From eu.uticaod.com
By Colin Hubbell
Of all the fermented beverages on earth, it is believed that the most ancient of all is one that you don’t see much of these days (until very recently) — mead. With archeological evidence going back as far as 9,000 years ago in China, this historically prized concoction of fermented water, honey, and yeast — along with other adjunct ingredients depending on time, place, and brewer’s whim — has been the choice of kings, queens, and anyone else seeking “nectar of the gods.” Today there are over 500 meaderies in the United States alone, which speaks to its revival over the last decade or so.
A few years ago, pottery jars discovered preserved in Jiahu, China were dated to 7,000 BCE. Upon chemical analysis, they were revealed to be vessels for a mixed fermentation of honey, rice, and fruit. When Dogfish Head brewery found out about this discovery they used it as an opportunity to team up with archeologist Patrick McGovern to recreate something similar resulting in Chateau Jiahu. Brewed with muscat grapes, orange blossom honey, barley, hawthorn fruit, and sake yeast this occasional rarity is 10% alcohol by volume, and it has always been a personal favorite from their ancient ale series, giving one a sense for the variation of mead throughout the ages.
Mead is so varied by some counts there are as many as 40 or more different types defined by regional fermentation methods, ingredients, aging, and a myriad of other factors. According to Trish Faubion of “Craft Beer & Brewing,” just a few of the more common types you may encounter on your mead-tasting journey include: Show Mead, a plain mead using just water, honey, and yeast; Melomel, mead with fruit added; Sparkling Mead, a bottle-conditioned version using sugar to create carbonation; Cyser, fermented with honey and apple cider; Metheglin, made with spices; Short Mead, produced using fast fermentation techniques; and Great Mead, brewed for strength and intended for aging. The diverse range of flavors in this unique beverage is also contingent on the honey type utilized, which in turn is based on the plant that these wonderful pollinators frequent.
B. Nektar out of Ferndale Michigan is a company consistently producing tasty mead iterations, most of which are brews and blends incorporating spices and fruit for more approachable, lower alcohol interpretations that put exciting new spins on this antediluvian elixir.
If you happen to call upstate New York home you might be able to find some palate-intriguing meads from a small, local producer like Heartsease Hill in West Winfield. Here a husband and wife team pays close attention to the pollinating bees and their honey while creating imaginative variants of their own. Heartsease’s Satan’s Kiss presents an exciting interplay of flavors with subtly sweet honey and spicy pepper character, and for the adventurous palate, this mead is refreshingly different.
This week's recommendation: Heartsease Hill Satan’s Kiss a strong mead fermented with spicy pepper. 10% ABV. West Winfield, New York.
Colin Hubbell is the co-owner of the Green Onion Pub and The Beer Hub in South Utica.
https://eu.uticaod.com/story/entertainment/2021/01/14/step-back-time-glass-mead/6597263002/
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