Japan: Made from metsä honey! Mead, beloved by the Nordic Vikings, the world's oldest alcoholic beverage

From metsa-hanno.com 

Metsä Village (Hanno City, Saitama Prefecture), a Nordic lifestyle experience facility operated by metsä Co., Ltd. (CEO: Mochizuki Kiyoshi), has been implementing the "Honeybee Project" since March 2022 as part of its original brand "Ethical Choice," which is kind to the earth and people, in the rich natural environment surrounding the lake.

　Using honey collected by bees living in a facility with a Nordic feel, and in cooperation with Dearlet Field Brewery, a mead specialist brewery in Ogano Town, Chichibu District, Saitama Prefecture, we have developed a new mead, the world's oldest alcoholic beverage, which was also consumed by the Vikings, the ancestors of the Nordic people.

　To coincide with the "metsä Viking Weekend 2025" (Saturday, November 1st and Sunday, November 2nd, 2025), which commemorates the 7th anniversary of the opening of metsä Village and is one of the main events of "metsä Nordic Christmas 2025," we will be offering a special sale of just 90 bottles of rare mead.

"Metsä Viking Mead -2025-"
NORDIC ×VIKING × SAITAMA ×METSÄ

　The honey collected by bees raised in the Metsä Village is harvested in the spring. This natural, unheated, fresh honey with a sugar content of over 84% is transformed into mead, the world's oldest alcoholic beverage, beloved by the Vikings, ancestors of the Nordic people, by the mead specialist brewery, Diaret Field Brewery, located in Chichibu, Saitama Prefecture. The nectar is sourced from cherry blossoms, rape blossoms, horse chestnuts, perilla, lilies, clover, and more. Packed with the bounty of spring, it is characterized by its refreshing sweetness and rich honey flavour.
　■Sales start: Saturday, November 1, 2025
　■Sales price: 1,980 yen (tax included) *Limited to 90 bottles
　■Sales location: "Dialet Field Brewery" booth at the Viking Market event
　■Honey origin: Metsä (Hanno City, Saitama Prefecture)
　■アルコール度数：10％

Comment from Dearlet Fields Brewery, a brewery specializing in mead
　"Metsä" means "forest" in Finnish, and we have produced mead using floral honey harvested from the forest's flowers. This mead, with its refreshing sweetness and rich honey flavour, evokes the richness of nature. We hope you will enjoy the mead that Vikings have enjoyed throughout history at Metsä Village, where you can experience the Nordic lifestyle.

<Metsä Honeybee Project Implementation Overview>
　The decline in honeybee populations due to pesticides and climate change is causing concern about a lack of pollination and the deterioration of forests and ecosystems. Through beekeeping, with the rich natural surroundings of Lake Miyazawa as a backdrop, we aim to help our guests understand biodiversity and respect for nature.
　■Location: metsä village
　■ Number of hives: 2 groups (approximately 30,000 nestlings)
　■Type of bee: Western honeybee
　*With regard to beekeeping, we work under the guidance of experts to carefully consider the locations of beehives and ensure thorough safety management.
　*[SDGs] Corresponds to "Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production," "Goal 15: Take urgent action to combat climate change," and "Goal 15: Life on land."

"metsä Viking Weekend 2025" (free admission)
Event period: November 1st (Sat) and 2nd (Sun), 2025
Details:https://metsa-hanno.com/event/41016/
Cooperation: Japan Viking Association

"metsä's Nordic Christmas 2025" (free admission)
Event period: November 1st (Sat) to December 25th (Thu), 2025
Details: https://metsa-hanno.com/event/40758/
Supported by: Embassy of Sweden, Embassy of Denmark, Embassy of Finland, Embassy of Lithuania

https://metsa-hanno.com/en/News/press_release/41040/

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