What is mead?

Mead is an alcoholic beverage made by fermenting honey with yeast. Mead is not a beer, wine, or spirit in the normal sense; it is its own class of alcohol, and it is believed to be the oldest alcoholic beverage. Mead has held a pivotal place in many cultures throughout its nearly 8,000 year history, and it is still enjoyed throughout the world.

The first meads were most likely made simply by taking honey and water and letting them ferment with the naturally occurring yeasts found in the honey. Evidence of early meads has been found in Egypt and on the island of Crete, and it was drunk in Greece throughout the Golden Age. In many early cultures, bee goddesses held central roles in the pantheon.

Mead became popular all the way from Ethopia, where it was named “tej”, to Finland where it was called “sima”. Of course all these countries used honey as a base for their drink but then added whatever local herbs and fruits were available. Because of the sweet taste this drink became more popular than beer and wine in many locations, becoming a favorite local and state drink. In fact, during one Crusade a Polish Prince complained to the Pope that his knights could not go all the way to Palestine because there was no mead to be had!

In fact one common word used today has a direct link back to the days when mead was a popular drink. The word “honeymoon” refers to the old wedding custom of newlywed couples drinking mead for one
lunar cycle.

Did you know? Mead is the most sustainable beverage on Earth. Unlike wine from grapes, it does not require cropland, cultivation, irrigation, pesticides, or fertilizers. What it does require are wildflowers and happy bees! Not only is mead completely sustainable and almost without waste, but it actually nourishes the Earth. The bees pollinate the flowers and sustain the cycle of life and rebirth of the Earth while producing delicious honey that can be turned into one of our delectable and refreshing meads.

Mead has roots in the ancient world, with historical connections to the Greeks, the Romans and almost every country on record. The next time you frequent your local liquor store why not pick up a bottle of
mead, produced right here in Chicago? After all, it was good enough for the Norse gods - why not for you?