The history of mead may go back more than 8,000 years and is the oldest alcoholic drink known to mankind. The oldest known meads were created on the Island of Crete. Wine had not yet been created. Mead was the drink of the Age of Gold, and the word for drunk in classical Greek remained “honey-intoxicated.”
In Norse mythology, mead was the favorite drink of the Norse gods and heroes, e.g. in Valhalla, and the mead of the giant (Jotun) Suttung, made from the blood of Kvasir, was the source of wisdom and poetry. The nectar and ambrosia of the Greek gods are often thought of as draughts of fermented honey.
While the Valkyries are in Valhalla, they were known as Mead-Maidens, because they responsible for serving mead to Odin and the Einherjar along the long tables at Valhalla. The mead come from the goat Heidrun that feed from the foliage of branches of tree, called Lerad. Each day, the goat’s udder would fill the vat with mead.
Odin usually dined with his warriors, but he never eats any meat placed before him. Odin would give his meat to the two wolves, Geri and Freki, that rest at his feet. Odin only drank wine with the dead warriors.
The word “honeymoon” in English is supposedly traceable to the practice of a bride’s father dowering her with enough mead for a month-long celebration in honor of the marriage.
Evidence exists that mead was also made in India, Southeast Asia, China, Japan, and Central Africa. Mead is also mentioned in many old north Anglo-Saxon stories, including in the epic poem Beowulf.
I had a fixed purpose when I put to sea.
As I sat in the boat with my band of men,
I meant to perform to the uttermost
what your people wanted or perish in the attempt,
in the fiend’s clutches. And I shall fulfil that purpose,
prove myself with a proud deed
or meet my death here in the mead-hall.
—Beowulf, Beowulf’s formal boast
As the winemaker for Angeli Winery I also have a passion for ancient history and being able to make something which was made throughout the last 8 thousand years of evolution in man and gods was a thrill of inspiration for me. My recipe for Sweet Mead is simple: yeast, fresh water and local Goldenrod Honey. It finishes fermentation with natural residual sweetness of Honey.
The total process from fermentation to the bottle takes two years. It is not filtered and should produce some sediment in the bottle over time.
This is a very limited supply of our Mead. And this will also be the last time that it will be in a full 750ml bottle. In order to keep the price more approachable we will be switching to 375ml bottles.
Why is the Mead so expensive? As stated earlier takes 2 years from fermentation to bottle but the more pressing issue is the honey bee die offs which has pushed the price of honey higher. Honey bees are a precious commodity to all of us as pollinators for agriculturists and producers of honey.
For more information about Honey Bee Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) please visit the following site: http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/br/ccd/ccdprogressreport2010.pdf
