What you need
In its simplest form, all you need to make mead is honey, water, yeast and a container for the mixture.Of course, you can expand the process in hundreds of ways from there, adding everything from a yeast nutrient, to fruit, herbs, spices and orange to enhance the flavor. The internet is filled with groups willing to share recipes and advice.Milk jugs will work as brewing containers, but stores such as Beverage World sells home-brewing beer kits that will also work. Like many hobbies, you can spend as much or as little as you want on equipment. That’s part of the fun, says Scott Samuels with Beverage World.Here are some links to get you started:* stormthecastle.com/mead/what-you-need-to-make-mead.htm* homebrewing.org/How-to-Make-Mead_ep_40-1.html* homebrewersassociation.org/how-to-brew/making-mead-heat-or-no-heat
We don't know exactly when the first human stumbled across a beehive that had gotten enough water in it to allow for fermentation to take place, but we can imagine it was a good day.
The details are unknown because it happened long before people started documenting their every meal on social media. People at that time didn't even have smartphones, so it's not exactly clear how the lucky pioneers shared their discovery, or their killer recipes, but word did get around.
The best estimate is that the first mead was produced on the Greek island of Crete about 8,000 years ago.
The point is, mead, or honey wine, and its many varietals including blends made with grapes, apples, spices, herbs, currants, edible plants or verjuice (made with unripe grapes, crabapples or other sour fruit) has been around a very long time. It was known by many as "the nectar of the gods" and King Tut himself was reportedly a fan.
These days, it has become a favorite of brewers looking to try something other than making beer or wine.
In 2017, mead was predicted to be a top 10 worldwide trend in food last year by several online publications. Upserve.com reported that the growth is in commercial sales, homebrewing and in the culinary world.
Calvin Cummings, beer specialist at Imbibe Chattanooga, says he has seen an increase in sales and the number of brands of mead in the last year or so.
"Depending on the week, we are now selling about a case a week," instead of a couple of bottles, he says.
Prices range from about $7 or $8 a bottle to $20-$25 for a 500-milliliter bottle, says Cummings.
"B. Nektar is the most popular and it goes for about $8," he adds.
Mead has been enjoyed the world over - just about anywhere bees can be found - by kings and queens, princes and paupers, workers and sailors. It's been a favorite of brewers for years because of its ease to make.
In addition to being easy to make, mead can be augmented with a variety of things that both enhance its flavor and its medicinal values.
"The sky's the limit with mead," says Scott Samuels, home-brew manager at Beverage World in Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia. And experimentation is a big part of the appeal for brewers. "Experimenting is really, really great. You can let your mad scientist come out. What you can do is insane."
Patrick Ironwood is co-director/co-founder of the Sequatchie Valley Institute, an educational organization located on 300 acres of land near Dunlap that has been "manicured for edibles and plants." He has been brewing beer, wine and mead for decades, and says mead has an added quality to it dating back generations.
"On a more esoteric level, mead is often attributed to having more magical qualities," Ironwood says.
This could be in part because it has been featured in literary works from "Beowulf" to "The Hobbit," and can be found referenced in Norse legends and medieval tales.
Ironwood has brewed hundreds of different types of mead over the last 30 years, often utilizing the herbs, fruits, shrubs and other edible plants grown on the institute's land.
"Since the '80s, we have continued to plant plants like herbs, shrubs, trees, you name it, that can be used for medicine or food or both," he says.
For some, says Ironwood, mead can only contain honey and water, but he prefers to experiment. He feels that wine and mead are not only a tasty delivery system, they are a great way to preserve beneficial ingredients. "A lot of people think only of the alcohol, but meads and wines can also contain nutrients, minerals and vitamins," he explains.
Adding things like fruits are an obvious option, but you can also add herbs and even certain teas. When these are added and how depends on the blend. Some teas can be steeped separately and added after the mead has fermented, for example.
"Mead is such a deep subject," Ironwood says.
He rarely drinks alcohol these days, but says he still very much enjoys the brewing process and the data he can gather from brewing his own batches and from other brewers.
"Another thing to explore is how it ages over time. I have some that are 20-25 years old," he says. Like other brews, time and how it is stored can impact the bitterness or smoothness of the drink.
Ironwood regularly meets with fellow brewers who bring samples of their work and the group sits around and tastes the brews and shares everything from the types of water they used to if and how they filtered the honey to how long they let it ferment.
"It's an amazing way to school each other," Ironwood says.