Editing Mead

{{Short description|Alcoholic beverage made from honey}}
{{About|the alcoholic beverage}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox drink
| name        = Mead
| image       = Swedish_Mead.JPG
| caption     = Swedish [[elderflower]]-flavored mead.
| type        = [[fermented beverage]]
| abv         = 3.5–20.5%
| proof       = 7°–41°
| ingredients = [[honey]], water, fruit, herbs, spices
| color       = pale yellow
| flavor      = dry, sweet or semi-sweet
| variants    = metheglyn, [[chouchen]], [[bochet]]
| related     = [[tej]], [[midus]], [[medovukha]], [[Bais (wine)|bais]], [[balché]]
| website     =
}}

'''Mead''' ({{IPAc-en|m|iː|d}}), also called '''honey wine''', and '''hydromel''' (particularly when low in alcohol content), is an [[alcoholic beverage]] made by [[fermenting]] [[honey]] mixed with water, and sometimes with added ingredients such as [[fruit]]s, [[spice]]s, [[grain]]s, or [[hops]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mead dictionary definition &#124; mead defined |url=https://www.yourdictionary.com/mead |website=www.yourdictionary.com}}</ref><ref>Beer is produced by the fermentation of grain, but the grain can be used in mead provided it is strained off immediately. As long as the primary substance fermented is still honey, the drink is still mead.{{Cite book|last=Fitch|first=Ed|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kg8nObaAZMEC|title=The Rites of Odin|date=1990|publisher=Llewellyn Worldwide|edition=1st|isbn=978-0-87542-224-4|page=290}}</ref><ref>Hops are better known as the bitter ingredient of [[beer]]. However, they have also been used in mead both ancient and in modern times. The ''Legend of Frithiof'' mentions hops: {{Cite journal |last1=Mohnike |first1=G.C.F. |date=September 1828 – January 1829 |title=Tegner's Legend of Frithiof |journal=The Foreign Quarterly Review |location=London |publisher=Treuttel and Würtz, Treuttel, Jun and Richter |volume=III |quote=He next ... bids ... Halfdan recollect ... that to produce mead hops must be mingled with the honey;}} That this formula is still in use is shown by the recipe for "Real Monastery Mead" in {{Cite book|last=Molokhovets|first=Elena|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ttlCGJxfLRUC|title=Classic Russian Cooking: Elena Molokhovets' A Gift to Young Housewives|date=1998|publisher=Indiana University Press|isbn=978-0-253-21210-8 | translator = Joyce Stetson |page=474}}</ref> The alcoholic content ranges from about 3.5% [[ABV]]<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Lichine |first1=Alexis |title=Alexis Lichine's new encyclopedia of wines & spirits |date=1987 |publisher=Knopf |oclc=1244230688}}</ref> to more than 20%. Possibly the most ancient alcoholic drink, the defining characteristic of mead is that the majority of the beverage's fermentable sugar is derived from honey.<ref name="Gayre">{{Cite book |last1=Gayre |first1=Robert |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vyFHAAAAYAAJ |title=Brewing Mead |publisher=Brewers Publications |year=1986 |isbn=978-0-937381-00-7 |page=158 |quote=...Therefore to our synopsis: Mead is the general name for all drinks made of honey.}}</ref> It may be still, carbonated, or naturally sparkling, and despite a common misconception that mead is exclusively sweet, it can also be dry or semi-sweet.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Rose |first1=Anthony H. |title=Alcoholic Beverages |publisher=Academic Press |year=1977 |location=Michigan |page=413}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Fitzsimons |first=Tim |date=1 May 2011 |title=Medieval No More: Mead Enjoys A Renaissance |url=https://www.npr.org/2011/05/01/135818740/medieval-no-more-mead-enjoys-a-renaissance |access-date=24 June 2024 |work=[[NPR]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=3 January 2011 |title=Mead leaves the dark ages behind |url=https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/mead-leaves-the-dark-ages-behind-20110103-19dmr.html |access-date=24 June 2024 |work=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]}}</ref>

Mead that also contains [[spices]] is called '''{{Wikt-lang|en|metheglin}}''' ({{IPAc-en|m|ɪ|ˈ|θ|ɛ|ɡ|l|ɪ|n}}), and mead that contains fruit is called '''melomel'''. The term '''honey wine''' is sometimes used as a synonym for mead,<ref name="Morse">{{Cite book |last1=Morse |first1=Roger |title=Making Mead (Honey Wine) |publisher=Wicwas Press |year=1992 |isbn=978-1-878075-04-8}}</ref><ref name="Schramm">{{Cite book |last1=Schramm |first1=Ken |title=The Compleat Meadmaker: Home Production of Honey Wine From Your First Batch to Award-winning Fruit and Herb Variations |publisher=Brewers Publications |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-937381-80-9}}</ref> although wine is typically defined to be the product of fermented [[grape]]s or certain other fruits,<ref name="Oxford-wine-775">{{Cite book |last1=Robinson |first1=Jancis |title=The Oxford Companion to Wine |date=1999 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |edition=2nd |page=775 |author-link=Jancis Robinson}}</ref> and some cultures have honey wines that are distinct from mead. The honey wine of [[Hungary]], for example, is the fermentation of honey-sweetened [[pomace]] of grapes or other fruits.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History of beer in Hungary |url=http://pepin.blogter.hu/89805/a_sor_es_a_magyar_mult |archive-url=https://archive.today/20100928002015/http://pepin.blogter.hu/89805/a_sor_es_a_magyar_mult |archive-date=28 September 2010}}</ref>

<onlyinclude>Mead was produced in ancient times throughout Europe, Africa, and Asia,<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Toussaint-Samat |first1=Maguelonne |title=A history of food |date=2009 |publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |isbn=978-1-4051-8119-8 |oclc=1020512534}}</ref><ref name="Hornsey">{{Cite book |last1=Hornsey |first1=Ian |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QqnvNsgas20C |title=A History of Beer and Brewing |publisher=Royal Society of Chemistry |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-85404-630-0 |page=7 |quote=...mead was known in Europe long before wine, although archaeological evidence of it is rather ambiguous. This is principally because the confirmed presence of beeswax or certain types of pollen ... is only indicative of the presence of honey (which could have been used for sweetening some other drink) – not necessarily of the production of mead.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Funerary Feast of King Midas @ the Penn Museum &#124; Remains of a Feast |url=http://www.penn.museum/sites/Midas/feastremains.shtml}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Lévi-Strauss |first1=Claude |title=From honey to ashes |date=1983 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=0-226-47489-5 |oclc=664396551}}</ref> and has played an important role in the mythology of some peoples, which sometimes ascribed [[Magic (supernatural)|magical]] or [[supernatural]] powers to it. In [[Norse mythology]], for example, the [[Mead of Poetry]], crafted from the blood of [[Kvasir]], would turn anyone who drank it into a poet or scholar.</onlyinclude>

==History==
Mead was possibly discovered among the first humans in Africa 20,000–40,000 years ago <ref>{{Cite web |title=History of Mead |url=https://www.liquidalchemybeverages.com/copy-of-the-history-2 |access-date=14 January 2025 |website=lqdlchm |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Discovering the Marvelous World of Mead {{!}} The Bull and Bee: Meadery & Tasting Room {{!}} Albany NY |url=https://thebullandbee.com/discovering-the-marvelous-world-of-mead/ |access-date=14 January 2025 |website=thebullandbee.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=1 May 2024 |title=Origins of Mead: History Deep Dive |url=https://www.batchmead.com/blogs/batch/history-deep-dive-possible-origins-of-mead |access-date=14 January 2025 |website=Batch Mead |language=en}}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=January 2025}} prior to the advent of both [[History of agriculture|agriculture]] and [[pottery|ceramic pottery]] in the [[Neolithic]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mead {{!}} Definition, Production, & History {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/mead |access-date=19 November 2022 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> due to the prevalence of [[Fermentation in food processing#History and prehistory|naturally occurring fermentation]] and the distribution of [[eusocial]] honey-producing insects worldwide;<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Crane |first1=Eva |date=January 1991 |title=Honey from honeybees and other insects |journal=Ethology Ecology & Evolution |volume=3 |issue=sup1 |pages=100–105 |doi=10.1080/03949370.1991.10721919|bibcode=1991EtEcE...3S.100C }}</ref> as a result, it is hard to pinpoint the exact historical origin of mead given the possibility of [[multiple discovery]] or potential knowledge transfer between early humans prior to recorded history.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Lukas |first1=Kathryn |title=The Farmhouse Culture Guide To Fermenting |last2=Peterson |first2=Shane |date=2018 |publisher=10 Speed Press, Crown Publishing Group, Random House |isbn=978-0-399-58265-3 |page=13 |chapter=Chapter 1: The Fermentation Story}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Snir |first1=Ainit |date=2015 |title=The Origin of Cultivation and Proto-Weeds, Long before Neolithic Farming |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=10 |issue=7 |pages=e0131422 |bibcode=2015PLoSO..1031422S |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0131422 |pmc=4511808 |pmid=26200895 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Ceramic history |url=https://depts.washington.edu/matseed/mse_resources/Webpage/Ceramics/ceramichistory.htm |website=depts.washington.edu}}</ref> With the eventual rise of ceramic pottery and increasing use of [[fermentation in food processing]] to preserve surplus agricultural crops,<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Lukas |first1=Kathryn |title=The Farmhouse Culture Guide To Fermenting |last2=Peterson |first2=Shane |date=2018 |publisher=10 Speed Press, Crown Publishing Group, Random House |isbn=978-0-399-58265-3 |page=14 |chapter=Chapter 1: The Fermentation Story}}</ref> evidence of mead begins to show up in the archaeological record more clearly, with pottery vessels from [[northern China]] dating from at least 7000 BCE discovered containing chemical signatures consistent with the presence of honey, rice, and organic compounds associated with fermentation.<ref name="sps">{{Cite book |last1=Odinsson |first1=Eoghan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V3sCCLcsJFkC&q=archaeological+evidence+mead+bc&pg=PA159 |title=Northern Lore: A Field Guide to the Northern Mind-Body-Spirit | pages = 159–160 |date=2010 |publisher=Eoghan Odinsson |isbn=978-1-4528-5143-3}}{{self-published source|date=May 2023}}</ref><ref name="McGovern">{{Cite web |title=Prehistoric China - The Wonders That Were Jiahu The World's Earliest Fermented Beverage. Professor Patrick McGovern the Scientific Director of the Biomolecular Archaeology Project for Cuisine, Fermented Beverages, and Health at the University of Pennsylvania Museum in Philadelphia |url=https://www.penn.museum/sites/biomoleculararchaeology/?page_id=247 |access-date=18 May 2017 |archive-date=23 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180123202735/https://www.penn.museum/sites/biomoleculararchaeology/?page_id=247 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="fermentedbeverages">{{Cite journal |last1=McGovern |first1=P. E. |last2=Zhang |first2=J |last3=Tang |first3=J |last4=Zhang |first4=Z |last5=Hall |first5=G. R. |last6=Moreau |first6=R. A. |last7=Nuñez |first7=A |last8=Butrym |first8=E. D. |last9=Richards |first9=M. P. |last10=Wang |first10=C.-s. |last11=Cheng |first11=G. |last12=Zhao |first12=Z. |last13=Wang |first13=C. |display-authors=8 |date=6 December 2004 |title=Fermented beverages of pre-and proto-historic China |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |volume=101 |issue=51 |pages=17593–8 |bibcode=2004PNAS..10117593M |doi=10.1073/pnas.0407921102 |pmc=539767 |pmid=15590771 |doi-access=free}}</ref> 

The earliest surviving written record of mead is possibly the [[soma (drink)|soma]] mentioned in the hymns of the ''[[Rigveda]]'',<ref name="Rigveda">{{Cite book
| title= [[Rigveda]]
| chapter-url= http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/rigveda/rv05043.htm
| chapter= Book 5 v. 43:3–4}}<br />{{cite book
| title= [[Rigveda]]
| chapter-url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/rigveda/rv08005.htm 
| chapter=Book 8 v. 5:6
}}</ref> one of the sacred books of the [[historical Vedic religion]] and (later) [[Hinduism]] dated around 1700–1100 BCE. The Rigveda predates the [[Proto-Indo-Iranian|Indo-Iranian]] separation, dated to roughly 2000 BCE, so this mention may originate from the [[Western Steppe]] or [[Eastern Europe]].<ref>{{Citation |last=Kublickas |first=Rimantas |title=Midus: A Traditional Lithuanian Mead |date=2016 |work=Traditional Foods: General and Consumer Aspects |pages=339–343 |editor-last=Kristbergsson |editor-first=Kristberg |series=Integrating Food Science and Engineering Knowledge Into the Food Chain |place=Boston, MA |publisher=Springer US |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-1-4899-7648-2_27 |isbn=978-1-4899-7648-2 |editor2-last=Oliveira |editor2-first=Jorge}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |title=Indo-European languages, Indo-European studies |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2352-0272_emho_dum_021344 |access-date=3 July 2023 |website=Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online|doi=10.1163/2352-0272_emho_dum_021344 |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Pratt |first=J. B. |date=July 1935 |title=''Insights into Modern Hinduism''. Hervey de Witt Griswold''Ādarsha Sādhu: An Ideal Monk''. A. J. Sunavala |journal=The Journal of Religion |volume=15 |issue=3 |pages=358 |doi=10.1086/481664 |issn=0022-4189}}</ref> The [[Abri (tribe)|Abri]], a northern [[Illyrians|Illyrian]] subgroup of the [[Taulantii]], were known to the ancient Greek writers for their technique of preparing mead from [[honey]].{{sfn|Wilkes|1996|p=98}}<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Alcock |first1=Joan P. |title=Food in the ancient world |date=2006 |publisher=Greenwood Press |isbn=0-313-08314-2 |location=Westport, Conn. |oclc=65429735}}</ref> During the [[Golden Age]] of [[ancient Greece]], mead was said to be the preferred drink.<ref name="Kerenyi">{{Cite book |last1=Kerenyi |first1=Karl |url=https://archive.org/details/dionysos00karl/page/35 |title=Dionysus: Archetypal Image of Indestructible Life |publisher=[[Princeton University]] Press |year=1976 |isbn=978-0-691-09863-0 |page=[https://archive.org/details/dionysos00karl/page/35 35]}}</ref> [[Aristotle]] (384–322 BCE) discussed mead made in [[Illiria]] in his ''[[Meteorologica]]'' and elsewhere, while [[Pliny the Elder]] (23–79 CE) called mead ''militites'' in his ''[[Naturalis Historia]]'' and differentiated wine sweetened with honey or "honey-wine" from mead.<ref name="Pliny">{{Cite book |author=Pliny the Elder |title=Natural History XIV |pages=XII:85 etc. |author-link=Pliny the Elder |no-pp=true}}</ref> The Hispanic-Roman naturalist [[Columella]] gave a recipe for mead in ''De re rustica'', about 60 CE.

{{blockquote|Take rainwater kept for several years, and mix a [[sextarius]]<ref>about half a liter</ref> of this water with a [Roman] [[Ancient Roman units of measurement|pound]]<ref>about 1/3 kg</ref> of honey. For a weaker mead, mix a sextarius of water with nine [[Ancient Roman units of measurement|ounces]]<ref>about ¼ kilograms</ref> of honey. The whole is exposed to the sun for 40 days and then left on a shelf near the fire. If you have no rain water, then boil spring water.<ref>Columella, 60 AD ''De re rustica''</ref>}}

Ancient Greek writer [[Pytheas]] described a grain and honey drink similar to mead that he encountered while travelling in [[Thule]].<ref>Clements, J. (2013). A Brief History of the Vikings. United Kingdom: Little, Brown Book Group.</ref> According to [[James Henry Ramsay]] this was an earlier version of Welsh ''metheglin''.<ref>Ramsay, J. H. (1898). The Foundations of England: B.C. 55-A.D. 1066. United Kingdom: S. Sonnenschein & Company, Limited.</ref> When 12-year-old Prince [[Charles II of England|Charles II]] visited Wales in 1642 Welsh metheglin was served at the feast as a symbol of Welsh presence in the emerging British identity in the years between the [[Union of the Crowns]] in 1603 and the creation of the [[Kingdom of Great Britain]] in 1707.<ref>Cull, M. R. (2014). Shakespeare's Princes of Wales: English Identity and the Welsh Connection. United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.</ref><ref>British Consciousness and Identity: The Making of Britain, 1533-1707. (2003). United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.</ref>

[[File:Beowulf - meodu scencu.jpg|thumb|A mention of "meodu scencu" (mead-cup) in ''[[Beowulf]]'']]
There is a poem attributed to the Welsh [[bard]] [[Taliesin]], who lived around 550 CE, called the ''{{lang|cy|Kanu y med}}'' or "Song of Mead" (Cân y medd).<ref name="Book of Taliesin">''[[Llyfr Taliesin]]'' XIX</ref> The legendary drinking, feasting, and boasting of warriors in the [[mead hall]] is echoed in the mead hall [[Din Eidyn]] (modern-day [[Edinburgh]]) as depicted in the poem ''[[Y Gododdin]]'', attributed to the poet Aneirin who would have been a contemporary of Taliesin. In the Old English epic poem ''[[Beowulf]]'', the Danish warriors drank mead. In both Insular Celtic and Germanic poetry, mead was the primary drink associated with [[hero]]es and deities, see for example the [[Mead of poetry]].

Mead ([[Old Irish]] ''mid'') was a popular drink in medieval [[Ireland]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=23 January 2016 |title=Looking into the long history of mead |url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/property/homeandoutdoors/arid-20377522.html |access-date=8 August 2020 |website=Irish Examiner}}</ref> Beekeeping was brought around the 5th century, traditionally attributed to [[Modomnoc]], and mead came with it. A banquet hall on the [[Hill of Tara]] was known as ''Tech Mid Chuarda'' ("house of the circling of mead"). Mead was often infused with [[hazelnut]]s.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Slainte! The Celtic Wassail – The Histories and Folklore of Mead and Honey in Celtic Lands |url=https://owlcation.com/social-sciences/Slainte-The-Celtic-Wassail-the-histories-and-folklore-of-mead-and-honey-in-Celtic-lands |website=Owlcation|date=20 January 2024 }}</ref> Many other legends of saints mention mead, as does that of the [[Children of Lir]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Foley |first1=Ray |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m-7oCgAAQBAJ&q=mead+ireland&pg=PT33 |title=The Best Irish Drinks: The Essential Collection of Cocktail Recipes and Toasts from the Emerald Isle |date=1 January 2006 |publisher=Sourcebooks, Inc. |isbn=978-1-4022-5014-9 |via=Google Books}}</ref>

Later, mead was increasingly displaced by other alcoholic beverages for which the fermentable sugars required were less expensive and more readily available, which combined with taxation and regulations governing the ingredients of alcoholic beverages led to commercial mead becoming a relatively obscure beverage until recently.<ref name="Buhner">{{Cite book |last1=Buhner |first1=Stephen Harrod |title=Sacred and Herbal Healing Beers: The Secrets of Ancient Fermentation |publisher=Siris Books |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-937381-66-3}}</ref> Some [[monasteries]] kept up the traditions of mead-making as a by-product of [[beekeeping]], especially in areas where [[grape]]s could not be grown.

== Etymology ==
The English ''mead'' &ndash; "fermented honey drink" &ndash; derives from the [[Old English]] ''meodu'' or ''medu'',<ref name="ox_meodu">{{Cite encyclopedia |year=1944 |title=mead |encyclopedia=The Oxford Universal Dictionary on Historical Principles |publisher=Oxford University Press |edition=3rd |page=1222}}</ref> and [[Proto-Indo-European language]], *''médʰu''.<ref name="oed">{{Cite web |date=2018 |title=Mead |url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/mead#etymonline_v_12487 |access-date=27 August 2018 |publisher=Online Etymology Dictionary, Douglas Harper}}</ref> Its cognates include [[Old Norse]] ''mjǫðr'', [[Proto-Slavic]] ''medъ'', [[Middle Dutch]] ''mede'', and [[Old High German]] ''metu'', [[Sanskrit]] ''madhu'' and the ancient Irish queen [[Medb]], among others.<ref name=oed/> The [[Chinese language|Chinese]] word for honey, ''mì'' (蜜) is from the word ''mit'', which was borrowed from the extinct Indo-European [[Tocharian B]] ''&ndash;'' and is also cognate with the English word ''mead''.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Meier |first1=Kristin |last2=Peyrot |first2=Michaël |date=2017 |title=The Word for 'Honey' in Chinese, Tocharian and Sino-Vietnamese |journal=Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft |volume=167 |issue=1 |pages=7–22 |doi=10.13173/zeitdeutmorggese.167.1.0007 |issn=0341-0137 |jstor=10.13173/zeitdeutmorggese.167.1.0007}}</ref>

==Fermentation process==
Meads often ferment at the same temperatures as wine, and the yeast used in mead making is often identical to that used in [[Yeast in winemaking#Types of yeasts used in winemaking|wine making]] (particularly white wines).<ref name="meadmaking">{{Cite web |title=Making Mead: the Art and the Science |url=http://www.bjcp.org/mead/makingmead.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.bjcp.org/mead/makingmead.pdf |archive-date=9 October 2022 |access-date=18 February 2015 |publisher=Beer Judge Certification Program}}</ref>

By measuring the [[specific gravity]] of the mead before and throughout the fermentation process using a [[hydrometer]] or [[refractometer]], mead makers can determine the proportion of alcohol by volume in the final product.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Schramm |first1=Ken |title=The Compleat Meadmaker |publisher=Brewers Publications |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-937381-80-9 |pages=31, 37}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last1=Spence |first1=P |title=Mad about mead!: nectar of the gods |publisher=Llewellyn Publications |year=1997 |location=St. Paul, MN}}</ref>

With many different styles of mead, various processes are employed, although most producers use techniques recognizable from wine-making, including [[racking]] into another container for a secondary fermentation. Some larger commercial producers allow primary and secondary fermentation in the same vessel. Racking is done for two reasons: it lets the mead sit away from the remains of the yeast cells ([[Lees (fermentation)|lees]]) that have died during the fermentation process and have time to clear. Cloudiness can be caused by yeast,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Zimmerman |first1=J |date=2018 |title=Mull Over Mead: Enjoy an in-depth look at the components and creation of this versatile, honey-based beverage -- a hearty addition to any homebrewing arsenal |journal=Mother Earth News |pages=50–54}}</ref> or suspended protein molecules.<ref name=":0" /> The pectin from any fruit that is used can also give the mead a cloudy look.<ref name=":0" /> The cloudiness can be cleared up by either "cold breaking", leaving the mead in a cold environment overnight, or by using a fining material such as sparkolloid, bentonite, egg white, or isinglass.<ref name=":0" /> If the mead-maker wishes to backsweeten the product (that is, add supplementary sweetener) or prevent it from oxidizing, [[potassium metabisulfite]] and [[potassium sorbate]] are added. After the mead clears, it is bottled and distributed.

Primary fermentation usually takes 28 to 56 days, after which the [[must]] is placed in a secondary fermentation vessel for 6 to 9 months of [[aging of wine|aging]].<ref name="jib">{{Cite journal |last1=Pereira |first1=Ana Paula |last2=Mendes-Ferreira |first2=Ana |last3=Estevinho |first3=Leticia M. |last4=Mendes-Faia |first4=Arlete |date=2015 |title=Improvement of mead fermentation by honey-must supplementation |journal=Journal of the Institute of Brewing |volume=121 |issue=3 |pages=405–410 |doi=10.1002/jib.239 |hdl-access=free |hdl=10198/16120}}</ref><ref name="mol">{{Cite journal |last1=Iglesias |first1=A |last2=Pascoal |first2=A |last3=Choupina |first3=A. B. |last4=Carvalho |first4=C. A. |last5=Feás |first5=X |last6=Estevinho |first6=L. M. |year=2014 |title=Developments in the fermentation process and quality improvement strategies for mead production |journal=Molecules |volume=19 |issue=8 |pages=12577–90 |doi=10.3390/molecules190812577 |pmc=6271869 |pmid=25153872 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Length of primary and secondary fermentation can vary considerably due to numerous factors, such as floral origin of the honey and its natural sugar and [[microorganism]] contents, must water percentage, [[pH]], additives used, and [[strain (biology)|strain]] of yeast, among others.<ref name=mol/><ref name="tierney">{{Cite magazine |last1=Tierney |first1=John |date=21 October 2014 |title=Making Mead in a Space-Age World |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/10/making-mead-in-a-space-age-world/381433/ |magazine=[[The Atlantic]] |access-date=20 June 2017}}</ref> Although supplementation of the must with non-nitrogen based salts, or vitamins has been tested to improve mead qualities, no evidence suggests that adding micronutrients reduced fermentation time or improved quality.<ref name=jib/> [[Cell immobilization]] methods, however, proved effective for enhancing mead quality.<ref name=mol/>

==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]].

==See also==
* [[History of alcoholic beverages]]
* [[Kilju]]
* [[Mead hall]]
* [[Sahti]]
* [[Sima (mead)|Sima]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
* {{cite book |last1=Wilkes |first1=John |title=The Illyrians |date=1996 |publisher=Blackwell Publishers |isbn=9780631146711 |pages=221}}

==Further reading==
{{Sister project links |b=Cookbook:Mead |n=no |q=no |s=1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Mead |v=no |species=no}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Digby |first1=Kenelm |title=The Closet of the Eminently Learned Sir Kenelme Digbie Kt Opened 1669 |last2=Jane Stevenson |last3=Peter Davidson |date=1997 |publisher=Prospect Books |isbn=978-0-907325-76-5}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Gayre |first1=Robert |title=Brewing Mead: Wassail! In Mazers of Mead |last2=Papazian, Charlie |date=1986 |publisher=Brewers Publications |isbn=978-0-937381-00-7}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Kerenyi |first1=Karl |url=https://archive.org/details/dionysos00karl |title=Dionysus: Archetypal Image of Indestructible Life |publisher=[[Princeton University]] Press |year=1976 |isbn=978-0-691-09863-0 |url-access=registration}}
* Minnick, Fred (2018). Mead: The Libations, Legends and Lore. Running Press, Philadelphia. {{ISBN|978-0-7624-6358-9}}.
* {{Cite book |last1=Schramm |first1=Ken |title=The Compleat Meadmaker |date=2003 |publisher=Brewers Publications |isbn=978-0-937381-80-9}}
*Zaerpoor, Chrissie Manion (2017).  The Art of Mead Tasting and Food Pairing. Mead Maven Publishing, Yamhill, Oregon. {{ISBN|978-0-578-18895-9}}.

{{Honey-based alcoholic drinks}}
{{Alcoholic drinks}}
{{wines}}
{{Portal bar|Wine|Beer}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Mead| ]]
[[Category:Germanic paganism]]
[[Category:History of alcoholic drinks]]
[[Category:Northern Irish cuisine]]
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[[Category:Early Germanic cuisine]]
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[[Category:Icelandic cuisine]]
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[[Category:Honey-based beverages]]