our culture today is full of desire for tasting new things and experiencing new flavours.
"Perhaps there's also an element of adding an 'instagramable' historic setting and you've got a drink everyone wants to be seen supping."

Mr Newell was presented with his Prince's Trust award on Thursday in Cardiff.
Philip Jones, director of The Prince's Trust Cymru, said: "Matthew is one of around 4,000 young people supported by The Prince's Trust in Wales last year.
"His passion for beekeeping, combined with the support of our staff and volunteers, made him a more than worthy winner of our NatWest Enterprise Award and we are excited about what he can achieve in the future."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-50069145

Mead mania: Peacemaker and others cause a stir at Queen City Meadery (West Seneca, New York)

From buffalonews.com

What if the next must-try local drink isn't a hazy India pale ale, a patiently barrel-aged gin or a crisp hard cider using local apples. What if it's a session mead made with wildflower honey, blackberry and Szechuan peppercorn?

That sweet-with-a-bite mead – dubbed the Peacemaker – was the favourite of Queen City Meadery's 14 mead options and already has been distributed to local businesses such as Hatchets & Hops and Crabapples.

While the Peacemaker drew rave reviews, the Buffalo area's willingness to embrace mead – an alcoholic beverage created by fermenting a mixture of honey, water and yeast, then adding anything from fruits and spices to grains and hops – has seen the West Seneca business become the third of its kind to open in the last five years.

"We decided to make mead because beer became too filling and overdone," said Ken Voelker, a partner who handles marketing, sales and behind-the-bar education. "We wanted a new experience."

             Co-owner Ken Voelker pours a session mead for a customer from the taps.                                                                      (Sharon Cantillon/Buffalo News)

Nestled on the east side of the Wimbledon Plaza, less than a minute from the 400 Expressway, Queen City Meadery opened quietly last December, refined the production process through winter and spring, then finally held a grand-opening party on Aug. 3, National Mead Day.

When first-time mead samplers enter the taproom, they'll hear a short spiel about mead's history (it dates back to 9000 B.C., when hunters and gatherers received a surprised buzz, making it the world's oldest alcoholic drink) and a general rundown of the options at Queen City.

                 A flight of meads, from left, features Simplicity, Screaming Wench, Peacemaker and                                                    Barrel of Monkeys. (Sharon Cantillon/Buffalo News)

The ownership group of Voelker, Brian Bookmiller and Rob Schweizer takes turns behind the bar, often soothing fears and gently correcting preconceived notions about mead. No, it's not the same consistency as honey, and no, it's not – in most cases – bracingly sweet. The honey taste is subtle, at times more noticeable than others, depending on the strength of the accompanying flavours. And yes, mead is gluten-free, which makes it a strong alternative to beer.

          Bliss Lillis of Depew and Shannon Pelland of the Town of Tonawanda talk over glasses of                                 mead at Queen City Meadery in West Seneca. (Sharon Cantillon/Buffalo News)

Customers will learn to differentiate between sessions and stills, which split the 14 taps down the middle. Sessions are lightly carbonated with a lower alcohol content (just over 7%) and usually more subtle in flavour, while stills are potent in alcohol content – roughly 13% – and flavour.
"It's sensory in the same way as wine," Voelker said, offering advice to smell and savour the blend of flavours. It's not a drink you chug.

The Peacemaker, back in stock in late September, was an easy-to-drink session, fruit forward with a hint of peppery spice at the end. Other sessions will please fans of cranberry – the Screaming Wench – and mules (the cocktail, not the sturdy beast of burden) – My Lil Mule.

Of the stills, the Three Ring Circus (wildflower honey, strawberry, raspberry and blueberry) was the most drinkable, but wine fans would be drawn toward the Admiral – akin to a semi-dry wine – or Simplicity, which mimics Riesling in its sweetness.

     Some of their mead names reflect the Middle Ages when mead was a common drink in Europe, or        that one time when Rob Schweizer's wife actually enjoyed a mead flavour (No. 10).

                                                    (Sharon Cantillon/Buffalo News)

The best bet, both in value and experience, is to try a flight of any four ($10); customers can pick two stills and two sessions, or all stills and no sessions. In the flights, the stills are served in 1.5-ounce portions, while sessions are 3 ounces.
Otherwise, all glasses of mead cost $6 (8 ounces for sessions, 4 ounces for stills) and 500-milliliter bottles of sessions cost $10 and 750-milliliter bottles of stills run for $22. They may be purchased at the store to take home.

•••

Queen City Meadery
290 Center Road, West Seneca (320-0354)
Hours: 5 to 9 p.m. Thursday, 5 to 10 p.m. Friday, 3 to 9 p.m. Saturday. Closed Sunday through Wednesday.
Scene: In the corner of a quiet strip plaza in West Seneca, close to Wimbledon Lanes and the Rusty Buffalo.
Drafts: Seven for sessions, with seven more stills available. Varieties rotate by season and batch. Call the meadery in advance to check on a specific mead's availability.
Parking: Considerable.
Credit/debit: Yes.
Wheelchair accessible: Yes.
Interesting fact: Queen City sources its honey from Dutch Gold, a Pennsylvania collective that manipulates pure honey with blossoms, such as orange, mesquite, clover and even alfalfa.

                  The outside of Queen City Meadery in Wimbledon Lanes in West Seneca.                                                                                       (Sharon Cantillon/Buffalo News)

https://buffalonews.com/2019/10/14/mead-mania-peacemaker-others-cause-a-stir-at-queen-city-meadery/

Perhaps it's time to try some mead and support local business

From readingeagle.com

Three Berks (USA) businesses have been producing the drink, which is made of fermented honey and can be flavoured with fruits, spices or hops.

I'll admit, I've never tried mead. I do like to try different wines, though, so it's likely I'll take a sip of it sooner than later.

This week, reporter Brad Rhen visits three Berks County businesses which have been producing the drink, which is made of fermented honey and can be flavoured with fruits, spices or hops. One — Stonekeep — which has a meadery in Birdsboro and a tasting room in Ruscombmanor Township been doing it commercially for more than a decade, and the other two — Rebel Hive Meadery in Reading; and Deerfoot Vineyard and Winery in Maidencreek Township, which produces Goblin Alchemy mead ­— have come aboard recently as the popularity of the beverage has increased.

It's also a shrewd move to produce the beverage.

Though craft beers have been growing in popularity over the years, and small brewers have been opening in Berks County, the overall beer market has slowed down recently. Some have said that there's too much beer on the market these days (though many will disagree).

The local wine industry has grown, too. So much so, that wine enthusiasts have their own wine trail that covers about every corner of Berks.

However, with millennials becoming the dominant part of the economy, perhaps it's time to introduce something different from what their baby boomer and Gen X parents have imbibed over the years.
Will we see even more mead produced in the area in upcoming years? If tastes continue to evolve I'd say so.

Still, for those who still want their beer and wine, Berks does offer plenty of opportunities to sample locally produced beverages.

A cluster of those places happens to be in north eastern Berks, which is another focus of this issue.
Namely, the Northeast Berks Chamber of Commerce which recently celebrated its 30th anniversary. At the banquet, which was held Sept. 26, the chamber recognized the organization's pioneers, including Paul Lilienthal, the chamber's first executive director and Carl Ziegler, the chamber's first board president.

We have a roundup of the celebration. (And we will have profiles of a couple of those pioneers in an upcoming issue.)

The chamber has grown into organization with 245 members, including 22 that signed up when it was founded as the Kutztown Area Chamber of Commerce in 1989.

We'll also have Northeast Berks' debut column in what we hope becomes a regular rotation among the region's three chambers. John Scott, president of the chamber's board of directors, discusses how small businesses play a big impact on the county's economy. Doing business with them is the neighbourly thing to do.

https://www.readingeagle.com/business-weekly/article/perhaps-its-time-to-try-some-mead-and-support-local-business

What is honey mead?

From bhg.com.au

Honey mead is the buzzy new drink that home brewers love!

While mead is often associated with Vikings, you don’t have to be a seafaring Norseman to appreciate this drink. Honey mead is an alcoholic drink made from, well, honey, and it’s quickly earning a revival. If you have a keen interest in the drink, you can put down the Viking hat, as we’re seeing more and more meaderies opening up here and abroad – most of which are churning out modernised, “craft” versions of the ancient beverage. 

Want to learn more about mead? Below, we cover some basics, from what it’s made of, how it’s made, how to drink it, and where you can score bottles of this unique drink.

What is mead? A brief history of the drink

Mead is a drink made from fermented honey and water. It is often called “honey wine” because of its similarity to wine in taste and alcohol content. Unlike wine – which requires a certain climate to grow grapes – mead can be made pretty much anywhere there’s a source of honey. 

Mead is believed to be the oldest fermented drink on earth. When you drink mead, you’re drinking the same thing ancient Greeks, Chinese, and, yes, Vikings used to drink. According to Eater, Vikings hold mead to an especially high regard because of a legend called “Poetic Mead”, which contained the blood of an all-knowing man called Kvasir. The blood-laced mead gifts its drinker with the intelligence of the wise man.

Mead was also popular in Ireland! The Spruce shares that everyone from peasants to monks to High Kings enjoyed the drink, and that it is believed that the word “honeymoon” originated from mead-drinkers. See, in Ireland, it’s a tradition for newlyweds to drink honey on the full moon! 

Is mead making a comeback?

As more meaderies crop up here and abroad, we think it’s right to say that mead is experiencing a renaissance of sorts. And you can thank the “craft” drink trend for that! 
Brian Rutzen of the Northman Cider Pub & Bistro told Forbes that, “In many ways, it is the happy medium between a cider and a cocktail. The wild flavour combinations could even lend themselves as welcome additions to creative new cocktail recipes”.

Even former Disney child actor Dylan Sprouse (Cole Sprouse’s twin) is a mead-maker! His meadery is called All-Wise. While unconfirmed, we bet that’s a nod to the legend of Kvasir!

                                                                 allwisemeadery

Are there different kinds of mead?

Yes! There are dozens of different kinds of meads, depending on what is added into the mix. For example, mead mixed with maple syrup is called “acerglyn”, while mead brewed with hops (the same stuff beer is made of) is called “braggot”. Some meads are spiced with herbs like ginger, cloves, nutmeg, or cinnamon. These are called metheglin!

How is mead made?

Mead is relatively easy to homebrew. But it’s not for the faint of heart; if you make it wrong, the mixture might end up poisonous! 

Step 1

Mead is typically made with honey, water, yeast, and an air-tight vessel. The process starts with sterilisation, which prevents mead from either poisoning you or turning sour – which entirely negates the point of making mead! 
NOTE: There is some debate about whether it’s okay to use distilled water when making mead. Some believe that distilled water doesn’t contain enough minerals for the yeast to grow, while others say there isn’t much of a difference.

Step 2

Boil the water and honey in a vat. The amount of honey you mix in changes the taste of your mead. More honey means a sweeter taste! Raw honey also enhances the sweetness.
Let the mixture cool before proceeding to the next step.

Step 3

Pour the cooled mixture into an air-tight container. Add in your yeast and sit back and wait for it to ferment. After several weeks, “rack” or siphon out the liquid and transfer into a separate container.

Maxwell Mead

Maxwell’s is probably the most well-known Aussie mead out there. They’ve had over 50 years of mead production under their belt, after all. They offer four varieties: sparkling mead (described as a cross between “ginger beer and cider”), spiced mead, liqueur mead, and the classic honey mead.
Maxwell’s Meads can be bought at Dan Murphy’s for $AUD17.99 per 750mL bottle.

                                                                    maxwellwines

Stone Dog

The Land once claimed that Stone Dog’s meadery was “taking the mead world by storm”. And it’s easy to see why. With the owner’s combined passion and creativity, Stone Dog produces unique flavours, such as the Casual Profanity mead that is made with scotch thistle honey, the malty Triple IPA Braggot, and the Odin’s Reserve which is made with caramelised honey. 
As if honey wine didn’t sound good enough, Stone Dog makes it even more scrumptious!

                                                                     stonedogmeadery

Bee Mead

Bee Mead has the distinction of being Australia’s first sparkling mead. They offer three delicious flavours – Original Manuka Honey, Honey & Ginger, and Honey & Spice. The latter has got “intense cinnamon and delicate nutmeg” in the mix, which, according to some fans, tastes just like Christmas!
Bee Mead can be purchased from Dan Murphy’s at $AUD4.99 per 330 mL bottle.

                                                                         beemeadau

Sunlight Liquor

As its name suggests, Sunlight Liquor produces bright and sunny drinks that are, according to their site, “ideally suited to the Australian climate and lifestyle”. Drawing inspiration from craft beers and gins, Sunlight Liquor sells two fun flavours – the sparkling rosé-inspired Gums & Roses and the zesty Sparkling Orange Blossom.
Check out their website for a list of stockists.

                                                                        sunlightliquor

Aurum

Arum’s founder, Louis Costa, blends his skill at winemaking with his love for mead. The result is a premium mead of the highest calibre. Similar to Sunlight Liquor’s Gums & Roses, Aurum has a Sparkling Rosé Mead that is “co-fermented with native rosella and strawberry gum leaf”. If you’re looking for something subtler and closer to white wine, try their Still White, which is made with lemon zest, white flowers, and lightly grilled macadamia nuts.

                                                                              aurummead

https://www.bhg.com.au/what-is-honey-mead

A spellbinding night out: A Harry Potter-themed potions bar is coming to NZ

From stuff.co.nz/life-style

If you've ever wanted to don a witch's robe and join a potions class at Hogwarts, well now's your chance.

A Harry Potter-themed potions bar called the Wizard's Cauldron is coming to Auckland.

The magical pop-up bar is due to run from January 2020 to April 12, 2020.

The bar has already opened its doors and cauldrons in Sydney and Melbourne, before flying across to New Zealand.

                                                         Supplied/ Wizard's Cauldron

The pop-up bar is described as an immersive experience that combines magic and mixology for a simmering 90-minutes.

"The bar is created for all fantasy and magic lovers, a mystical place where magic and imagination roam free."

'Witches and wizards' who take part will be given a robe and a wand on entry (which has to be returned at the end).

They'll get to complete challenges, tasks and more to unlock ingredients for their concoction.

They will get to create a tasty mead or mulled wine and two alcoholic potions alongside a "potion master".

                                                              Supplied/ Wizard's Cauldron

"Unleash your inner magical being as you brew potions, cast spells, and drink more mead than you can shake a wand at."

It's not yet clear what date the bar will open in January or where exactly it'll be based. But Auckland tickets are expected to be available on its website.

The website also has an option for people to sign up for emails about when an event will be near them.

The Harry Potter books and movies series inspired generations of children and adults all over the world.

But its fandom has also expanded to movie screenings, train rides, Quidditch matches, pub quizzes, dinners, brunches and even homeware.

In March, it was announced a Wizard's Brunch and Dinner would be coming to New Zealand.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/food-wine/food-news/116240020/a-spellbinding-night-out-a-harry-potterthemed-potions-bar-is-coming-to-nz