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Basic Mead
The simplest mead was honey diluted with water, then fermented. The proportions mattered—too much honey produced overly sweet, syrupy result that fermented slowly or incompletely. Too little honey produced thin, weak drink barely worth making. The traditional ratio was approximately one part honey to three or four parts water, adjusted based on honey quality and desired strength.
The honey and water were mixed thoroughly—honey is viscous, resists mixing, requires patient stirring to achieve homogeneous solution. Warming the water helped—honey dissolved more readily in warm water—but boiling was controversial. Some mead-makers boiled the mixture, claiming it produced clearer, more stable mead. Others insisted boiling destroyed delicate honey flavors and used only warm water, accepting cloudier appearance for superior taste.
Once mixed, the liquid was transferred to fermentation vessel—typically wooden barrel, sometimes clay pot or leather container. The vessel was loosely covered—fermentation produced carbon dioxide that needed to escape, but complete exposure to air invited contamination by unwanted microorganisms.
Fermentation began spontaneously—wild yeasts present in honey, in air, on equipment surfaces consumed sugars and produced alcohol. This was invisible, mysterious process that ancient peoples understood only through observation: liquid bubbled, foam appeared on surface, smell changed from sweet to complex, taste shifted from honey-sweetness to alcoholic strength.
The fermentation took weeks to months depending on temperature, honey concentration, yeast strain. Warmer conditions accelerated fermentation but risked producing harsh, unbalanced flavors. Cooler, slower fermentation produced smoother, more complex results but required patience.
When fermentation completed—bubbling ceased, liquid cleared somewhat, taste stabilized—the mead was ready. Some drank it immediately. Others stored it, allowing flavors to mature and mellow over additional months or years.
Metheglin (Spiced Mead)
Adding herbs and spices during fermentation created metheglin—mead with enhanced flavor and medicinal properties. Common additions included:
Juniper berries—providing resinous, slightly bitter notes and diuretic properties.
Yarrow—adding bitterness and wound-healing compounds.
Meadowsweet—contributing aspirin-like compounds, easing pain and fever.
Hops—before their use in beer became standard, hops were added to mead for bitterness, preservation, and mild sedative effects.
Bog myrtle—native northern plant adding complex flavor and antibacterial properties.
The herbs were added at beginning of fermentation or later in process, depending on desired effect. Early addition meant compounds were present throughout fermentation, becoming integrated into final product. Later addition preserved volatile aromatics that would otherwise be lost.
Sack Mead (Strong Mead)
Using higher honey-to-water ratio produced sack mead—extremely strong, sweet, rich beverage that was sipped in small amounts rather than drunk by cupfuls. This was prestige product, reserved for special occasions, shared among honored guests.
Sack mead fermented slowly—high sugar concentration stressed yeast, prolonging process. The final product might exceed 15% alcohol, sometimes reaching 20% through careful management. This strength provided excellent preservation—high-alcohol mead stored indefinitely without spoiling.
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