'Game of Thrones stuff': South Australia vineyard Maxwell Wines harnesses ancient method to produce drops worthy of a Viking raider

From skynews.com.au

An ancient beverage guzzled by the Vikings more than 1,000 years ago has been brought to life in a variety of flavours by a humble South Australian McLaren Vale winemaker 

Mark Maxwell thanks drunken Vikings for setting his family winery in South Australia on the road to prosperity.

The Vikings couldn’t get enough of their “nectar of the gods”, the honey wine they quaffed before heading into battle.

It wasn’t wine at all, of course, but the alcoholic fermented honey drink known as mead.

Intrigued by the stories he read about the Viking's love of mead, Mark’s father Ken Maxwell, a McLaren Vale farmer, began experimenting with different honeys and different yeasts to produce his own.

He sold his first bottle in 1966. The profits helped underpin the Maxwells' move into wine grape production.

Mark Maxwell expanded the business in 1987 buying vineyards and building a winery, cellar door and an award-winning restaurant in cream-coloured sandstone blocks.

He designed it with large windows to capture the views.

                                                                                McLaren Vale vintner Mark Maxwell. Picture: Supplied

“Making and selling natural mead in four varieties is still an integral part of our business,” Mr Maxwell, 73, said.

“Having goblets of mead is Game of Thrones stuff. No wonder the Vikings liked it.”

He makes the traditional honey mead with golden hues and with sweet floral beeswax and nutty and marmalade characters.

He added to his mead repertoire by creating a mulled mead with cinnamon and cloves.

“We then evolved that one into another mead where we added brandy and more spices and put it into oak barrels to make a liqueur mead with 20 per cent alcohol,” Mr Maxwell said.

“And we have just released a fourth mead containing ginger from Buderim in Queensland. We fermented that with honey to make a sparking mead in a can.

"It’s an easy summer drink with five per cent alcohol.”

                                                                                                                        Sparkling mead

Maxwell Wines benefit from a cooling maritime influence with some vineyards just 15km from the sea.

Maxwell Lime Cave Cabernet Sauvignon 2023 has aromas of red currant and cassis with flashes of “cigar box” and herbal aromatics.

There is more cassis on the palate enlivened with cedar and spice.

The fruit was harvested from a vineyard that sits atop limestone cave dug in 1916 to grow mushrooms.

Maxwell Four Roads Grenache has spicy raspberry and floral aromas with hints of pomegranate.

It has vibrant red fruit flavours with raspberry and cherry and savoury undertones.

There are rich blackberry and dark cherry fruit flavours in Maxwell Silver Hammer Shiraz 2023, an attractive and complex wine with a gentle natural acidity.

Maxwell Wines offers a decent set of whites. I especially enjoyed tasting the Maxwell Estate Fiano 2025 a creamy, textural wine with waxy apple flavours with hints of honey and pears

Travellers' tips

Maxwell Winery at 19 Olivers Rd, McLaren Vale, is 39km south of Adelaide.

Under the guidance of chef Fabian Lehmann, Maxwell Restaurant was last year named South Australian restaurant of the year.

He offers a tasting menu with up to 14 courses including oysters and caviar, chicken, squid, marron, wagyu beef and venison.

                                                                     Award-winning chef Fabian Lehmann. Picture: Supplied

There is a less formal tapas-style snacks menu in the winery tasting room.

The winery also offers a 30-minute helicopter tour of McLaren Vale across the vineyards with spectacular views of the cliffs, the ocean and the white sandy beaches.

The deal includes lunch.

https://www.skynews.com.au/lifestyle/travel/game-of-thrones-stuff-south-australia-vineyard-maxwell-wines-harnesses-ancient-method-to-produce-drops-worthy-of-a-viking-raider/news-story/00255f7cf138160744718031818b7813?amp&nk=ad3e7d747ce0a1015da4ab79fe8663b7-1785053155

Mead: History, Myths & Legends

From kinsalemeadco.ie

Mead has a long and glorious history. We have been making and drinking mead since we first managed honeybees and took their honey, since before we invented the wheel!

Learn a little about this fascinating stories, global history, myths and legends 

Mead is the oldest alcohol in the world

Mead (Miodh in Irish) or even Meade, is the world’s oldest alcoholic drink, referred to as nectar of the gods, ambrosia, honey wine or honeymoon wine. The earliest discovery of a drink fermented from honey was in northern China in 6500 BC. This means that mead is older than the wheel! In Europe, mead traces were found in ceramics from 2800-1800 BC including in Northern Scotland. This archaeological culture is known as the Beaker culture for its distinctive pottery drinking beakers.

It is the nectar of the gods in Greek mythology, drink of goddesses and was drunk in Roman times. Romans also drank wine sweetened with a spice honey syrup, technically called a Mulsum, which is often confused with authentic mead. It is the national drink of Ethiopia.

Mead is woven through global history

Another stunning discovery of mead was made in a Celtic chieftain’s wagon grave at Hochdorf near Stuttgart, Germany and dated back to 600BC. At his feet was a large bronze cauldron decorated with three lions on the rim. Mead residue was found in the cauldron and it would have held over 400 litres of mead. Along the chamber wall, eight drinking horns made of auroch horn were suspended from the chamber wall with the ninth made from iron and inlaid strips of gold and would have held five litres of mead. Luckily the celtic warrior was a giant for his time and measured at 6’2”. So he would have towered over his drinking buddies.

Ancient Irish Mead

Linguistic evidence points to bees and honey being present in Ireland prior to Christianity. Many references are made to Mead in ancient Ireland – The Tuatha De Danann Children of Lir legend references Fionnuala recalling drinking a pleasant mead of hazel nuts from four-lipped drinking cups with her family before she and her brothers were changed into swans and exiled for 900 years.

The Hill of Tara, seat of the ancient High Kings of Ireland contained the great banqueting hall known as Tech Midchuarta, The Great Mead Hall of Tara. This was a huge timber building some 45 feet high and slept up to 1,000 people. Here they drank mead from methers, large wooden mead sharing vessels with four lips and four handles.

Bealtaine or Beltane

The origins of Bealtaine or Beltane are almost as old as Irish mead itself. There are many folk beliefs some of which have pagan origins. Held at the start of May at the halfway point between the spring equinox and the summer solstice, the High King would call the local chieftains and their people together to dance around bonfires and drink mead to welcome the start of summer and generally have a good time. They would perform rituals to protect them from harm and to promote new growth and fertility. 

Cnoc Uisneach

Bealtaine or Bel taine in Old Irish, is often associated with the Hill of Uisneach (Cnoc Uisneach) in Co. Westmeath, well worth a visit. Archaeologists have confirmed the there are extensive layers of charcoal and evidence of huge fires on the hill. Though the hill is only 600 feet tall, on a clear day, you can see as far as 20 counties from the top.

St Molaga

Linguistic evidence points to honeybees and honey were present in Ireland from pre-Christian times. Beekeeping skills were bought to Ireland in the 5th century AD by a Irish monk named Modomnóc, or St Molaige, founder of the original settlement in Timoleague Tigh Molaige, not far from Kinsale along the Wild Atlantic Way.

He studied in monasteries in Iona, Scotland and in St David’s monastery in Wales, where he trained as a beekeeper. When he was sent home to start converting us to Christianity, it is said that his bees missed him and followed his ship across the Irish Sea. Irish words in for things like hive and beekeeper start to appear in the language.

St Gobnait

St Gobnait, born in the 5th-6th century, is Ireland’s patron saint of bees and beekeepers and associated with Ballyvourney in North Cork.

Gobnait is Irish for Abigail meaning ‘brings joy,’ also anglicised to Deborah. She developed a lifelong affinity with bees and was said to have control over her bees. It is believed in Celtic lore that the soul left the body as a bee or butterfly. Many legends attest to her swarms driving off raiders of her village.

It is this legend that inspired the Harry Clarke‘s stain glass window in the Honan Chapel at University College Cork. The beautiful window, finished in 1916, shows Gobnait surrounded by her bees; at her feet she is carrying a honeycomb and bees are depicted chasing away the thieves who are threatening her abbey.

Bee Judgements

Brehon Laws – Brehons were roving magistrates appointed by local kings and chieftains to arbitrate and settle disputes and help define the laws. Bechbreatha were a subset of Brehon Laws concerns with the value and protection of bees and honey. They were written down around the 7th century but were memorised and passed from Brehon to Brehon orally across the land for many centuries before that. We can learn a lot from the importance they placed on bees.

Bees were subject to laws of trespass, so a beekeeper had to give a certain amount of his honey to his neighbours where the bees foraged, depending on the quality of their meadows and orchards and abundance of nectar.

Bees that swarmed were subjected to similar rules, the original owner of the bees had rights over a certain portion of the honey. They were entitled to 1/3 of honey made in other people’s land for 3 years, depending on the ownership of the land where they were captured.

Bees were punished for stinging people. You were granted a “sufficiency” or a meal of honey if you swore an oath that you had not provoked the bees. The Brehon would draw lots on hives where they suspected the bee came from; the hive selected was forfeit for the crime of the one bee.

Bee sting in the eye – this was brought in by King Congal the one eyed, one of our earliest High Kings who had been blinded by bees. He lost his kingship, because Kings were supposed to be perfect. But he did get to keep the forfeited hive and bees.

Vikings loved Mead

Mead is all over Norse and Viking mythology. The she-goat called Heidrun who feeds on the green branches of the great world tree called Yggdrasil. From her udders flows a never ending stream of mead into a barrel in Valhalla. This supplied Odin’s chosen warriors with mead for their great feast. Valhalla, the Viking heaven, is a Great Mead Hall.

The action in Beowulf, the Old English epic poem of heroes, mead and monsters takes place in a huge mead hall called Heorot belonging to King Hrothgar. This is where the Beowulf slays the monster Grendel.

Tudor Mead

The English privateer, poet, scientist and philosopher Sir Kenelm Digby collected over 100 recipes for mead from the great houses and palaces of England in a book published in 1669. The Closet of the Eminently Learned Sir Kenelme Digbie Kt Opened. This includes the favourite mead of queens and lords, heavily flavoured with herbs and spices. He lead a fantastic life.

Queen Elizabeth I‘s favourite mead recipe was captured in a book by her beekeeper Charles Butler, which was heavily flavoured with sweetbriar, bay leaves, thyme and rosemary.

Transcription by Justin du Coeur.

One excellent Receipt I will here recite: and it is of that which our renowned
Queen Elizabeth, of happy memory, did so well like, that she would every year have
a vessel of it.
First, gather a bushel of Sweet-briar-leaves, and a bushel of Thyme, half a bushel of
Rosemary, and a peck of Bay-leaves. Seeth all these (being well washed) in a
Furnace of fair water:
let them boil the space of half an hour, or better: and then pour out all the water and
herbs into a Vat, and let it stand till it be but milk-warm: then strain the water from
the herbs, and take to every six Gallons of water one Gallon of the finest Honey, and
put it into the Born, and labor it together half an hour: then let it stand two days,
stirring it well twice or thrice each day. Then take the Liquor and boil it anew: and
when it doeth (?seed?), skim it as long as there remaineth any Dross. When it is
clear, put it into the Vat as before, and there let it be cooled. You must then have in a
readiness a Kive of new Ale or Beer, which as soon as you have emptied, suddenly
whelm it upside down, and set it up again, and presently put in the Metheglen, and let
it stand three days a working. And then tun it up in Barrels, tying at every Tap-hole
(by a Pack-thread) a little bag of beaten Cloves and Mace, to the value of an ounce. It
must stand half a year before it be drunk.

Mead in the 19th Century

Why mead disappeared as sugar arrived from New World and displaced mead in 16th-17th century. Honey was replaced by sugar cane from the America’s, whale oil for lighting instead of candles made from bees wax. Beers, ales and wines became cheaper to make in general. Natural forests cut down resulting in a massive loss of habitat and forage sources for bees and the destruction of our monasteries in religious wars lead to a loss of expertise in beekeeping.

By the time we get to the 19th century, Mead had all but disappeared. The last commercial meadery was in Dublin in the south inner city – John Donaghoe and Co. in the Freeman Journal Newspaper in 1822. He sold pipes of mead (a pipe is a port barrel, a bit bigger than a whiskey cask) and he had 200 of them on sale. He was selling his Mead and Metheglin as a “healthful beverage” for 4 shillings 4d per gallon. This is the inspiration for our wine barrel aged meads.

Kinsale Meadery is the first commercial meadery in Ireland since then, 200 years later.

https://www.kinsalemeadco.ie/history-of-mead/

The world’s oldest drink is making a comeback after more than 400 years

From metro.co.uk

By Robertson Buckhaven

Mead always makes me think of Vikings. 

Just mention the word, and I’m picturing a great, hulking dude wearing a flappy fur cloak, downing the drink from an animal horn.

Game of Thrones fans will be all too familiar with this image, as mead, or honey wine as it’s also known, was the drink of choice in certain parts of Westeros. 

Thought to be the world’s oldest fermented alcoholic drink, mead fell out of fashion in the 17th century, but now, more than 400 years later, it’s making a comeback.

Here’s everything you need to know…

                                                             The ancient drink is also known as honey wine (Picture: Getty Images)

What is mead?

Will Grubelnik, the head of production at London-based Gosnell’s, explains: ‘As apples are to cider, grapes are to wine, honey is to mead’.

In basic terms, it’s honey, mixed with water and fermented with yeast.

The diversity in flavour stems from the various types of honey that are used. Traditional meads use milder honeys like clover or orange blossom, while Acacia brings in a lemon sherbet note, and buckwheat or wildflower adds bolder flavours.

Then, you have fruit meads, spiced or apple meads.

The history of Mead

Mead isn’t just old; it couldn’t even be described as ancient, it’s actually prehistoric.

There’s archaeological evidence suggesting as far back as 7000 BC in China. Humans were fermenting honey with water, leaving it out in the sun and getting hammered on the stuff.

Other fun facts include: In Ethiopia, it’s known as ‘tej’, it was the favourite drink of Aristotle, and mead is mentioned multiple times in the ancient poem, Beowulf, from the 9th century.

                                                   It’s been hundreds of years, but mead is being drunk once more… (Picture: Getty/Metro)

Sure, the Vikings were partial to it too, but it was really monasteries across Europe that were brewing it to make an income. It was also thought to be medicinal, and sits lower in alcohol than the more lethal, monk-made concoctions such as Benedictine and Chartreuse.

So tied to the Western lexicon is the drink that the term ‘honeymoon’ comes from the tradition of drinking honey wine for a month after you get married. It was believed to increase fertility, and was taken so seriously that the bride’s father included a month’s worth of the stuff as part of his daughter’s dowry.

The mead revival

Flash forward to the 21st century, and mead might well be the most British drink (although it’s not actually British) we’ve collectively forgotten.

Probably because, as we’ve established, it has an image problem. Plus, the sweet style of the drink no longer aligns with our love of drier flavours, and hasn’t for some time.

And though I’ve heard whispers of a mead revival in the past, it’s never properly materialised. Truth be told, it’s been a rough road for the mead industry. For example, leading producer, Gosnell’s, based in Peckham, announced in 2024 that they had stopped brewing mead.

Founder, Tom Gosnell, said at the time: ‘The word “mead” has musings of high alcohol and Game of Thrones, and it has stopped us from creating the future bees merit’.

They have since changed ‘mead’ to ‘nectar’, to attract a new audience, though it’s still made the same way, from honey.

But now I’m calling it. Mead is officially having a resurgence, with new, exotic, and exciting flavours to choose from – there’s even sparkling mead, for those who love a bit of fizz.

And to my great surprise, much of it is drier and barely tastes of honey anymore. Which is a win, if I’m honest, as the idea of a drink that tastes strictly of beehive has always been a hard no for me.

It’s precisely this rich diversity of mead styles that is driving the comeback, as there’s literally something for every taste. In fact, Fortune Business Insights reports the global mead market is due to reach $1.395 million by the end of 2032. And much of this is right place, right time, more specifically, the growth of the craft side of the drinks industry.

People are actively looking for more interesting, authentic drinks with a back story, made from high-quality, local ingredients. And now, mead has entered the chat and ticks a lot of those boxes… Well, to be fair, it had entered the chat a few thousand years ago, but the point still stands.  

Where to buy mead in the UK right now…

Lyme Bay Traditional Mead, £12.00, Majestic (Mix 6)

                                                               Lyme /Bay Winery is the UK’s largest mead producer (Picture: Majestic)

Lyme Bay Winery in Axminster, Devon, is the largest UK producer of mead. Handcrafted in the rolling Devon countryside, this is amber-chestnut coloured, with notes of honeysuckle, star anise, russet pears, bruised golden apple and hazelnuts. It’s sweet, beautifully balanced and fresh. Serve it neat, on ice, with a mixer or in a cocktail (I can vouch for it being great in an Old Fashioned)

Loxwood Meadworks Festival, £22, Loxwood Meadworks (or £22.50 from Master of Malt)

                                                                         A modern take on mead (Picture: Loxwood Meadworks)

A modern take on mead from West Sussex. Aside from the top-notch packaging, the product inside is equally beguiling. The mead has been dry fermented, then sweetened with a touch of honey. This means that the yeast is left to consume almost all the honey, then ‘back sweetened’ with a measured touch of honey. The result is distinctly wine-like, with a beautiful freshness, light honeycomb and ginger notes, a lean texture and notes of yellow cherry stone and hazelnut. Very good indeed.

Gosnells Hazy Nectar, £32.50 for 12 cans, gosnells.co.uk

                                                              Gosnells rebranded mead as ‘nectar’ (Picture: Gosnells)

Since rebranding from ‘mead’ to ‘nectar’, their packaging is as fresh as the liquid inside the can. This Peckham-based company was set up in 2014, and I have to say, I admire their tenacity. I was expecting sweet and floral, but instead found myself tasting something closer to a tropically hopped IPA. It’s pretty ingenious and a logical sidestep for beer-lovers, fresh and hoppy with dry notes of lychee, green apple and freshly-baked sourdough. Delicious.

https://metro.co.uk/2026/02/28/worlds-oldest-drink-making-a-comeback-400-years-27124414/

How to Brew Your Mead Like a Viking: 3 Bold Recipe Variants

From advancedmixology.com

The oldest alcoholic concoction in the world, mead’s history can be traced back to the Middle Ages. Evident in the Scandinavian culture, literature, and mythology, mead played a vital role in the lives of Vikings. How to make Viking mead during the medieval period is an exciting process that many of us would like to know.

It is well-known that Vikings brewed their own drinks, including mead. By combining honey, yeast, and natural flavourings and allowing the mixture to ferment, they make Viking mead the traditional way. What set the Viking mead apart from the conventional mead we all know and love are the ingredients and how brewers during that time procured them.

Honey and Beekeeping

Vikings were knowledgeable when it comes to beekeeping. They used skeps or coiled domes of straw for the honeycombs. They would then collect the honeycombs from the beehive and place them in a cloth bag, allowing them to drain as much honey as possible. To get every drop of honey, they would crush the drained honeycombs (and sometimes, even the beehive) and put them into a pot of water.

The pure raw honey would produce the highest quality of mead, while the crushed combs and beehive would make mead with lesser character. But both meads would be consumed accordingly.

Traditional Flavourings and Additives

In addition to the ones that they could grow in their homelands, Vikings had access to various ingredients, thanks to their extensive trading routes. Common fruits they used for the mead include raspberries, elderberries, cherries, hawthorn berries, crabapple, rowan berries, and rose hips.

For added flavouring and preserving effects, Vikings tried adding herbs to their mead. They also traded for exotic spices such as cumin, pepper, and cardamom, which they could have used for their mead-brewing.

Wild Yeast

Today, brewers can easily buy packaged yeast and yeast nutrients from grocery stores. Vikings, on the other hand, did not have this luxury. In fact, during their time, they didn’t even know what yeast was and that they needed it to make their mead. They could have drawn wild yeast from the raw honey, fruits, and herbs to their mead must, initiating fermentation without realising it.

Here is a mead starter recipe by Jereme Zimmerman—a writer and traditional brewing revivalist who advocates natural and holistic home brewing. This mead starter, as the name suggests, can help in instigating fermentation in your wild mead. You can use it as a replacement for store-bought yeast and brew your mead just like a Viking.

How to Make Viking Mead

Ingredients

• ½ cup Raw, unfiltered honey
• 2 cups Spring water
• Natural yeast - any organic fresh or dried berries, grapes, or plums
• An additional source of wild yeast and nutrients (Optional) – a small bunch of any wild, unsprayed botanical such as wildflower petals (violets and dandelions are good)

Equipment

• 1-quart (at least) Open-mouthed vessel (glass jars or ceramic crocks are best)
• Wooden stir stick
• Clean cheesecloth, towel, or t-shirt for covering the vessel

Step-by-Step Guide

1. Put the honey and room temperature water into the open-mouthed vessel and mix them.
2. Use the stir stick to dissolve the honey fully.
3. Add the berries, dried or fresh, and the optional botanicals.
4. Place the vessel in a warm, dark place with no direct sunlight. An ideal temperature is about 70 degrees Fahrenheit or 21 degrees Celsius.
5. Cover it with a cloth.
6. Keep the stir stick accessible as you will need to stir the must at least three times a day. This way, you can incorporate any yeast that has dropped in into the mead must. It will also provide aeration to ensure a healthy fermentation.
7. After about five days (or longer during the winter), once the mixture is fizzy and foamy, your mead starter is ready.

Viking Mead Recipe Variations

Now that you already have the wild yeast to help with the fermentation, here are three simple recipes on how to make Viking mead using botanicals that you can easily find in nature.

1. Juniper Hibiscus / Hawthorn Berry and Flower Semi-Sweet Mead

This recipe uses hawthorn berries, an ingredient that the Vikings used to add to their mead during the medieval period. It will yield one gallon of semi-sweet mead. 

Ingredients

• 1 quart (about 2.3 pounds) Wildflower honey
• 1 gal Spring water
• 1 oz. Dried juniper berries
• 1 oz. Dried hibiscus flowers or 2 oz. fresh
• 0.5 oz. Meadowsweet
• 0.5 oz. Yarrow
• 4-5 Raisins
• ¼ - ½ cup Wild mead starter or 1 packet (5 g) of Lalvin D-47 or Lalvin 71-B

How to Make

1. Mix honey with water into a stockpot over medium-low heat.
2. Stir thoroughly until the honey dissolves fully.
3. Using a funnel, pour the mead must into a one-gallon carboy.
4. Add the juniper berries, hibiscus flowers, meadowsweet, yarrow, and raisins.
5. Add the wild mead starter, or if you prefer, one pack of yeast.
6. Cover the vessel with an airlock half full of water inserted into a cork.
7. Place the vessel in a warm, dark area to allow fermentation for at least one month.
8. After a month, your mead will clarify but will still be too sweet and less alcoholic. To help continue its aging and achieve a more clarified mead with high alcohol content, rack the mixture into another container.
9. Rack again at least two times, every two to three months, until you have a clear mead with minimal sediment on the bottom of the carboy.
10. The next step is to bottle the mead. Typically, a one-gallon batch should be ready for bottling in about four to six months. For you to know if it’s time to bottle, drop a bit of sugar into the mead or stir it carefully. If it produces bubbles, then it means that the mead is still fermenting. You may also try to place a lid on the container and wait for a few days before gently opening it. If you hear any fizzing sound, the mead is still fermenting.
11. Bottle the mead using wine bottles, beer bottles, or flip-top bottles with new caps. Let it age for at least six months to one year. 

2. Spring Wildflower Mead

This all-natural recipe will require some foraging during spring when most wildflowers are in bloom. You can use wild violets, honeysuckles, dandelions, clovers, and Rose of Sharon. Be sure to use only the petals, as any greens may cause bitterness. Also, avoid foraging from areas that are not pesticide-free.

You can use other flowers as well, including roses, marigold, lavender, hawthorn (mayflower), and elderflower.

Ingredients

• 1 quart (about 2.3 pounds) Wildflower honey
• 1 gal Spring water
• 1-3 pints of tightly packed flowers
• 8-10 Organic raisins
• Lemon or orange
• A small oak leaf
• ¼ - ½ cup Wild mead starter or 1 packet (5 g) of Lalvin D-47 or Lalvin 71-B

How to Make

1. Put the honey and water into a stockpot over medium-low heat.
2. Stir the mixture thoroughly until the honey dissolves fully.
3. Pour the must into a one-gallon carboy using a funnel,
4. Add the flowers, setting aside a few for later use.
5. Squeeze in some lemon or orange juice. A couple of squeezes should do the trick.
6. Add the organic raisins and small oak leaf for added tannins and nutrients.
7. Add the wild mead starter or one pack of yeast.
8. Install the airlock.
9. Allow the mixture to ferment for at least one month.
10. After a month, rack the mixture into another container, adding the remaining wildflowers for a more potent floral aroma.
11. Rack again at least two times every two to three months.
12. Bottle the mead if you think it’s ready.

3. Garlic Mushroom Cooking / Dessert Mead

Besides being a refreshing drink, mead can also be an excellent replacement for wine when cooking. This recipe will produce a delicious dessert mead or cooking mead, depending on the honey-to-water ratio that you will use. With garlic as an ingredient, this mead offers many health benefits, including immune system boosting.

Ingredients 

• 2 ½ lbs. Honey or 4 lbs. honey for dessert mead
• 3 gal Spring water
• 4-12 heads Garlic
• 2 cups Chopped fresh shiitake mushrooms or 1 cup mushroom tea
• 8-10 Raisins
• Wild yeast
• ¼ - ½ cup Wild mead starter

How to Make

1. Prepare the must by heating water and honey. Use 2 ½-pound honey for cooking mead or four pounds of honey if you like sweeter, dessert mead.
2. Peel each garlic clove and chop or smash it. Add the garlic to the must, saving some for later use.
3. Add the mushrooms. You can do it in two ways.
4. You may put the mushrooms directly into the must. Or
5. Prepare a mushroom tea, then add the tea to the must. This way, racking will be less messy.
6. Add the wild yeast and let the mead ferment.
7. After a month, add the remaining garlic for a strong garlic aroma.
8. Bottle the mead.

Back to the Basics

The Vikings made their mead the traditional way, taking advantage of the available resources during their time. The result is a sweet-tasting alcoholic drink that has miraculously made its way to our modern times. How to make Viking mead requires going back to the basics of brewing, using all-natural ingredients, and the simplest of equipment.

https://advancedmixology.com/blogs/art-of-mixology/how-to-make-viking-mead?srsltid=AfmBOor4KEL__YZm403ZP5gkyVZDoUfGEdWGgOnkjdBilEL-Q4j6hwSQ