What is mead?
Mead is an alcoholic beverage, made from honey and water via fermentation with yeast. It is sometimes mixed with spices, fruits, or grain mash. Some argue that it was the first type of alcohol.
What is the difference between mead and grape wine?
Though the fermentation and aging process is the same, the biggest difference is that mead is made using honey rather than grapes. While the flavors of grape wine depend on the variety of the grape and the vineyard conditions, the flavors of mead depend on the type of honey and what is added to the honey (spices, fruit).
What is the difference between mead and honey wine?
Honey wine is lighter, less sweet, and has less alcohol than mead. Traditional mead uses more honey and results in a bolder, more complex flavor with more sugar and more alcohol.
What is the alcohol content on your meads? Are they fortified?
The alcohol content on the meads is roughly between 16-18%. This alcohol content is from the natural fermentation process, and our meads are not fortified.
How is mead fermented?
Mead has a similar fermentation process to wine, but the higher sugar content results in a higher alcohol content. In wine, there is only moderate sugar that results in moderate alcohol content. This is because in wine, yeast during fermentation dies off due to starvation from a lack of sugar, so less alcohol is produced. In mead, yeast dies off during fermentation as a result of alcohol poisoning because so much sugar is converted into alcohol, leaving a large amount of residual sugar and a high alcohol content.
How long does a bottle of mead last?
An unopened bottle has a high aging potential and can last decades. An opened bottle can easily last three or more months, refrigerated.
Do you use preservatives?
No. We do not put any additives, preservatives, or artificial flavors in our meads. Meads are so stable because honey is a natural preservative–plus they do have a higher alcohol content!
How do you come up with the names for your meads?
Most of our meads are named after medieval jobs that had to do with meadmaking and drinking. The exception is Ambrosia, "the nectar of the gods," a honey wine in Greek mythology.
Why do you make mead?
Mead is a traditional Polish alcohol, and we grew up with it. We love the complex flavors and bold, sweet taste!
Did you know?
Mead is the reason we have the term "honeymoon." Mead was traditionally served for weddings and during the month after the nuptials.