MEAD

MEAD

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On paper, mead is a simple concoction.

Honey, water, yeast, then ferment and voila!

A luscious golden nectar of the Gods!

But beneath the veneer of simplicity, is not only a complex beverage, but one with a rich history.

Some would call it a product of being one of the oldest alcoholic beverages on the planet.

Ancient pottery found in both Asia and Europe, suggests that mead has been around for the past 8,000 to 9,000 years, with potential origins dating as far back as 20,000 B.C.

Given its short list of base ingredients, it’s certainly not difficult to imagine ancient civilizations enjoying hearty glassfuls of mead.

Some historians suggest that mead was discovered by accident.

There's an old lore that says people noticed bears acting 'funny' after drinking from a puddle, where a bee hive had fallen and decided to take a sip.

Honey mixed with water during a rainstorm, fermented via natural wild yeasts, had produced something drinkable, well the bears thought so, anyway.

Crazy to imagine inebriated bears stumbling around after going on a Mead bender!

Given bees’ connection to honey and mead’s necessity of the nutrient-rich substance, it’s no surprise that the histories of Mead and bees are intertwined.

Where there are bees, there is honey, and when there’s honey, there’s been mead.

While fermented honey was originally consumed on its own, it wasn’t long before it was deemed, by accident or not, an ingredient for alcohol production.

Popular media has the world convinced that the Vikings drank mead like water.

A bit of an exaggeration, but it’s probable that everyone’s favorite Scandinavian raiders dabbled with mead making.

Known for their beekeeping practices, the Vikings would gather pure honey by placing honeycombs in a cloth bag and allowing them to drain.

Afterwards, these combs were crushed with the beehive into water for a second-tier mead.

The fact that the Vikings produced two different types of mead (with the pure honey versions reserved only for royalty) explains why mead declined in popularity during the 1600s: it was too expensive to make.

Despite mead’s fall from popularity in the 1600s, it still remained a regal drink with an illustrious history.

After all, how can one forget a beverage that single-handedly coined the term 'honeymoon'?

That’s right - it’s not just the one-week Hawaiian vacation with your hubby.

Honeymoon came from the ancient tradition of giving newlywed’s a month’s worth (or moon cycle’s worth) of honey-wine, in other words~Mead

Today, mead is enjoying a resurgence in popularity.

Brick-and-mortar meaderies are on the rise, and the drink is a highlight of medieval festivals around the world.

Mead is a royal beverage that proudly wears the tales of kings, queens, knights, and Vikings like medals of honor.

And who doesn’t want to feel like royalty every once in a while?

Skol!!!!

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https://www.batchmead.com/

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