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/

What Is Mead And How Do You Drink It?

From msn.com

Mead's popularity has surged in recent years, making it seem like a new addition to the category of undistilled alcohol. Benefiting from the global craft beverage movement, mead has slowly joined the ranks of other alcoholic beverages such as beer, wine, and cider on bar menus. Some might even credit books like "Harry Potter" and shows like "The Witcher" for reviving the drink that many had not heard of before — mead was popular among witches, wizards, and the general populace of both fictional worlds.

However, this amber-coloured liquid is no new invention. On the contrary, it's believed to be the oldest alcoholic beverage in existence — the first potent tipple that humans ever sipped on. Named after the Old English words medu or meodu, which mean "fermented honey drink," mead is just that: an alcoholic beverage made from a base of honey, water, and fermented using either yeast or bacterial cultures.

From there, the golden drink can be flavoured with all kinds of herbs, fruits, spices, flowers, roots, and grains. Depending on how it is made and what it contains, mead's alcohol content can range anywhere between 5% to 20%, with some versions containing as little as 3.5%. As such, meads can be consumed much the same way as beer or wine.

Mead Is An Ancient Drink Steeped In History

                                                  ©A. Aleksandravicius/Shutterstock

Mead is a drink so ancient that it's unclear who invented the drink or how it came to be. Tracing the timeline of its existence is even more convoluted because the golden elixir is mentioned in texts across several civilizations during different periods. But the earliest evidence of mead dates back to 7000 B.C. in China. The discovery of pottery jars in the northern part of the country indicates the existence of a drink made from honey, rice, and wild grapes nine millennia ago.

However, some historians claim that mead is even older, and was a staple among African tribes living 20,000 to 40,000 years ago. Regardless, the general consensus is that the amber liquid was discovered entirely by accident, after ancient settlers sipped on honey produced from beehives that were likely fermented by yeast-filled rainwater.

No matter how mead came to be, it's clear that it was a wildly popular drink across borders. Mead was a staple in early Greek and Egyptian civilizations, and the Vikings, too, were known to have a penchant for it — the honeyed liquid was an important part of religious rituals, celebrations, and an indicator of one's status in the community. Mentions of soma (an ancestor of mead) exist in the "Rig Veda," an ancient Indian text; mead has been referenced in Norse mythology; the works of Aristotle and the Welsh poet Taliesin feature the drink; and it's also mentioned in the Old English poem, "Beowulf."

Mead Was Treated As A Healing Elixir And An Aphrodisiac

                                                                ©Bhofack2/Getty Images

Far from just another alcoholic beverage, mead held great value in ancient cultures. Bees were considered messengers of the gods in European mythology, so the honey they produced — and subsequently the mead — was immensely important. The ancient Greeks thought that mead was drops of dew sent by the gods from heaven.

As humans began to drink mead, they also believed it had aphrodisiac properties. During medieval times, newlyweds would be gifted enough mead (or honey wine, as they called it) to last a full moon cycle, ensuring a prolific marriage in the months to come. This ritual of drinking honey wine for the first month of marriage gave birth to the term "honeymoon!"

Many cultures also drank mead as a medicinal potion for its purported health benefits. Greek warriors used it as a healing elixir, and fermented honey blended with leaves and herbs is mentioned as a treatment for skin conditions and leprosy in ancient Ayurvedic texts. England also has a history of infusing herbs and spices to make a mead tonic labelled as metheglin. Named after the Welsh word for physician, the concoction was used to soothe hypochondriacs, and prescribed to those suffering from symptoms of depression or indigestion. Although the health benefits of fermented honey are debated in modern research, it was certainly held in high regard throughout history.

How Is Mead Made?

Mead is often mistakenly categorized as wine, perhaps because it is made using a similar process as fermented grape juice. Water is added to thin and dilute honey, after which yeast or bacteria ferments the liquid, and turns the sugar inside into alcohol. The proportion of these three ingredients shapes mead's alcohol content, and the liquid is then left to age for added complexity.

But where wine is commonly made from grapes, mead is made primarily from honey. Although fruits can be added to flavour the drink, at least 60% of the drink must be comprised of fermented honey for it to be classified as mead. While many continue to refer to mead as honey "wine," the term more often refers to wine that has been sweetened with honey instead.

The way mead is made, or more specifically the ingredients used in its making, is also the reason why it fell out of popularity before its recent resurgence. For one, honey itself is not easy to produce, and early humans didn't have the modern-day equipment used to gather honey from bees safely. Simultaneously, sugar produced in the West Indies became a prevalent sweetener in the 17th century, rendering beekeeping and honey-making a rather unnecessary risk. The discovery of converting the sugar from malt and grapes into alcohol to produce beer and wine put the final nail in the coffin for mead, slowly pushing the honey-based drink out of the picture until recently.

Mead's Flavour Depends On Several Factors

                                        ©Kuttelvaserova Stuchelova/Shutterstock

A great many factors can influence mead's flavour. For one, there's the honey to consider; much like different types of grapes influence the character of a wine, the type of honey used will play a role in the mead's ultimate flavour. Then, there are different styles of mead — they can be still or sparkling, and sweet or semi-sweet.

In fact, while you might expect all meads to be laced with honey's syrupy flavor, there are dry versions that aren't sweet at all. Crisp like Champagne, dry meads use honey in quantities so low that all of the sugar ferments into alcohol, leaving nothing to actually sweeten the drink. In some cases, even sweet and semi-sweet meads use a method known as back-sweetening — where more honey is added at the end of fermentation to bring the sweetness.

Meads also get their flavour from additional ingredients. Traditional meads with just honey and water will have a smooth sweetness akin to white wine with a hint of acidity. On the other hand, fruit-infused meads known as melomel take on the flavour of the fruits used. Bochet meads made from caramelized honey have notes of toffee and caramel, capsicumel meads pack the heat of chilies, and omphacomel meads boast a sour tartness from unripe grapes. There are also pyment and braggot meads — the former uses grapes to make a wine and mead hybrid, whereas the latter is made from a blend of grains, and is half-beer.

How To Drink Mead

To put it simply, mead is as easy to drink as beer, cider, and wine. It can be consumed straight from the bottle, or poured into a glass. However, it's not unusual for mead to be appreciated the way wine is. Once the mead is poured into a stemmed glass, the liquid is usually swirled to allow drinkers to inhale its scent. The next step is to take small sips of the beverage and roll it around in your mouth each time. As the drink lingers on your tongue, the full extent of its flavour will develop.

Mead can also be served warm or chilled. The ideal temperature for cold mead is approximately 52 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit, but one thing to keep in mind is that the chilled temperature will inhibit your ability to fully savour the mead's nuanced flavour profile. This is why sweet or light-coloured meads are more suitable for drinking cold. If you're going to consume a strong mead that you've stored in the refrigerator, make sure to take it out at least half an hour before drinking to allow its taste and texture to blossom.

Mead can be mulled and heated up to between 122 to 131 degrees Fahrenheit for a sweeter and more caramelized flavour — but any hotter, and its flavour and aroma will quickly evaporate. Meads are also versatile enough to be turned into cocktails — think mead mimosas, mojitos, and even sangrias.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/nutrition/what-is-mead-and-how-do-you-drink-it/ss-AA1IO0ga