Mead - wikipedia Mead This article is about the alcoholic beverage. For other uses, see Mead ( disambiguation ). Swedish elderflower flavored mead. Mead ( / ˈmiːd / ; archaic and dialectal meath or meathe, from Old English medu ) is an alcoholic beverage created by fermenting honey with water, sometimes with various fruits, spices, grains, or hops. The alcoholic content ranges from about 3.5 % ABV to more than 20 %. The defining characteristic of mead is that the majority of the beverage 's fermentable sugar is derived from honey. It may be still, carbonated, or naturally sparkling ; dry, semi-sweet, or sweet. Mead was produced in ancient history throughout Europe, Africa and Asia, and has played an important role in the mythology of some peoples. In Norse mythology, for example, the Mead of Poetry was crafted from the blood of the wise being Kvasir and turned the drinker into a poet or scholar. The terms `` mead '' and `` honey - wine '' often are used synonymously. Some cultures, though, differentiate honey - wine from mead. For example, Hungarians hold that while mead is made of honey, water and beer - yeast ( barm ), honey - wine is watered honey fermented by recrement of grapes or other fruits. Contents 1 History 2 Etymology 3 Fermentation process 4 Varieties 4.1 Regional variants 4.2 List of mead variants 5 Festivals 6 In literature 7 See also 8 References 9 Further reading History Pottery vessels dating from 7000 BC discovered in northern China have shown chemical signatures consistent with the presence of honey, rice, and organic compounds associated with fermentation. In Europe, it is first attested in residual samples found in the characteristic ceramics of the Bell Beaker Culture ( c. 2800 -- 1800 BC ). The earliest surviving description of mead is in the hymns of the Rigveda, one of the sacred books of the historical Vedic religion and ( later ) Hinduism dated around 1700 -- 1100 BC. During the Golden Age of Ancient Greece, mead was said to be the preferred drink. Aristotle ( 384 -- 322 BC ) discussed mead in his Meteorologica and elsewhere, while Pliny the Elder ( 23 -- 79 AD ) called mead militites in his Naturalis Historia and differentiated wine sweetened with honey or `` honey - wine '' from mead. The Hispanic - Roman naturalist Columella gave a recipe for mead in De re rustica, about 60 AD. Take rainwater kept for several years, and mix a sextarius of this water with a ( Roman ) pound of honey. For a weaker mead, mix a sextarius of water with nine ounces 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. There is a poem attributed to the Brythonic - speaking bard Taliesin, who lived around 550 AD, called the Kanu y med or `` Song of Mead. '' 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 cultures mead was the primary heroic drink in poetry. Later, taxation and regulations governing the ingredients of alcoholic beverages led to commercial mead becoming a more obscure beverage until recently. Some monasteries kept up the old traditions of mead - making as a by - product of beekeeping, especially in areas where grapes could not be grown, a well - known example being at Lindisfarne, where mead continues to be made to this day, albeit not in the monastery itself. Etymology The English word mead derives from the Old English meodu, from Proto - Germanic meduz, from Proto - Indo - European * médhu ( honey, fermented honey drink ). Slavic med / miod, which means both `` honey '' and `` mead '', ( Russian, Czech, Slovak, Macedonian, Serbian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Croatian : med vs. medovina, Polish ' miód ' pronounce ( mjjut ) -- honey, mead ) and Baltic medus `` honey '' / midus `` mead '', also derive from the same Proto - Indo - European root ( cf. Welsh medd, Old Irish mid, Latin mel, Italian miele, Romanian miere, Sanskrit madhu, Sogdian : muð, Avestan : maðu, Classical Persian : مُل mul, Classical and New Persian : مِی mey ). Fermentation process Mead The yeast used in mead making is often identical to that used in wine making. Many home mead makers choose to use wine yeasts ( particularly those used in the preparation of white wines ) to make their meads. By measuring the specific gravity of the mead once before fermentation and throughout the fermentation process by means of a hydrometer or refractometer, mead makers can determine the proportion of alcohol by volume that will appear in the final product. This also serves another purpose. By measuring specific gravity throughout fermentation, a mead maker can quickly troubleshoot a `` stuck '' batch, one where the fermentation process has been halted prematurely. Meads will often ferment well at the same temperatures in which wine is fermented. After primary fermentation slows down significantly the mead is then racked into a second container. This is known as secondary fermentation. Some larger commercial fermenters are designed to allow both primary and secondary fermentation to happen inside of the same vessel. Racking is done for two reasons : it lets the mead sit away from the remains of the yeast cells ( lees ) that have died during the fermentation process. Second, this lets the mead have time to clear. If the mead maker wishes to backsweeten the product or prevent it from oxidizing, potassium metabisulfite and potassium sorbate are added. After the mead clears, it is bottled and distributed. Varieties Czech Medovina 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 employed during fermentation and the aging procedure. Some producers have marketed white wine sweetened and flavored with honey after fermentation as mead, sometimes spelling it `` meade. '' 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 cyser or an apple metheglin. A mead that also contains spices ( such as cloves, cinnamon or nutmeg ), or herbs ( such as meadowsweet, hops, or even lavender or chamomile ), is called a metheglin / mɪˈθɛɡlɪn /. A mead that contains fruit ( such as raspberry, blackberry or strawberry ) is called a melomel, 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. Mulled mead is a popular drink at Christmas time, where mead is flavored with spices ( and sometimes various fruits ) and warmed, traditionally by having a hot poker plunged into it. 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. There are faux - meads, which are actually wines with honey added after fermentation as a sweetener and flavoring. Historically, meads were fermented with wild yeasts 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 which 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. Mead can also be distilled to a brandy or liqueur strength. 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 freeze distillation ), in the same way that applejack is made from cider. Regional variants In Finland, a sweet mead called sima ( cognate with the root of zymurgy ) is still an essential seasonal fermented product connected with the Finnish Vappu ( May Day ) festival. It is usually spiced by adding both the pulp and rind of a lemon. During secondary fermentation, raisins are added to control the amount of sugars and to act as an indicator of readiness for consumption ; they will rise to the top of the bottle when the drink is ready. However, the sugar used in modern practice is typically brown sugar, not honey. Ethiopian mead ( Tej ) Ethiopian mead is called tej ( ጠጅ, ( ˈtʼədʒ ) ) and is usually home - made. It is flavored with the powdered leaves and bark of gesho, a hop - like bittering agent which is a species of buckthorn. A sweeter, less - alcoholic version called berz, aged for a shorter time, is also made. The traditional vessel for drinking tej is a rounded vase - shaped container called a berele. Mead known as iQhilika is traditionally prepared by the Xhosa of South Africa. Mead in Poland is part of culinary tradition for over a thousand years. In the United States, mead is enjoying a resurgence, starting with small home meaderies and now with a number of small commercial meaderies. As mead becomes more widely available, it is seeing increased attention and exposure from the news media. List of mead variants A homebrewed melomel mead An American rich dry black hopped mead made from black currants and wildflower honey Off dry American botanical ( Metheglin ) mead with juniper, lavender, and marjoram infusions Bottles of `` medica '' ( r. meditsa ) -- a mead made in Međimurje County, northern Croatia Trójniak -- a Polish mead, made using two units of water for each unit of honey This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( July 2017 ) Acerglyn : A mead made with honey and maple syrup. Balche : A native Mexican version of mead. Bilbemel : A mead made with blueberries, blueberry juice, or sometimes used for a varietal mead that uses blueberry blossom honey. Black mead : A name sometimes given to the blend of honey and blackcurrants. Blue mead : A type of mead where fungal spores are added during first fermentation, lending a blue tint to the final product. 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. Braggot : Also called bracket or brackett. Originally brewed with honey and hops, later with honey and malt -- with or without hops added. Welsh origin ( bragawd ). Capsicumel : A mead flavored with chilli peppers, the peppers may be hot or mild. Chouchenn : A kind of mead made in Brittany. Cyser : A blend of honey and apple juice fermented together ; see also cider. Czwórniak ( TSG ) : A Polish mead, made using three units of water for each unit of honey. Dandaghare : A mead from Nepal, combines honey with Himalayan herbs and spices. It has been produced since 1972 in the city of Pokhara. Dwójniak ( TSG ) : A Polish mead, made using equal amounts of water and honey. Great mead : Any mead that is intended to be aged several years. The designation is meant to distinguish this type of mead from `` short mead '' ( see below ). Gverc or Medovina : Croatian mead prepared in Samobor and many other places. The word `` gverc '' or `` gvirc ' is from the German `` Gewürze '' and refers to various spices added to mead. Hydromel : Name derived from the Greek ὑδρόμελι hydromeli, i.e. literally `` water - honey '' ( see also μελίκρατον melikraton and ὑδρόμηλον hydromelon ). It is also the French name for mead hydromel. ( See also and compare with the Catalan hidromel and aiguamel, Galician aiguamel, Portuguese hidromel, Italian idromele and Spanish hidromiel and aguamiel ). It is also used as a name for a light or low - alcohol mead. Medica / Medovica : Slovenian, Slovakian, variety of mead. Medovina : Czech, Croatian, Serbian, Montenegrin, Bulgarian, Bosnian and Slovak for mead. Commercially available in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and presumably other Central and Eastern - European countries. Medovukha : Eastern Slavic variant ( honey - based fermented drink ). Melomel : Melomel is made from honey and any fruit. Depending on the fruit base used, certain melomels may also be known by more specific names ( see cyser, pyment, and morat for examples ). Possibly from the Greek μηλόμελι melomeli, literally `` apple - honey '' or `` treefruit - honey '' ( see also μελίμηλον melimelon ). Metheglin : Metheglin is traditional mead with herbs or spices added. Some of the most common metheglins are ginger, tea, orange peel, nutmeg, coriander, cinnamon, cloves or vanilla. Its name indicates that many metheglins were originally employed as folk medicines. The Welsh word for mead is medd, and the word `` metheglin '' derives from meddyglyn, a compound of meddyg, `` healing '' + llyn, `` liquor ''. Midus : Lithuanian for mead, made of natural bee honey and berry juice. Infused with carnation blossoms, acorns, poplar buds, juniper berries and other herbs, it is often made as a mead distillate or mead nectar, some of the varieties having as much as 75 % of alcohol. Mõdu : An Estonian traditional fermented drink with a taste of honey and an alcohol content of 4.0 % Morat : Morat blends honey and mulberries. Mulsum : Mulsum is not a true mead, but is unfermented honey blended with a high - alcohol wine. Myod : Traditional Russian mead, historically available in three major varieties : aged mead ( `` мёд ставленный '' ) : 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. drinking mead ( `` мёд питный '' ) : a kind of honey wine made from diluted honey by traditional fermentation. boiled mead ( `` мёд варёный '' ) : a drink closer to beer, brewed from boiled wort of diluted honey and herbs, very similar to modern medovukha. Omphacomel : A mead recipe that blends honey with verjuice ; could therefore be considered a variety of pyment ( q.v. ). From the Greek ὀμφακόμελι omphakomeli, literally `` unripe - grape - honey ''. Oxymel : Another historical mead recipe, blending honey with wine vinegar. From the Greek ὀξύμελι oxymeli, literally `` vinegar - honey '' ( also ὀξυμελίκρατον oxymelikraton ). Pitarrilla : Mayan drink made from a fermented mixture of wild honey, balché - tree bark and fresh water. Pyment : Contemporary pyment is a melomel made from the fermentation of a blend of grapes and honey and can be considered either a grape mead or honeyed wine. Pyment made with white grapes is sometimes called `` white mead ''. In previous centuries piment was synonymous with Hippocras, a grape wine with honey added post-fermentation. Półtorak ( TSG ) : A Polish great mead, made using two units of honey for each unit of water. Red mead : A form of mead made with redcurrants. Rhodomel : Rhodomel is made from honey, rose hips, rose petals or rose attar, and water. From the Greek ῥοδόμελι rhodomeli, literally `` rose - honey ''. Rubamel : A specific type of Melomel made with raspberries. Sack mead : This refers to 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 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 dessert wine, sherry ( which is sometimes sweetened after fermentation ) that, in England, once bore the nickname `` sack '' ). 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. Short mead : Also called `` 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 effervescent, and often has a cidery taste. It can also be champagne - like. Show mead : A term which has come to mean `` plain '' mead : that which has honey and water as a base, with no fruits, spices or extra flavorings. Since 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. will sometimes require a special yeast nutrient and other enzymes 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 ). Sima : a quick - fermented low - alcoholic Finnish variety, seasoned with lemon and associated with the festival of vappu. Tej / Mes : Tej / Mes is an Ethiopian and Eritrean mead, fermented with wild yeasts and the addition of gesho. Tella / Suwa : Tella is an Ethiopian and Eritrean style of beer ; with the inclusion of honey some recipes are similar to braggot. Trójniak ( TSG ) : A Polish mead, made using two units of water for each unit of honey. White mead : A mead that is colored white with herbs, fruit or, sometimes, egg whites. Festivals This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. ( December 2011 ) Mazer Cup International Mead Competition and Tasting Event This event is held every year in March in Boulder, Colorado. It is the largest mead event in the world, with over 300 home meads and over 200 commercial meads in competition. There is a Friday tasting event with the gold medal winning commercial meads from the previous year, plus feature meads from around the world. Real Ale Festival in Chicago, Illinois, includes categories for mead as well as cider and perry. Woodbridge International Mead Festival -- Sponsored by local residents, it claims to be the only mead festival east of the Mississippi. While few types of mead are available, all are homemade and go through a rigorous judging process. Orcas Island Cider and Mead Festival -- Sponsored by the Northwest Cider Association -- Held each year on the second Saturday in May on Orcas Island in Washington State, includes cider and mead producers along the West Coast of the United States and Canada. In Literature See also : Mead of poetry Mead is featured in many Germanic myths and folktales such as Beowulf, as well as in other popular works that draw on these myths. Notable examples include books by Tolkien, George R.R. Martin, T.H. White, and Neil Gaiman. It is often featured in books using a historical Germanic setting and in writings about the Viking age. Mead is mentioned many times in Neil Gaiman 's 2001 novel, American Gods ; it is referred to as the drink of the gods. In The Inheritance Cycle series by Christopher Paolini, the protagonist, Eragon, often drinks mead at feasts. It is also referenced in The Kingkiller Chronicle novel series by Patrick Rothfuss. The protagonist Kvothe is known to drink metheglin. The non-existent `` Greysdale Mead '' is also drunk, although it is merely water. See also Wine portal Beer portal History of alcoholic beverages Kilju Mead hall Sima References Jump up ^ Recipes from Kenelme Digbie, 1669 -- The Closet of the Eminently Learned Sir Kenelme Digbie Kt Opened, transcribed by Joyce Miller ( 1st ed. ). 1669. ^ Jump up to : `` mead ''. The Oxford Universal Dictionary on Historical Principles ( 3rd ed. ). Oxford University Press. 1944. p. 1222. Jump up ^ http://www.yourdictionary.com/mead Jump up ^ Beer is produced by the fermentation of grain, but 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. Fitch, Edward ( 1990 ). Rites of Odin. St. Paul, Minnesota : Llewellyn Worldwide. p. 290. ISBN 9780875422244. Jump up ^ 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 : Mohnike, G.C.F. ( September 1828 -- January 1829 ). `` Tegner 's Legend of Frithiof ''. The Foreign Quarterly Review. London : Treuttel and Würtz, Treuttel, Jun and Richter. III. 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 Molokhovets, Elena ( 1998 ). Classic Russian Cooking. Joyce Stetson ( trans. ). Indiana University Press. p. 474. ISBN 0 - 253 - 21210 - 3. Jump up ^ Lichine, Alexis. Alexis Lichine 's New Encyclopedia of Wines & Spirits ( New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 1987 ), 328. Jump up ^ Gayre, Robert ( 1986 ). Brewing Mead. Brewers Publications. p. 158. ISBN 0 - 937381 - 00 - 4... Therefore to our synopsis : Mead is the general name for all drinks made of honey. Jump up ^ Rose, Anthony H. ( 1977 ). Alcoholic Beverages. Michigan : Academic Press. p. 413. Jump up ^ Maguelonne Toussaint - Samat ( Anthea Bell, tr. ) The History of Food, 2nd ed. 2009 : 30. Jump up ^ Hornsey, Ian ( 2003 ). A History of Beer and Brewing. Royal Society of Chemistry. p. 7. ISBN 0 - 85404 - 630 - 5... 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. Jump up ^ http://www.penn.museum/sites/biomoleculararchaeology/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/GrogGreeks.pdf Jump up ^ http://www.penn.museum/sites/Midas/feastremains.shtml Jump up ^ Lévi - Strauss, J. and D. Weightman, tr. From Honey to Ashes, London : Cape 1973 ( Du miel aux cendres, Paris 1960 ) Jump up ^ Morse, Roger ( 1992 ). Making Mead ( Honey Wine ). Wicwas Press. ISBN 978 - 1878075048. Jump up ^ Schramm, Ken ( 2003 ). The Compleat Meadmaker : Home Production of Honey Wine From Your First Batch to Award - winning Fruit and Herb Variations. Brewers Publications. ISBN 978 - 0 - 937381 - 80 - 9. Jump up ^ History of beer in Hungary -- difference between mead and honey - wine ( in Hungarian ) Jump up ^ Odinsson, Eoghan ( 2010 ). Northern Lore : A Field Guide to the Northern Mind - Body - Spirit. p. 159. ISBN 9781452851433. Jump up ^ ( 1 ). 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. Retrieved on 3 January 2017. Jump up ^ McGovern, P.E. ; Zhang, J ; Tang, J ; Zhang, Z ; Hall, G.R. ; Moreau, R.A. ; Nuñez, A ; Butrym, E.D. ; et al. ( 6 December 2004 ). `` Fermented beverages of pre - and proto - historic China ''. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 101 ( 51 ) : 17593 -- 8. doi : 10.1073 / pnas. 0407921102. PMC 539767. PMID 15590771. Jump up ^ https://books.google.com/books?id=V3sCCLcsJFkC&pg=PA159&lpg=PA159&dq=archaeological+evidence+for+the+European+production+of+mead&source=bl&ots=m_pLTrmTgO&sig=isBbJMpYQIOWldDJ8cV_hIhPDPc&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CCkQ6AEwAmoVChMItvitqJizxwIVh3ySCh3BPwEN#v=onepage&q=archaeological%20evidence%20for%20the%20European%20production%20of%20mead&f=false Jump up ^ Rigveda Book 5 v. 43 : 3 -- 4, Book 8 v. 5 : 6, etc Jump up ^ Kerenyi, Karl ( 1976 ). Dionysus : Archetypal Image of Indestructible Life. Princeton University Press. p. 35. ISBN 0 - 691 - 09863 - 8. Jump up ^ Pliny the Elder. Natural History XIV. XII : 85 etc. Jump up ^ about half a liter Jump up ^ about 1 / 3 kg Jump up ^ about 1⁄4 kilograms Jump up ^ Columella, 60 AD De re rustica Jump up ^ Llyfr Taliesin XIX Jump up ^ Buhner, Stephen Harrod ( 1998 ). Sacred and Herbal Healing Beers : The Secrets of Ancient Fermentation. Siris Books. ISBN 0 - 937381 - 66 - 7. Jump up ^ Online Etymology Dictionary entry for ' mead ' Jump up ^ `` Making Mead : the Art and the Science '' ( PDF ). Beer Judge Certification Program. Retrieved 18 February 2015. Jump up ^ Schramm, Ken ( 2003 ). The Compleat Meadmaker. Brewers Publications. pp. 31, 37. ISBN 978 - 0 - 937381 - 80 - 9. ^ Jump up to : Eoghan Odinsson, Northern Lore, p. 160 Jump up ^ Tayleur, W.H.T. ; Michael Spink ( 1973 ). The Penguin Book of Home Brewing and Wine - Making. Penguin. p. 292. ISBN 0 - 14 - 046190 - 6. Jump up ^ Aylett, Mary ( 1953 ). Country Wines, Odhams Press. p. 79 ^ Jump up to : Tayleur, p. 291. Jump up ^ http://www.gotmead.com/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=1094 Jump up ^ `` Archived copy ''. Archived from the original on 5 June 2013. Retrieved 2012 - 04 - 17. Jump up ^ `` Polska miodem stała ''. www.smakizpolski.com.pl ( in Polish ). Retrieved 2017 - 05 - 31. Jump up ^ Gittleson, Kim ( 2 October 2013 ). `` The drink of kings makes a comeback ''. BBC News Online. Retrieved 3 October 2013. Jump up ^ Bender, Andrew. `` Top 10 Food Trends ''. Forbes. Jump up ^ `` Mead, the honey - based brew producing a real buzz ''. CBS News. 24 November 2013. Jump up ^ `` Russian Honey Drink ''. EnglishRussia.com. Accessed May 2010. Jump up ^ `` Mead ''. Saku Brewery. Retrieved 17 February 2015. Jump up ^ La Barre, Weston ( 1938 ). `` Native American Beers '' ( PDF ). American Anthropologist. 40. doi : 10.1525 / aa. 1938.40. 2.02 a00040. Retrieved 18 September 2016. Jump up ^ Gordon Strong ; Kristen England. `` 2015 Mead Guidelines '' ( PDF ). Beer Judge Certification Program. p. 5. Retrieved 7 December 2016. A Pyment is a melomel made with grapes ( generally from juice ). Pyments can be red, white, or blush, just as with wine. Jump up ^ `` Mazer Cup Guidelines ( commercial ) ''. American MEad Makers Association. Retrieved 7 December 2016. Pyment : Honeywine made with grapes / grape juice / grape concentrate. Jump up ^ Earnshaw, Steven ( 2000 ). The Pub in Literature : England 's Altered State. Manchester University Press. p. 28. Jump up ^ Sack in the Oxford Companion to Wine Jump up ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. ( 1911 ). `` Saké ''. Encyclopædia Britannica. 24 ( 11th ed. ). Cambridge University Press. p. 54. Jump up ^. The Mazer Cup International official website Jump up ^ Real Ale Festival official website Jump up ^ Orcas Island Cider and Mead Festival official website Further reading Find more aboutMeadat Wikipedia 's sister projects Definitions from Wiktionary Media from Commons Schramm, Ken ( 2003 ). The Compleat Meadmaker. Brewers Publications. ISBN 978 - 0937381809. Kerenyi, Karl ( 1976 ). Dionysus : Archetypal Image of Indestructible Life. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0 - 691 - 09863 - 8. Digby, Kenelm ; Jane Stevenson ; Peter Davidson ( 1997 ). The Closet of the Eminently Learned Sir Kenelme Digbie Kt Opened 1669. Prospect Books. ISBN 0 - 907325 - 76 - 9. Gayre, Robert ; Papazian, Charlie ( 1986 ). Brewing Mead : Wassail ! In Mazers of Mead. Brewers Publications. ISBN 0 - 937381 - 00 - 4. Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article mead. Wikibooks Cookbook has a recipe / module on Mead Alcoholic drinks History and production History of alcohol History of alcoholic beverages History of beer History of wine History of Bordeaux wine History of Champagne History of Chianti History of French wine History of Portuguese wine History of Rioja wine History of Sherry History of South African wine Production Alcohol industry Brewing Distillation Drinking establishments Fermentation Winemaking Alcoholic drinks Fermented drink Beer Cider Mead Rice wine Sake Wine Other fermented drinks Distilled drink Brandy Gin Liqueur Rum Tequila Vodka Whisky Other distilled drinks Fortified wine Madeira wine Marsala wine Port wine Sherry Vermouth Other fortified wines Distilled drinks by ingredients Fruit Apple Applejack Calvados Cashew apple Feni Coconut Arrack Fig Boukha Grape Armagnac Brandy Cognac Pisco Plum Slivovitz Țuică Pomace Chacha Grappa Marc Orujo Tsikoudia Tsipouro Zivania Various fruits Eau de vie Himbeergeist Kirschwasser Marillenschnaps Nalewka Pálinka Rakia Schnaps Cereals Barley Irish whiskey Japanese whisky Scotch whisky Maize Bourbon whiskey Corn whiskey Tennessee whiskey Rice Awamori Cheongju Rice baijiu Shōchū Soju Rye Korn Rye whiskey Starka Sorghum Baijiu ( Kaoliang wine ) Multiple grains American whiskey Canadian whisky Other Agave Mezcal Tequila Buckwheat Buckwheat whisky Shōchū Sugarcane or molasses Aguardiente Cachaça Clairin Guaro Rum Seco Herrerano Tharra Various starches Akvavit Horilka Poitín Shōchū Vodka Liqueurs and infused distilled drinks by ingredients Almond Amaretto Crème de Noyaux Anise Absinthe Arak Hierbas Herbs de Majorca Ouzo Pastis Rakı Sambuca Blackthorn shrub Patxaran Chocolate Chocolate liqueur Cinnamon Tentura Cloudberry Lakka Coconut Malibu Coffee Kahlúa Tia Maria Egg Advocaat Hazelnut Frangelico Herbs Aquavit Bénédictine Brennivín Crème de menthe Metaxa Honey Bärenjäger Drambuie Glayva Krupnik Juniper Gin Jenever Orange Campari Cedratine Curaçao Triple sec Peppers Pertsivka Star anise Sassolino Sugarcane / molasses Charanda Various fruits Crème de banane Crème de cassis Limoncello Schnapps Sloe gin Portals Liquor Beer Drink Wine WikiProjects Beer Spirits Wine Wines and winemaking General Acids in wine Aging of wine Annual growth cycle of grapevines Aroma of wine Alternative wine closure Cork History Oak Oenology Screw cap Terroir Vineyard Viticulture Wine and food matching Wine fault Wine personalities Wine tasting Wine tasting descriptors Styles and methods of production Red Rosé White Orange Sparkling Dessert Ice Straw Kosher Organic Biodynamic Table Fortified Aromatized Grape varieties International White Chardonnay Chenin blanc Gewürztraminer Muscat Riesling Sauvignon blanc Sémillon Red Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Pinot noir Syrah / Shiraz Regional White Agh Shani Albariño Aligoté Arneis Assyrtiko Chinuri Furmint Garganega Glera Grüner Veltliner Kerner Khikhvi Krakhuna Krstač Manata Marsanne Mtsvani Müller - Thurgau Pinot blanc Pinot gris / Pinot grigio Ribolla Gialla Rkatsiteli Roussanne Shesh i Bardhë Silvaner Smederevka Tamjanika Tetra Torrontés Ugni blanc / Trebbiano Tsitska Tsolikouri Verdejo Verdicchio Vermentino Viognier Red Aglianico Aladasturi Aleksandrouli Alicante Bouschet Asuretuli Barbera Blaufränkisch Bobal Cabernet Franc Carignan Carménère Cinsaut Corvina Dolcetto Dzvelshava Frappato Gamay Gibrita Grenache / Garnacha Izabella Kadarka Lagrein Madrasa Malbec Mencía / Jaen Mujuretuli Mourvèdre / Monastrell / Mataro Nebbiolo Negroamaro Nero d'Avola Ojaleshi Petit Verdot Petite sirah / Durif Pinot Meunier Pinotage Plavac Mali Poulsard Prokupac Sagrantino Sangiovese Saperavi Shesh i Zi Tannat Tavkveri Tempranillo Touriga Nacional Trollinger Usakhelauri Vranac Zinfandel / Primitivo Zweigelt Wine - producing countries and regions Australia New South Wales South Australia Tasmania Victoria Western Australia Canada British Columbia Nova Scotia Ontario Quebec Chile Aconcagua Atacama Central Valley Coquimbo Southern Chile Croatia Coastal wine region Continental wine region France Alsace Beaujolais Bordeaux Burgundy Champagne Jura Languedoc - Roussillon Loire Provence Rhône South West Georgia Abkhazia Imereti Kakheti Kartli Racha Germany Baden Franconia Mittelrhein Mosel Nahe Pfalz Rheingau Rheinhessen Hungary Balaton Duna Eger ~ Egri Bikavér Észak - Dunántúl Pannon Sopron Tokaj ~ Tokaji Italy Abruzzo Friuli - Venezia Giulia Lombardia Piemonte Toscana Veneto ~ Marsala Portugal Dão Douro Bairrada Port Vinho Verde ~ Madeira Romania Cotnari ~ Grasă de Cotnari Dealu Mare Huși ~ Busuioacă de Bohotin Jidvei Murfatlar Panciu Odobeşti Cotești Recaș Târnave Spain Catalonia Galicia Penedès ~ Sherry Priorat Ribera del Duero Rioja United States California Idaho New York Oregon Pennsylvania Virginia Washington Other Albania Argentina Austria Brazil Bulgaria China Crimea Cyprus Czech Republic Greece Israel Japan Jordan Lebanon Macedonia Moldova New Zealand Poland Russia Serbia Slovenia South Africa Switzerland Turkey United Kingdom Glossary Outline Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mead&oldid=808873342 '' Categories : Germanic paganism History of alcoholic drinks Mead Irish cuisine Scottish cuisine Entheogens Norwegian cuisine Swedish cuisine Danish cuisine Finnish cuisine Icelandic cuisine Hidden categories : CS1 Polish - language sources ( pl ) Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica with Wikisource reference Use dmy dates from September 2016 Articles containing Welsh - language text All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from December 2013 Articles containing Finnish - language text Articles with unsourced statements from February 2017 Articles with unsourced statements from June 2017 Articles needing additional references from July 2017 All articles needing additional references Articles containing German - language text Articles containing Ancient Greek - language text Articles with unsourced statements from December 2016 Articles with unsourced statements from February 2007 Articles to be expanded from December 2011 All articles to be expanded Articles using small message boxes Talk Contents About Wikipedia Ænglisc Asturianu Български Boarisch Bosanski Brezhoneg Català Čeština Cymraeg Dansk Deutsch Eesti Ελληνικά Español Esperanto Euskara فارسی Français Galego 한국어 Հայերեն Hrvatski Bahasa Indonesia Interlingua Íslenska Italiano עברית Лакку Latina Latviešu Lietuvių Magyar Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Norsk nynorsk Nouormand Polski Português Română Русский Scots Simple English Slovenčina Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska Türkçe Українська ייִדיש 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 5 November 2017, at 19 : 04. 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Question: what is the average alcohol content of mead
Answer: from about 3.5% ABV[6] to more than 20%