by Tara Knudson

Created on: June 12, 2008   Last Updated: November 07, 2008

The origin of mead is steeped in myth and lore. Also called " honey wine", this fermented beverage of history appears in tales & legends from Scandinavia to Asia to the Mediterranean. Most of them center around fertility, sex & enlightened creativity.

Ancient Babylonian lore tells of kings who gave their new sons-in-law as much mead as they could guzzle for the lunar month after marriage to the princess, and suggests that perhaps this is where the term "honeymoon" came from. The Vikings believed mead would be giving to newcomers upon arrival in heaven, and the Celtics actually believed that heaven flowed with a river of mead.

There are as many mead recipes and name variations throughout history and around the globe as there are myths and tales. Its "medica" in Slovenia, and in Poland they have four different names, depending on the exact proportions of water to honey. Ethiopians add a bitter bark to their honey brew and produce two different variations.

With the addition of hops its known as "braggot", blackcurrants make "black mead" and "melomel" is mead made from honey and any type of fruit.

Although exact historical records are scant, some facts are widely accepted by mead connoisseurs.

It is believed to be an aphrodisiac, and it has probably been used medicinally over the years. Honey is considered to be a disinfectant (it's the only food that doesn't spoil), and alcohol can be used as an expectorant. Often the herbs added were also medicinal in nature.

Monasteries throughout history have brewed mead until modern times, both to provide "wine" for their religious services in regions where grapes do not grow, and to use the byproduct of the bees they kept for pollinating their crops.

When mead is mentioned in history usually the upper echelon of that society is consuming it, probably because beekeeping was costly and extracting the honey was difficult, while grape wine was abundant and easy to produce.

Mead tastes much like the honey it's made from, and honey varies greatly depending on the kind of flowers upon which the bees feasted. Water is added and fermentation is allowed. The fermentation process takes up to 2 years if you have no fermenting agent, so usually yeast is added to accelerate the process.

Mead is made in a meadery, as you might suspect, and is still made today. Because of exorbitant taxes and other suppressions mead slipped from popularity for at least a hundred years, but recently meaderies have been making modern meads, often with herbs and spices, and sometimes in sparkling varieties.

If you haven't tried mead yet be brave and raise a glass of cheer to the mead-drinkers of yore. It's an intense and delicious drink and worth a sip or three.

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