Mead is the ancestor of all fermented beverages, dating back to at least 7000 BC, predating wine, beer, vodka and countless other libations. Made from fermenting honey, water and yeast, its simple composition means that today’s mead, unlike other alcohols, is an almost identical approximation of what our ancestors drank in their houses, meadhalls and temples.
Consumed by ancient Greeks, Romans, Scandinavians, Poles, Aztecs, Chinese, Egyptians, and the world entire, mead was once considered to be as valuable as gold. Deemed to have been descended from the gods themselves, “ambrosia” as it was oft-called, mead was regarded as a heavenly gift, the source of knowledge, the life and light of the world.
From dry to sweet and even sparkling, there are at least 40 internationally recognized varieties of mead throughout the world, with hundreds of meaderies sprouting across the globe. The fabled “nectar of the gods,” seemingly cast aside for centuries, is currently undergoing a second renaissance the world over.