By Discount Liquor

Mead – More Than Just The Drink of Vikings

May 6, 2022 | 10:01 AM

Mead (/mi:d/) is an alcoholic beverage made by fermenting honey mixed with water, and sometimes with added ingredients such as fruits, spices, grains, or hops. The alcoholic content ranges from about 3.5% ABV to more than 18%. 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. – Wikipedia

Often associated with Viking feast halls, mead is a class of alcoholic beverage that has seen a resurgence in recent years. But the origins of mead go back much further than men in boats with funny helmets. In fact, it is believed that mead may be the oldest form of alcoholic beverage in the world, with evidence that mead was being made in ancient China as long as 9000 years ago. (Sorry beer drinkers).

Through history, mead played an important role in many cultures. The Greeks considered mead to be the ‘Nectar of the Gods’, and as such it was believed to give the drinker divine blessings such as strength, wit, and even immortality. In Viking mythology, there was a legendary drink called the Mead of Poetry that was said to make the imbiber into a scholar or poet, as it was made from the blood of a divine keeper of knowledge. And though your doctor will never give you a prescription for it, some herbal meads were used as medicine for depression, digestion and hypocondria.

Recently, mead is once again starting to gain popularity among craft producers. There are roughly 300 commercial mead producers across North America, and that doesn’t count the back yard and basement mead producers. A quick search online will yield dozens of quick, easy, 10 to 15 step processes to make your own mead at home and feel like a viking…. just try not to sail across the ocean and plunder England.

Now that we are done with the history lesson, lets talk about mead itself. As mentioned above, the defining characteristic of mead is that it gets it’s sugar from honey as opposed to grapes – the main difference between mead and wine, even though mead is often referred to as honey wine.

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The flavor of mead varies greatly based on the source of the honey. Most traditional meads use light, clear honeys made from nectar from clover or orange blossom. However, any honey can be used to make mead, and darker honeys often lend themselves well to spiced or mulled meads.

One of the fastest growing mead producers in Western Canada is Fallen Timber Meadery, located in Cremona, Alberta just over an hour north west of Calgary. The Ryan family started producing honey in the Alberta foothills over 50 years ago, and in 2010 they diversified into producing mead on the farm. The honey they produce is an extremely high grade clover honey that gives their meads a light, clear finish.

Looking more locally, Prairie Bee Meadery from just outside of Moose Jaw is Saskatchewan’s oldest commercial meadery, and has won more than 30 awards both locally and internationally. Boasting a line-up of 12 traditional and dessert meads and recently launching a new line of canned sparkling meads, Prairie Bee was featured on the CityTV series Flat Out Food last March, adding to their exposure.

Here at Discount Liquor we have selections from both of these producers, as well as offerings from Cypress Hills Winery and Forest Fringe Wines. We have a selection of sparkling meads from Fallen Timber, as well as traditional and flavored meads ranging from mint to strawberry to saskatoon berry. Why not pick one up and give it a try….its not your ancestors mead any more.