Editing Mead (section)

==Varieties==
Mead can have a wide range of flavors depending on the source of the honey, additives (also known as "adjuncts" or "[[gruit]]") including fruit and spices, the [[yeast (wine)|yeast]] employed during [[fermentation (wine)|fermentation]], and the aging procedure.<ref name="sps" />  Some producers have erroneously marketed white wine sweetened and flavored with honey after fermentation as mead, sometimes spelling it "meade."<ref name="sps" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Mead Lover's Digest #1117
| date= 24 July 2004
|url=http://www.gotmead.com/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=1094  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131215031113/http://www.gotmead.com/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=1094 |archive-date=15 December 2013 |access-date=8 December 2013 }}</ref> Some producers ferment a blend of honey and other sugars, such as white refined sugar, again, mislabeling the product as mead. This is closer in style to a [[hypocras]]. Blended varieties of mead may be known by the style represented; for instance, a mead made with cinnamon and apples may be referred to as either a ''cinnamon metheglin'' or an ''apple cyser''.
 
A mead that also contains [[spices]] (such as [[clove]]s, [[cinnamon]] or [[nutmeg]]), or [[herb]]s (such as [[Filipendula ulmaria|meadowsweet]], [[hops]], or even [[lavender]] or [[chamomile]]), is called a ''metheglin'' {{IPAc-en|m|ɪ|ˈ|θ|ɛ|ɡ|l|ɪ|n}}.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Tayleur |first1=W.H.T. |url=https://archive.org/details/penguinbookofhom0000tayl/page/292 |title=The Penguin Book of Home Brewing and Wine-Making |last2=Michael Spink |publisher=Penguin |year=1973 |isbn=978-0-14-046190-9 |page=[https://archive.org/details/penguinbookofhom0000tayl/page/292 292]}}</ref><ref>Aylett, Mary (1953). ''Country Wines'', Odhams Press. p. 79</ref>

A mead that contains fruit (such as [[raspberry]], [[blackberry]] or [[strawberry]]) is called a ''melomel'',<ref name="Tayleur, p.291">Tayleur, p. 291.</ref> which was also used as a means of [[food preservation]], keeping summer produce for the winter. A mead that is fermented with grape juice is called a ''pyment''.<ref name="Tayleur, p.291" />

[[Mulled wine|Mulled]] mead is a popular drink at [[Christmas dinner|Christmas time]], where mead is flavored with spices (and sometimes various fruits) and warmed, traditionally by having a hot poker plunged into it.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Castle Life - Medieval Drinks |url=https://www.castlesandmanorhouses.com/life_05_drink.htm |access-date=27 June 2022 |website=www.castlesandmanorhouses.com}}</ref>

Some meads retain some measure of the sweetness of the original honey, and some may even be considered as dessert wines.  Drier meads are also available, and some producers offer sparkling meads.

Historically, meads were fermented with wild [[yeast]]s and [[bacteria]] (as noted in the recipe quoted above) residing on the skins of the fruit or within the honey itself. Wild yeasts can produce inconsistent results. Yeast companies have isolated strains of yeast that produce consistently appealing products. Brewers, winemakers, and mead makers commonly use them for fermentation, including yeast strains identified specifically for mead fermentation. These are strains that have been selected because of their characteristic of preserving delicate honey flavors and aromas.{{citation needed|date=May 2020}}

Mead can also be distilled to a [[brandy]] or [[liqueur]] strength, in which case it is sometimes referred to as a [[whiskey]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Wigle Whiskey's Newest Spirit Distilled from Honey! - BumbleBerry Farms |url=https://www.bumbleberryfarms.com/2013/10/16/wigle-whiskeys-newest-spirit-distilled-from-honey/  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210518112648/https://www.bumbleberryfarms.com/2013/10/16/wigle-whiskeys-newest-spirit-distilled-from-honey/ |archive-date=18 May 2021 |access-date=22 February 2022 |website=www.bumbleberryfarms.com}}</ref> A version called "honey jack" can be made by partly freezing a quantity of mead and straining the ice out of the liquid (a process known as [[Fractional freezing#Freeze distillation|freeze distillation]]), in the same way that [[applejack (beverage)|applejack]] is made from [[cider]].{{citation needed|date=May 2021}}

===Regional variants===
In [[Finland]], a sweet mead called ''{{lang|fi|[[Sima (mead)|sima]]}}'' is connected with the Finnish [[Walpurgis Night|vappu]] festival (although in modern practice, [[brown sugar]] is often used in place of honey <ref>{{Cite web |last=Raiskila |first=Erja |date=26 April 2018 |title=Spring is sweet in Finland: funnel cakes, doughnuts and mead for May Day |url=https://finland.fi/life-society/spring-is-sweet-in-finland-funnel-cakes-doughnuts-and-mead-for-may-day/ |access-date=29 May 2024 |website=thisisFINLAND |language=en-US}}</ref>). During [[secondary fermentation (wine)|secondary fermentation]], added-[[raisin]]s augment the amount of sugar available to the yeast and indicate readiness for consumption, rising to the top of the bottle when sufficiently depleted.{{Citation needed|date=February 2021}} Sima is commonly served with both the pulp and rind of a [[lemon]].

An [[Ethiopia]]n mead variant ''[[tej]]'' (ጠጅ, {{IPA|am|ˈtʼədʒ|}}) is usually home-made and flavored with the powdered leaves and bark of ''[[gesho]]'', a [[Hops|hop-like]] [[bittering agent]] which is a species of [[buckthorn]].  A sweeter, less-alcoholic version (honey-water) called ''berz'', aged for a shorter time, is also made.
<!-- iQhilika is specifically a type of Umqombothi (beer-like), but is a brand. It is not the name/category for mead. -->

In [[Kenya]], a mead variant called ''[[Muratina]]'' is usually home-made which is used during a number of different important religious and social events.

[[Mead in Poland]] and [[Ireland]] has been part of culinary tradition for over a thousand years.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Polska miodem stała |url=http://www.smakizpolski.com.pl/chcialbys-wiedziec-miodzie-pitnym/ |access-date=31 May 2017 |website=www.smakizpolski.com.pl |language=pl-PL}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Synowiec|first1=A.|last2=Wzorek|first2=W.|last3=Baca|first3=E. |title=Miody pitne - historia, regulacje prawne oraz technologia produkcji |journal=Przemysł Fermentacyjny i Owocowo-Warzywny|date=23 January 2024 |volume=54 |issue=54|pages=11–12|url=https://agro.icm.edu.pl/agro/element/bwmeta1.element.agro-4dc754d6-8ef2-446a-8912-e72617acfb5a}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Grape and Wine Biotechnology |isbn=978-953-51-2692-8 |chapter=Chapter 19: The Trends and Prospects of Winemaking in Poland|editor1-first=Antonio|editor1-last=Morata|editor2-first=Iris|editor2-last=Loira |date=2016|publisher=IntechOpen |doi=10.5772/64976 |chapter-url=https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/52103}}</ref>

[[Mead in the United States|In the United States, mead]] is enjoying a resurgence, starting with small home [[meaderies]] and now with a number of small commercial [[meaderies]].<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Gittleson |first1=Kim |date=2 October 2013 |title=The drink of kings makes a comeback |work=[[BBC News Online]] |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-24184527 |access-date=3 October 2013}}</ref> As mead becomes more widely available, it is seeing increased attention and exposure from the news media.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Bender |first1=Andrew |title=Top 10 Food Trends |work=Forbes |url=https://www.forbes.com/pictures/ehlk45lii/mead/  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111027232622/http://www.forbes.com/pictures/ehlk45lii/mead |archive-date=27 October 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=24 November 2013 |title=Mead, the honey-based brew producing a real buzz |work=CBS News |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/mead-the-honey-based-brew-producing-a-real-buzz/}}</ref> This resurgence can also been seen around the world in the UK and Australia particularly with session (lower alcohol styles)<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=[[Wired UK]]|url=https://www.wired.co.uk/article/big-growth-small-beer|title=The big rise in small beer is the beginning of the end for hangovers|first=Nicole|last=Kobie|date=8 August 2020}}</ref> sometimes called hydromel<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bar news {{!}} Gosnells creates low-alcohol mead |date=2 January 2020 |url=https://barmagazine.co.uk/gosnells-creates-low-alcohol-mead/ |access-date=27 April 2022 |language=en-US}}</ref> and Mead-Beer Hybrids also known as Braggots.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Something To Braggot About |url=https://craftypint.com/news/2724/something-to-braggot-about |access-date=27 April 2022 |website=The Crafty Pint}}</ref>

In the [[Philippines]], local mead makers are also putting mead back into the radar of liquor and alcohol aficionados. In fact, to promote mead in the country, the Philippines had its first International Mead Day celebration for the first time ever on 3 August 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |title=First-Ever International Mead Day Celebration in the Philippines Takes Place This August |url=https://www.wheninmanila.com/first-ever-international-mead-day-celebration-in-the-philippines-takes-place-this-august/#google_vignette |access-date=28 August 2024 |website=When In Manila|date=31 July 2024 }}</ref>

===Mead variants===
{{more citations needed|section|date=April 2018}}
[[File:Honey-Fruit-Mead-Brewing.jpg|upright|thumb|right|A [[homebrewing|homebrewed]] melomel]]
 
[[File:Medica (Međimurje).jpg|upright|thumb|Bottles of "medica" (r.meditsa) – a mead made in [[Međimurje County]], northern [[Croatia]]]]
[[File:Trójniak miód.JPG|upright|thumb|Trójniak – a [[Mead in Poland|Polish mead]], made using two units of water for each unit of honey]]

* Acerglyn: A mead made with honey and maple syrup.
*[[Bais (wine)|Bais]]: A native mead from the [[Mandaya]] and [[Manobo people]] of eastern [[Mindanao]] in the [[Philippines]]. It is made from honey and water fermented for at least five days to a month or more.<ref name="Garvan1912">{{Cite journal |last1=Garvan |first1=John M. |date=1912 |title=Report on the drinks and drinking among the Mandaya, Manobo, and Mangguangan Tribes |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.27242 |journal=The Philippine Journal of Science: Section A |volume=7 |pages=106–114}}</ref>
* [[Balché]]: A native Mexican version of mead.
* Bilbemel: A melomel mead made with blueberries, blueberry juice, or sometimes used for a varietal mead that uses blueberry blossom honey.
* Black mead: A name was sometimes given to the blend of honey and [[blackcurrant]]s.
* Blue mead: A type of mead where fungal spores are added during the first fermentation, lending a blue tint to the final product.{{Citation needed|date=May 2024}}
* [[Bochet]]: A mead where the honey is caramelized or burned separately before adding the water. Yields toffee, caramel, chocolate, and toasted marshmallow flavors.
* Bochetomel: A bochet-style mead that also contains fruit such as elderberries, black raspberries and blackberries.
* [[:wikt:bragget|Braggot]]: Also called bragot, brackett and bragget. Welsh origin ([[Beer in Wales|bragawd]]). A mead made from malt in addition to honey. Hops are an optional ingredient.<ref name="Schramm"/> Contrary to the modern definition, historic braggot was most often a back sweetened spiced ale.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Braggot |url=https://medievalmeadandbeer.wordpress.com/braggot/ |access-date=24 April 2023 |website=medievalmeadandbeer.wordpress.com|date=8 January 2018 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Dictionary of Obsolete and Provincial English |url=https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofobso01wrigiala/page/n16/mode/1up?view=theater |volume=1 |author=Wright, Thomas|author-link=Thomas Wright (antiquarian) |year=1880 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofobso01wrigiala/page/247/mode/1up 247]–248 |publisher=London: G. Bell}}</ref>  
* [[Byais]]: A native mead of the [[Mansaka people]] of the [[Philippines]] made by fermenting [[Alpinia galanga|galanga]] roots with honey.<ref name="Garcia">{{Cite journal |last1=Garcia |first1=Ian Rav |date=28 February 2019 |title=Back in Maragusan |url=http://mindanaotimes.com.ph/2019/02/28/wanderlust-back-in-maragusan/ |journal=Mindanao Times |access-date=19 August 2021 |archive-date=19 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210819091546/http://mindanaotimes.com.ph/2019/02/28/wanderlust-back-in-maragusan/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* Capsicumel: A mead flavored with chili peppers; the peppers may be hot or mild.
* [[Chouchen]]: A kind of mead made in [[Brittany]].
* [[Coffeemel]]: Mead made with coffee.<ref>{{Cite web |title=First-Drinking Like a Viking: The Beat Asia Tries La Mesa Mead |url=https://thebeat.asia/manila/delish/reviews/drinking-like-a-viking-the-beat-asia-tries-la-mesa-mead |access-date=28 August 2024 |website=The Beat Manila}}</ref>
* Cyser: A melomel mead made from home honey and [[apple]]s. If most of the fermentable sugar comes from honey, you get a cyser. If most of the fermentable sugar comes from apples, you get a honey ''[[cider]]''.
* [[Czwórniak]] <small>([[Protected Geographical Status|TSG]])</small>: A Polish mead, made using three units of water for each unit of honey.
* Dandaghare: A mead from [[Nepal]], that combines honey with [[Himalayas|Himalayan]] herbs and spices. It has been produced since 1972 in the city of [[Pokhara]].
* [[Dwójniak]] <small>([[Protected Geographical Status|TSG]])</small>: A Polish mead, made using equal amounts of water and honey.
* Gverc or medovina: [[Croatia]]n mead prepared in [[Samobor]] and many other places. The word "gverc" or "gvirc' is from the [[German language|German]] "{{lang|de|Gewürze}}" and refers to various spices added to mead.
* Hydromel: Name derived from the [[Greek language|Greek]] ''hydromeli'', i.e. literally "water-honey" (see also ''melikraton'' and ''hydromelon''). It is also the [[French language|French]] name for mead. (See also and compare with the [[Italian language|Italian]] ''idromele'' and [[Spanish language|Spanish]] ''hidromiel'' and ''[[aguamiel]]'', the [[Catalan language|Catalan]] ''hidromel'' and ''aiguamel'', [[Galician language|Galician]] ''augamel'', and [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] ''[[:pt:Hidromel|hidromel]]''). It is also used as a name for light or low-alcohol mead.
* [[Kabarawan]]: An extinct alcoholic drink from the [[Visayas Islands]] of the [[Philippines]] made with honey and the pounded bark of the ''[[Neolitsea villosa]]''<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Scott |first1=William Henry |date=1990 |title=Sixteenth-Century Visayan Food and Farming |journal=Philippine Quarterly of Culture and Society |volume=18 |issue=4 |pages=291–311 |jstor=29792029}}</ref><ref name="Demetrio">{{Cite journal |last1=Demetrio |first1=Feorillo Petronilo A. III |date=2012 |title=Colonization and Alcoholic Beverages of Early Visayans from Samar and Leyte |url=https://ejournals.ph/article.php?id=8021 |journal=Malay |volume=25 |issue=1 |pages=1–18}}</ref>
* Medica/medovica: [[Slovenia]]n, [[Croatia]]n and [[Slovakia|Slovak]] variety of mead.
* Medovina: [[Czech Republic|Czech]], [[Croatia]]n, [[Serbia]]n, [[Montenegro|Montenegrin]], [[North Macedonia|Macedonia]],[[Bulgaria]]n, [[Bosnia]]n and [[Slovakia|Slovak]] for mead. Commercially available in the Czech Republic, [[Slovakia]] and presumably other [[Central Europe|Central]] and [[Eastern-European]] countries.
* [[Medovukha]]: Eastern [[Slavs|Slavic]] variant (honey-based [[fermented drink]]).<ref name="ref1">{{Cite web|date=30 March 2009|title=Russian Honey Drink|url=https://englishrussia.com/2009/03/29/russian-honey-drink/|access-date=2 January 2023|website=English Russia|language=en-US}}</ref>
* Melomel: A type of mead that also contains fruit.
* Metheglin: Metheglin is traditional mead with herbs or spices added. Some of the most common metheglins are [[ginger]], [[tea]], [[Orange (fruit)|orange]] peel, [[nutmeg]], [[coriander]], cinnamon, cloves or [[vanilla]]. Its name indicates that many metheglins were originally employed as [[folk medicine]]s. The [[Welsh language|Welsh]] word for mead is ''{{lang|cy|medd}}'', and the word "metheglin" derives from ''{{lang|cy|meddyglyn}}'', a compound of ''{{lang|cy|meddyg}}'', "healing" + ''{{lang|cy|llyn}}'', "liquor". In the past, the drink was prepared by mixing honey with a decoction of herbs.<ref>{{cite book |title=A Sip Through Time |date=1995 |pages=32 |author=Renfrow, Cindy |publisher=C. Renfrow |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=veAgAQAAIAAJ |isbn=9780962859830}} quote: "Metheglyn is made of honny and water, & herbes, boyled and sodden togyther..." [[Andrew Boorde]], ''The Regyment, or a Dyetary of Helth'', 1542.</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=The Haven of Health |url=https://archive.org/details/McGillLibrary-osl_haven-health_BO2333_C676h1612-20150/page/n3/mode/2up |author=Cogan, Thomas |author-link=Thomas Cogan (Tudor physician) |year=1612 |page=[https://archive.org/details/McGillLibrary-osl_haven-health_BO2333_C676h1612-20150/page/220/mode/2up?q=honny 221] |publisher=London: Printed by Melch. Bradwood for John Norton}}</ref>
* [[Midus]]: [[Lithuania]]n for mead, made of natural bee honey and berry juice. Infused with carnation blossoms, acorns, poplar buds, juniper berries, and other herbs.  Generally, between 8% and 17% alcohol,<ref>{{Cite news |date=24 July 2015 |title=Lithuanian Mead - The world's oldest alcoholic drink |work=The Baltic Review |url=http://baltic-review.com/culinary-heritage-lithuanian-mead-the-worlds-oldest-alcoholic-drink/ |access-date=24 February 2018}}</ref> it is also distilled to produce mead nectar or mead balsam, with some of the varieties having as much as 75% of alcohol.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lietuviškas midus {{!}} Mead balsam |url=http://midus.lt/en/mead-balsam/ |access-date=24 February 2018 |website=midus.lt}}</ref>
* Mõdu: An Estonian traditional fermented drink with a taste of honey and an alcohol content of 4.0%<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mead |url=http://www.saku.ee/eng/beverages/mead  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150309045006/http://www.saku.ee/eng/beverages/mead |archive-date=9 March 2015 |access-date=17 February 2015 |publisher=[[Saku Brewery]] }}</ref>
* Morat: a blend of honey and [[mulberries]].
* [[Mulsum (drink)|Mulsum]]: Mulsum is not a true mead, but is unfermented honey blended with a high-alcohol wine.
* Mungitch:<ref>{{Cite news |date=14 December 2015 |title=Indigenous 'first summer' season of birak gets off to a late start |language=en-AU |work=ABC News |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-12-14/celebrating-birak-the-noongar-first-summer/7027324 |access-date=29 April 2022}}</ref> A party drink made in Western Australia, by Indigenous [[Noongar]] using flowers from the [[Nuytsia|moodjar]] tree([[Nuytsia floribunda]])  are traditionally used to make a sweet mead-like beverage during birak (the first summer in the Indigenous Noongar calendar) the moodjar tree is a very sacred tree to the Noongar peoples.
* Myod: Traditional Russian mead, historically available in three major varieties:
** aged mead: a mixture of honey and water or berry juices, subject to a very slow (12–50 years) anaerobic fermentation in airtight vessels in a process similar to the traditional [[balsamic vinegar]], creating a rich, complex and high-priced product.
** boiled mead: a drink closer to beer, brewed from boiled wort of diluted honey and herbs, very similar to modern [[medovukha]].
** drinking mead: a kind of honey wine made from diluted honey by traditional fermentation.
* [[Nectar (drink)|Nectars]]: Typically fermented to below 6% [[ABV]], they often incorporate other flavours such as [[fruit]]s, herbs and [[spice]]s.
* [[:wikt:omphacomel|Omphacomel]]: A mead recipe that blends honey with [[verjuice]]; could therefore be considered a variety of pyment (''q.v.''). From the Greek ''omphakomeli'', literally "unripe-grape-honey".
*[[Oxymel]]: Another historical mead recipe, blending honey with [[wine]] [[vinegar]]. From the Greek {{lang|grc|ὀξύμελι}} ''oxymeli'', literally "vinegar-honey" (also ''oxymelikraton'').
* Pitarrilla: [[Maya peoples|Mayan]] drink made from a fermented mixture of wild honey, [[Lonchocarpus|balché-tree]] bark and fresh water.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=La Barre |first1=Weston |date=1938 |title=Native American Beers |url=http://www.samorini.it/doc1/alt_aut/lr/labarre_bir.pdf |url-status=live |journal=American Anthropologist |volume=40 |issue=2 |pages=224–234 |doi=10.1525/aa.1938.40.2.02a00040 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.samorini.it/doc1/alt_aut/lr/labarre_bir.pdf |archive-date=9 October 2022 |access-date=18 September 2016 |doi-access=free}}</ref>
* [[Mead in Poland|Półtorak]] <small>([[Protected Geographical Status|TSG]])</small>: A Polish great mead, made using two units of honey for each unit of water.
* Pyment: a melomel made from the fermentation of a blend of grapes and honey. If most of the fermentable sugars come from honey, it is considered a pyment. If most of the fermentable sugars come from grapes, it is considered a honeyed wine.<ref name="mead style guidelines">{{Cite web |last1=Gordon Strong |last2=Kristen England |title=2015 Mead Guidelines |url=http://www.bjcp.org/docs/2015_Guidelines_Mead.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.bjcp.org/docs/2015_Guidelines_Mead.pdf |archive-date=9 October 2022 |access-date=7 December 2016 |website=[[Beer Judge Certification Program]] |page=5 |quote=A Pyment is a melomel made with grapes (generally from juice). Pyments can be red, white, or blush, just as with wine.}}</ref><ref name="Mazer Cup">{{Cite web |title=Mazer Cup Guidelines (commercial) |url=http://mead-makers.org/mazer-cup-guidelines-commercial  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161108091551/http://mead-makers.org/mazer-cup-guidelines-commercial/ |archive-date=8 November 2016 |access-date=7 December 2016 |website=American MEad Makers Association |quote=Pyment: Honeywine made with grapes/grape juice/grape concentrate.}}</ref> In previous centuries ''[[:wikt:piment|piment]]'' was synonymous with [[Hippocras]], a grape wine with honey added post-fermentation.<ref name="Altered State">{{Cite book |last1=Earnshaw |first1=Steven |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mV_Yc6eCtS0C&q=%22piment%22%20wine&pg=PA28 |title=The Pub in Literature: England's Altered State |date=2000 |publisher=Manchester University Press |isbn=978-0-7190-5305-4 |page=28}}</ref>
*Quick mead: A type of mead recipe that is meant to age quickly, for immediate consumption.  Because of the techniques used in its creation, short mead shares some qualities found in cider (or even [[light ale]]): primarily that it is [[carbonation|effervescent]], and often has a cidery taste.{{citation needed|date=October 2022}} It can also be champagne-like.
* Red mead: A form of mead made with [[redcurrant]]s.
* Rhodomel: made from honey, water and flowers. From the Greek {{lang|grc|ῥοδόμελι}} ''rhodomeli'', literally "rose-honey". [[Rose hip]]s, rose petals or [[rose oil|rose attar]] are most commonly used today, yet historical meads were commonly made with other flowers, such as heather, elderflowers, hibiscus or dandelion.<ref name="Buhner" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Angotti |first=Laura |title=Wellcome Mead: 105 Mead Recipes from 17th and 18th Century English Receipt Books at the Wellcome Library |publisher=Mt. Gilboa Miscellany |year=2019 |isbn=978-1732464612 |edition=2nd}}</ref>
* Rubamel: A specific type of melomel made with raspberries.
* Sack mead: This refers to a mead that is made with more honey than is typically used.  The finished product contains a higher-than-average ethanol concentration (meads at or above 14% ABV are generally considered to be of [[sack (wine)|sack]] strength) and often retains a high [[specific gravity]] and elevated levels of sweetness, although dry sack meads (which have no residual sweetness) can be produced.  According to one theory, the name derives from the [[fortified wine|fortified]] [[dessert wine]] [[sherry]] (which is sometimes sweetened after fermentation) that, in England, once bore the nickname "sack".<ref>[http://www.winepros.com.au/jsp/cda/reference/oxford_entry.jsp?entry_id=2790 Sack] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080726232320/http://www.winepros.com.au/jsp/cda/reference/oxford_entry.jsp?entry_id=2790 |date=26 July 2008 }} in the ''Oxford Companion to Wine''</ref> In Another theory is that the term is a phonetic reduction of "[[sake]]" the name of a Japanese beverage that was introduced to the West by Spanish and Portuguese traders.<ref>{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Saké |volume=24 |page=54}}</ref>  However, this mead is quite sweet and Shakespeare referenced "sack" in Henry the IV, "If sack and sugar be a fault, God help the wicked!",<ref>{{cite wikisource|Henry IV Part 1 (1917) Yale/Text/Act II|Shakespeare, William}}</ref>  as well as 18th-century cookbooks that reference "sack mead"<ref>{{cite book |title=Cookery Book |url=https://wellcomecollection.org/works/z9ktgfbg |author=Bent, Mary (1664-1729) |page=[https://wellcomecollection.org/works/z9ktgfbg/items?canvas=51 92] |publisher=MS.1127 (wellcome collection)}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=The Experienced English Housekeeper |url=https://archive.org/details/b30522134/page/n3/mode/2up |author=Raffald, Elizabeth |author-link=Elizabeth Raffald |year=1769 |page=[https://archive.org/details/b30522134/page/310/mode/2up 311] |publisher=Manchester: J. Harrop}}</ref> by authors unlikely to have known nor tasted "sake".
* Short mead: A mead made with less honey than usual and intended for immediate consumption.
* Show mead: A term that has come to mean "plain" mead: that which has honey and water as a base, with no fruits, spices, or extra flavorings. Because honey alone often does not provide enough nourishment for the yeast to carry on its life cycle, a mead that is devoid of fruit, etc. sometimes requires a special [[yeast nutrient]] and other [[enzyme]]s to produce an acceptable finished product. In most competitions, including all those that subscribe to the [[BJCP]] style guidelines, as well as the [[International Mead Fest]], the term "traditional mead" refers to this variety (because mead is historically a variable product, these guidelines are a recent expedient, designed to provide a common language for competition judging; style guidelines ''per se'' do not apply to commercial or historical examples of this or any other type of mead).{{citation needed|date=October 2022}}
* [[Sima (mead)|Sima]]: a quick-fermented low-alcoholic Finnish variety, seasoned with lemon and associated with the festival of [[vappu]].
* Tapluchʼi: a Georgian name for mead, especially made of honey but it is also a collective name for any kind of drinkable inebriants.
* [[Tej]]/mes: an Ethiopian and Eritrean mead, fermented with wild yeasts and the addition of ''[[gesho]]''.
* Traditional mead: synonymous with "show mead," meaning it contains only honey, water, and yeast.
* [[Trójniak]] <small>([[Protected Geographical Status|TSG]])</small>: A Polish mead, made using two units of water for each unit of honey.
* Včelovina: [[Slovakia|Slovak]] alternative name for mead.
* White mead: A mead that is colored white with herbs, fruit or, sometimes, egg whites. The terms white mead and white metheglin are mentioned in 17th-century cookery books. <ref>{{cite book |title=The Closet of the Eminently Learned Sir Kenelme Digby Kt. Opened 3rd ed |url=https://archive.org/details/closetofeminentl00digb/page/n5/mode/2up |author=Digby, Kenelm |author-link=Kenelm Digby|year=1677 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/closetofeminentl00digb/page/2/mode/2up 2]–83 |publisher=London: Printed by H.C. for H. Brome}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Family Formulary and Recipe Book |url=https://archive.org/details/101235375.nlm.nih.gov/page/n1/mode/2up |author=Webb, Catherine |year=1670 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/101235375.nlm.nih.gov/page/n57/mode/2up 25]–26 |publisher= Manuscript (Internet Archive)}}</ref>
* Muratina/Kaluvu: A native mead made from the [[Kikuyu people|Kikuyu]], [[Embu people|Embu]] and [[Kamba people|Kamba]] people of [[Kenya]]. It is made by fermenting honey, water and [[Kigelia]].