Pliny on Mead

Pliny has much to say on Mead in his natural histories, and specifically the medicinal benefits of Mead, of Honey and vinegar, of Mead with oil, with milk or even with breadcrumbs.

Also of importance is the water you make the Mead with, Pliny suggests rainwater aged for at least 5 years.

Equally it’s not clear where the line between a honey / water mixture and fermented Mead are.

Hydromeli, or Melicration
There is a wine also made solely of honey and water. For this purpose it is recommended that rain-water should be kept for a period of five years. Those who shew greater skill, content themselves with taking the water just after it has fallen, and boiling it down to one third, to which they then add one third in quantity of old honey, and keep the mixture exposed to the rays of a hot sun for forty days after the rising of the Dog-star; others, however, rack it off in the course of ten days, and tightly cork the vessels in which it is kept. This beverage is known as "hydromeli," and with age acquires the flavour of wine. It is nowhere more highly esteemed than in Phrygia.

How Hydromeli is made
Hydromeli, also, was a mixture formerly made with pure rain-water and honey, and was prescribed for patients who, were anxious for wine, as being a more harmless drink. For these many years past, however, it has been condemned, as having in reality all the inconveniences of wine, without the advantages.

The various influences of different aliments upon the disposistion
While speaking of the uses of honey, we ought also to treat of the properties of hydromel. There are two kinds of hydromel, one of which is prepared at the moment, and taken while fresh, the other being kept to ripen. The first, which is made of skimmed honey, is an extremely wholesome beverage for invalids who take nothing but a light diet, such as strained alica for instance: it reinvigorates the body, is soothing to the mouth and stomach, and by its refreshing properties allays feverish heats. I find it stated, too, by some authors, that to relax the bowels it should be taken cold, and that it is particularly well-suited for persons of a chilly temperament, or of a weak and pusillanimous4 constitution, such as the Greeks, for instance, call "micropsychi."

Hydromel: eighteen remedies
Hydromel is recommended, too, as very good for a cough: taken warm, it promotes vomiting. With the addition of oil it counteracts the poison of white lead; of henbane, also, and of the halicacabum, as already stated, if taken in milk, asses' milk in particular. It is used as an injection for diseases of the ears, and in cases of fistula of the generative organs. With crumb of bread it is applied as a poultice to the uterus, as also to tumours suddenly formed, sprains, and all affections which require soothing applications. The more recent writers have condemned the use of fermented hydro- mel, as being not so harmless as water, and less strengthening than wine. After it has been kept a considerable time, it becomes transformed into a wine, which, it is universally agreed, is extremely prejudicial to the stomach, and injurious to the nerves.

Oxymeli
Vinegar even has been mixed with honey; nothing, in fact, has been left untried by man. To this mixture the name of oxymeli has been given; it is compounded of ten pounds of honey, five semi-sextarii of old vinegar, one pound of sea-salt, and five sextarii of rain-water. This is boiled gently till the mixture has bubbled in the pot some ten times, after which it is drawn off, and kept till it is old; all these wines, however, are condemned by Themison, an author of high authority. And really, by Hercules! the use of them does appear to be somewhat forced, unless, indeed, we are ready to maintain that these aromatic wines are so many compounds taught us by Nature, as well as those that are manufactured of perfumes, or that shrubs and plants have been generated only for the purpose of being swallowed in drink. However, all these particulars, when known, are curious and interesting, and show how successfully the human intellect has pried into every secret.

None of these wines, however, will keep beyond a year, with the sole exception of those which we have spoken of as requiring age; many of these, indeed, there can be no doubt, do not improve after being kept so little as thirty days.

Godshill Mead

First of the haul from Middle Farm, I thought I’d try something undemanding first. Hey I waited 24 hours, and am saving the best till last.

A small corked bottle, and a good name for a Mead, the bottle seemed to almost ooze honey. The aroma seems remenscent of fairly rough cider, although that may be my mind playing tricks, I’ve been to Godshill. I also like rough cider.

Initial tasting is a bit sweet and sickly, in the manner of Harvest Gold or Norfolk Mead. The after taste is more pleasant but again feels more like a flavoured wine (or even a cider) than a Mead.

The bottle describes it as a country wine from the Isle of Wight. The website reads thus:

Thought to be the most ancient alcoholic drink, dating back some 12,000 years, before wine, beer and even cider. Our mead is made from fermented honey, and is medium in sweetness.

They also do a Christmas Mead so an excuse to visit Wigit

A better experience slightly chilled, or with ice, as the sweeter sense blends into the ice, but still nothing special. I appear to be becoming a Mead snob, which I guess was the inevitable intention all along.

Mission for Mead

I’ve been saving this for a special occasion, and today has been a day of glorious sunshine and a frustrating morning in the office, so off to Sussex I headed.

At Victoria station I stopped in the Cheese shop, and enquired about Mead. Apparently they normally stock a variety but had sold out, which is interesting on different levels. I’ll need to return to find out what it was, and again it’s reassuring to know others drink the stuff.

An hour and a half later I’m in Lewes killing times between trains, with a pint of Black Rat cider. Lewes is also full of posh Deli’s so I suspect there’s Mead to be found here, but my mission is clear.

Another hour later I’m at Glynde, and so begin the long march. A long march down a busy and positively lethal A27 to Middle Farm. This is not an easy place to get to without a vehicle and only the Mad and the English would attempt it. Luckily I’m both.

The sun is scorching, I’ve not got any water, I’ve chosen to wear new boots and the blisters are starting to kick in as my ankles are rubbing raw. I’m still dodging thundering Lorries and inhaling exhaust fumes but 40 minutes (2miles?) and countless false summits later I make it.

Middle Farm is pretty special. Go there.

It’s packed with people tasting ciders. They have a serious amount of ciders, allegedly 200+ and free tasting of the draft varieties. They have beers and fruit wines and a ridiculous range of Meads to choose from. Very aware that I’m going to have to carry them back down that damn road I end up buying a mere 8 bottles (more to follow).

I’ve attempted to note the different varieties of Mead they had on display but to be honest got bored writing them down, so I missed a few. I also failed to notice the 3 draft Meads behind the till until I was leaving, not to mention the range of 15-20 miniatures. Clearly I’ll be back.

However this is most of what they had:

Friary Vitners Mead (£6.82)
Friary Vitners Spiced Mead (£6.82)
Friars Choice (Brandy, Honey & Spices, £16.19)
Cornish Liquor Mead (£9.22)
Cornish Mead Wines (£8.64)
Moniak Mead (£8.66)
New Quay Honey Wine Mead-Apricot (7.45)
New Quay Honey Wine Mead-Blackberry (7.45)
New Quay Honey Wine Mead-Raspberry (£7.45)
New Quay Honey Wine Mead-Ginger (£7.45)
New Quay Honey Wine Mead-Heather (£7.45)
New Quay Honey Wine Mead-Honey (£9.27)
Lyme Bay Traditional Mead (75cl, £7.45)
Lyme Bay Traditional Mead (375cl, £4.48)
Lyme Bay Christmas Mead (£7.45)
West Country Liqueurs- Whisky & Mead (£8.55)
Godshill Cider Company Mead (£4.81)
Norfolk Mead (£6.65)
Lindisfarne Mead (75cl, £9.34)
Lindisfarne Mead (35cl, £5.73)
Lythe Hill Hotel (Lurgashall) English Mead (£5.99)
Camelot County Products Mead (£8.09)
Sussex Boar Hunter (£14.50)
Dark Mead (£9.99)
Pernards Organic Mead (£7.03)
Carr Taylors Mead (£5.68)
Malmesbury Reserve Mead (£14.30)
Malmesbury Dry Mead (£11.46)
Lurgashall Honey Whisky Mead (50cl, £9.70)
Lurgashall English Honey Mead (50cl, £8.43)
Lurgashall Spiced Honey Mead (£8.99)
Lurgashall Celtic Honey Mead (£8.43)

So depending on how you count perhaps 33 different varieties of Mead. I got lucky only spending £70

Mead-A Slavonic invention

The Miody Apis website boldly claims that Mead was invented by Slavonic tribes in Poland, which I find hard to believe but makes for an interesting read:

Polish art of honey-based beverage making - 1000 years of tradition

The art of making beverages from honey was initiated by Slavonic tribes that inhabited the Polish land over 1 thousand years ago.

Historians agree that the first attempts to process honey into alcoholic beverages, later to be known as meads, is a Slavonic invention. Already back in 966, Spanish travellers noted that besides ample food, forests and arable land, the country of Prince Mieszko I offered honey in abundance, and Slavonic wines and heady drinks called meads. The development of mead making was determined in the main by the climate which was favourable to wild bees rather than vine. Over 10 centuries ago, Ibrahim ibn Jacob, a Jewish merchant and diplomat from Spain, wrote that "Meads are heady wines drunk in the land of Prince Mieszko." Gallus Anonymous, the first Polish historian who lived at the turn of the 11th c, reported that our country "abounds with gold and silver, bread and meat, fish and honey." Meads were for centuries served only in well-to-do families.

However, their recipes were commonly known, especially in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Mead is considered to be the oldest alcoholic beverage known in Central and Northern Europe where vine could not grow because of adversary climatic conditions.

In Poland mead enjoyed the reputation of "a fine liquor" and was served in monasteries and homes of the Polish nobility. A favourable drink of the Piast aand Jagiellonian dynasties, mead was also extolled by Zagłoba, the famous 17th c. warrior described by Henryk Sienkiewicz in "The Trilogy", who never parted with a demijohn of fine, mature, and very strong mead" to "refresh himself in the time of need". Mead is, thus, the Polish national drink, an important part of our cultural heritage.

during the second half of the 17th c. the production of mead in Poland fell into decline due to the political and economic policy of the partitioning countries.

This situation continued until after the Second World War when the production of meads based on traditional recipes was revived. Cultivating technological traditions in the production of meads is of vital importance. Therefore, the production process requires careful supervision.

Poland is the only country in the world in which mead is produced on an industrial scale. It is probably no wonder that meads are so strongly identified with our country.

Polish art of honey-based beverage making or maliniaki, dębniaki an other types of meads

Polish meads were a highly coveted commodity already in the 15th c. Merchants carried wagon or barge-loads of meads and beeswax to Gdańsk and further to other European countries Such a demand prompted increased production. Mead making establishments or "meaderies" were founded in many towns by experienced brewers known as miodowary. In time, in order to diversify flavour and aromatic properties, fruit juices were added giving rise to maliniaki (raspberry flavoured meads) wiśniaki (cherry flavoured meads) and others. Dębniaki, or meads poured into barrels made of freshly cut oak wood staves, were very popular because of their unique flavour and aroma. Equally popular were Polish and Lithuanian lipce or meads produced exclusively from honey collected in July.

Forest beekeeping and hive beekeeping in historic Poland

The original beekeeping in Poland was largely a forest-related activity which consisted in collecting honey hollows in trees where bees lived. In was not until the 14th c. that beekeeping was moved into villages by bringing tree trunks with bee hollows away from forests. From that moment on the role of this form of beekeeping grew considerably and became highly profitable. This is testified by the volumes of beeswax sold in Polish harbours or given away in the form of rent paid in kind. Beekeeping flourished until the 18th c. wars between Poland and Sweden which brought this activity to ruin.

Mead production process

Sometimes known as honey wine, mead is a fermented alcoholic beverage made from diluted honey. The amount of mead and water determines the basic type of mead produced. These type include półtoraki (1.5 part of honey to 1 part of water), dwójniaki (2:1), trójniaki (3:1), and czwórniaki (4:1). However, depending on various kinds of honey, the addition of fruit juices and spices, and various modifications of the fermentation and maturation processes, the variety of meads seems endless. Whatever the type or kind of mead, its production requires particular supervision and care. Selecting the raw material, proper strains of yeast, preparing the barrels, and timing fermentation and maturation processes have an effect on the quality of the final product. Since maturation is key, all currently used production methods are based on traditional recipes and technology. Meads have a unique alcoholic flavour and a high nutritious value due to the high content of natural honey and no added aromas, colorants or preservatives.

Tradition and modernity

Since its establishment in 1932, APIS Apiculture Cooperative in Lublin continues the glorious traditions of the Polish art of making meads. Soon after the Second World War the production of meads was carried out by cooperatives in Cracow, Poznań, Nidzica, Milejów and Lublin providing for the following decades a variety of meads to consumers. The only cooperative that has remained faithful to the traditional art of mead making is here in Lublin. Thanks to the vision of the Cooperative's management and highly qualified staff, the Cooperative continues to invest in modern equipment and to extend the product line in keeping with the quality requirements laid out in the Polish Norm and in European acts on winemaking. In 2004 APIS launched the most modern mead bottling line in Poland, and the investments made during the years 2002-2004 qualified the copany to receive the ISO 9001:2001 quality certificate and the HACCP food safety certificate.

Recipes

Al types of meads sold under the brand name of APIS are produced in accordance with modified centuries old formulae without any artificial aromatic substances, preservatives and sulphur dioxide. During the production process we make every effort to maintain the traditional character of our products. We produce meads of the highest quality and the widest variety from heavy sweet meads with the highest content of honey and alcohol (15-17%) such as Półtorak and Dwójniak through Trójniak with 12-14% of alcohol to light dry meads such as Czwórniak with 9-11% of alcohol.

Six Patterns of Mead

I’m still at the beginning of this quest, and have yet to do much more than sip at the varieties of British Meads. However there is such an abundance of information on the wicked web I’d like to clarify the varieties of Mead as I understand them.

There are muddied divisions between national traditions and names, and the patterns of making the Mead itself. The patterns include

1) Traditional or plain mead
A Mead brewed with honey and water, and little else. Varieties include:

• Great Mead – brewed to be aged before drinking (sometimes Old Mead)
• Short Mead – a more effervescent variety, brewed to be drunk quickly
• Hydromel (also Aquamiel, Idromele and similar and perhaps Berz (Ethopian) - A lighter low alcohol mead, presumably with more water involved so also akin to the Polish Czwórniak and Półtorak varieties
• Sack Mead – a very sweet mead with excessive amounts of honey
• Show Mead – a modern invention? of honey & water with nothing added relying on artificial yeasts and enzymes.
• Bochet – burnt Sack Mead
• Dębniaki - fermented in oak barrels for a specific taste (Polish)
• Thalassiome – mixed with seawater (more of a medicine - ref Pliny)
• Lipce – only uses honey collected in July (Polish/Lithuanian)

2) Braggot (also Bracket, Brackett or Bragawad, maybe also Miodomel)
A Mead brewed with honey and hops, or honey and malt, or sometimes all three. One could argue that Tej (Ethopia) is almost a Braggot, as a traditional mead fermented with Gesho instead of hops. At some points Braggots evolve into ale, and perhaps honey ales deserve some recognition here. Varieties include:

• Stakliškės - lime, juniper berries herbs & hops (Lithuanian)
• Trakai – lime, juniper berries acorns & hops (Lithuanian)

3) Melomel
A Mead brewed with honey and fruit juices. Varieties include

• Cyser – apple juice
• Pyment (also pyment claree)– grape juice. If white grapes sometimes known as a ‘white mead’
• Morta (also Mora)– mulberries
• Omphacomal – verjuice (unripe grapes)
• Perry – pears (although there is a boundary with pear cider somewhere)
• Black meads (also Kurpiowski) – blackcurrants
• Maliniaki – rasberries (Polish)
• Wiśniaki (also Podczaszy) – cherries (Polish)
• Sima – lemons (Finnish)
• Apis? – rowanberries (Polish)
• Bernardyński – chokeberries (Polish)
• Stolnik – plum stum (Polish)
• Jadwiga – raspberries (Polish)
• Lubelski – wild forest fruits (Polish)
• Bočių – juniper berries (Lithuanian)

4) Metheglin
A traditional mead with added herbs and/or spices. Common additives include Ginger, Tea, Orange peel, Nutmeg, Corriander, Cinnamon, Cloves, Vanilla, Rosemary. Varieties include:

• Capsicumel (Chile peppers)
• Gverc (Croatian)
• Pitarrilla (Mayan, Balche tree bark)
• Rhodomel (Rose hips & petals or Rose Attar)
• Trójniak Piastowski – alpine herbs (Polish)
• Hippocras – a spiced Melomel or, according to some,
simply a wine with added honey and spices

5) Undefined (maybe cocktails)
There is a pattern of making, or serving Mead, mixed with another alcoholic beverage, often wine. One interpretation is that this makes such Meads a Melomel. Wine being a fruit (grape) juice. Sometimes this may include alcoholic drinks with honey added, again especially wine. To me there is a clear difference between fermenting honey and fruit juices together as opposed to adding in pre-fermented fruit juice after the honey fermentation has finished. Be it wine, cider, or even a vinegar. Th Polish / Lithuanian meads seem to rely on such a process. So perhaps a question to a Mead maker or some in depth taste testing ( a better option).

Of more concerns that the cheaper Meads I have tasted may be little more than white wines with added honey. Harvest Gold has been described as ‘a classic interpretation of traditional mead’ which sounds like not mead to me. Varieties include

• Pyment – added wine (as above)
• Mulsum – added high strength (fortified?) wine (Roman)
• Oxymel – added wine vinegar (more of a medicine)

6) Distilled Meads
At some point it became possible to distill Mead in the same method as one produces Brandies, whether from wine or cider. One could easily argue that we are now in the realms of liquors and not Meads. Varieties include:

• Krupnik - (Polish)
• Suktinis (Lithuanian)
• Šventinė (Lithuanian)
• Vilnius (Lithuanian)
• Trys karaliai (Lithuanian)
• Žalgiris (Lithuanian)
• Stakliškių pipirinė (Lithuanian)

And more undoubtedly exist.

Stilton and Mead part I

On a recent trip to the Hive, I had the delight of stumbling upon some tasting notes for the drinking of Mead. They suggested that the Mead in question went well with a Strong Stilton, and despite the Mead in question having been long ago drunk here are my first thoughts.

The Stilton in question was the strongest I could find at the evil corporate superstore that was open at the time, and I need to try this again with a cheese more interesting. The Meads were both Harvest Gold and Norfolk, which I had on hand from the previous nights drinking.

The taste of the Stilton was a very bitter, pungent contrast to the Meads and the difference was very interesting, and incredibly intense. Intense enough that I broke the two up with bread on most attempts. Equally I’m not sure the two complimented each other in any way, which may have been a reflection of both meads being sweet and sickly (and cheap).

So not a stunning success, but a clear path to a 2nd attempt with a cleaner drier Mead, and a subtler less homogenised Stilton. For now the best accompaniment to mead seems to be more mead.

Norfolk Mead

A surprising find at Budgens and pretty cheap at £5.80 a bottle, Broadlands Norfolk Mead is perfectly palatable but nothing particular special.

With quick a sweet stickly taste akin to that of Harvest Gold, it lacks the drier lighter taste of more expensive (better quality?) meads. There’s also a slight vinegary scent so perhaps the bottle’s been sitting in Budgens for too long. Equally my snobbery may be corrupting my palate at this point.

Quite a smooth texture with a bitter after taste, more reminiscent for a white wine than a Mead. Successive glasses have proved to be much more drinkable.

The bottle describes the Mead as

The Grandfather of Country Wines

Which I guess suggests the makers are more into the production of fruit wines than the drink of the gods that is Mead.

Overall a better drink than the Harvest Gold from Morrisons but perhaps you really do get what you pay for.

Crouch End Triangle

There is something about Crouch End that always reminds me of the Bermuda Triangle. In fact sod it all of N8 is pretty odd. It’s next to impossible to get there, there is a distinct absence of the tube / train stations and the buses behave distinctly inconsistently.

Don’t get me wrong Crouch End is a very nice place when you get there, but my attempt to spend a slightly elongated lunch break visiting some Mead suppliers, turned into a 3 hour mission to Alexandra Place, to Wood Green, to Hornsey to Turnpike Lane and in the end I walked the last mile to get there.

You see rumour had it that Budgens in Crouch End sold a range of fruit wines including a Mead. The Budgens in question was branded a Thornton Budgens and was very special indeed. To my mind Budgens are a down market Kwiki Mart and yet this one sold a whole range of organic beers, a bigger range of ciders and posh deli food. In and amongst the specialities was a Norfolk Mead at £5.80 as part of the Broadland Country Wine range.

The same rumour mill had it that the very posh deli / café opposite also stocked Mead in a stoneware jar produced by Lyme Bay. In this I was disappointed as they had a fruit wine in a similar jar but had sold out of the Mead. Another trip in the offing.

However lurking on the dusty top shelf was a small presentation pack of 6 Lithuanian Meads in 40cl bottles for £9.95. A choice find indeed comprising:

Lietuviskas Midas Bociy at 14%
Midaus Nektaras Sventine at 30%
Midaus Nektaras Grizta Vyrai at 40%
Midaus Nektatas Du Keliai at 44.4%
Midaus Nektaras Sukinis at 50%
Midaus Balzamas Zalgirls at 75%

Now at 75% alcohol by volume I’m not sure quite what this has to do with English Mead. Or even Vodka, but its going to be fun finding out. You see the Lithuanian’s like their Mead, the presentation pack goes on:

Lithuanian mead
The authentic national speciality of Lithuania, it has been crafted since ancient times. The forgotten art of producing Mead was revived in 1959 by A.Sinkevicius (1908-1989), the former director of the company “Lietuviskas Midus” in Stakliskes. All mead drinks are made of natural bee honey and berry juice. Their unique flavour comes from refined infusion of carnation blossom, poplar buds, acorn, juniper berries laced with many other valuable herds. www.midus.it

Now Crouch End may be a bugger to get to, N8 may be the Bermuda Triangle of North London but it’s a darn sight closer than Stakliskes, Lithuania.

Lurgahsall Winery

I found out more of the Lurgashall story on the United International webpage.

17th century surroundings
Nestling beneath Blackdown, the highest point in West Sussex, where Alfred Lord Tennyson once had his home, Aldworth, stands Lurgashall Winery. The Winery is housed in a complex of converted 17th and 18th Century award winning farm buildings, whose rustic nature compliments the country style products of the Winery.

Modern technology
Inside, the site is anything but rustic, being self-contained with fermentation, maturation and bottling vats, and modern, high quality equipment in a sterile bottling room. Also on site is a fully equipped laboratory for testing wine production at each stage under the careful eye of our resident Winemaker.

Visitors
The Winery attracts some 35,000 visitors annually through the shop and offers a variety of tours and tastings to clubs, associations and groups who can also visit the herb garden next to the shop that has some 55 medieval herbs on display.

Production
Lurgashall Winery began production in 1985 following the acquisition of the Malmesbury Mead and Wine Company that had 2 employees, no more than 12 customers and produced 1,000 bottles of wines and meads.

This acquisition was quickly followed by the strategic purchase of a major portion of Davis Wines, a brewer of country wines since 1855 and this purchase gave the Winery an interesting range of liqueurs that has been successfully developed over subsequent years.

Today the Winery employs 22 full and part-time staff, has more than 1,000 regular customers and produces approaching 500,000 bottles of country wines, meads and liqueurs annually.

A Taste of England
Our policy is to gather ingredients locally wherever possible and to only use real fruits, flowers, vegetables and honey to ensure that the products we sell maintain the authentic flavours of those early days - a true "Taste of England".

For more information on Lurgashall Winery please visit their website at www.lurgashall.co.uk.

22 staff and 500,000 bottles perhaps I’m not the only Mead drinker out here after all.

Malmesbury Dry Mead

I’m still slowly recovering from the hangover brought on by drinking the bottle of Malmesbury washed down by half a bottle of Harvest Gold. So from what I recall a very pleasant Mead, perhaps a bit moorish and worth another more sober assessment on a different occasion.

The bottle's very noticeable for the cool picture of drunken wretches dancing from a Maypole, well sort of a Maypole as it looks more like one of Hogarth's cartoons than the merry olde English village stereotye.

From my blurred memories, the Mead was again quite smooth, with a stronger bitter taste, and a strong pleasant aroma of honey similar to that of the Lurgashall English Mead.

However I’m still intrigued by why Malmesbury is not listed on the Lurgashall website and there seems to be a suggestion that it was once produced by the Malmesbury Mead & Wine company (from 1972) before being cruelly bought out by Lurgashall in a hostile takeover. Ok perhaps I made the cruel bit up. The bottle is moderately informative:

Mead is probably the world’s oldest alcoholic beverage. This delicious drink, made from fermented honey, has been enjoyed by everyone from the ancient Greeks to Queen Elizabeth I, who, liked her Mead infused with rosemary and thyme.

The home of Aethelstan, King of England between 925 and 940 AL, Malmesbury is the oldest borough in England. Wine was first made in the area in the 11th century when a Greek monk named Constantine planted a vineyard near Malmesbury’s famous abbey.

Since 1972 the Malmesbury Mead & Wine company has used only the finest natural ingredients to produce a range of meads. Try the other varieties in our range for a true ‘Taste of the Gods’!

This mead can be enjoyed lightly chilled, or mulled with spices in winter time.

The bottle was quite expensive from the Hive at £16.95, and cheaper online £11.25 from Beers of Europe. Equally the Hive is a cool shop so go there, and support a real local business.

A random conversation with a friend reminded me of Hive the game which Hive the shop doesn’t seem to stock. On my next trip I’ll suggest it to them, and if you’re at all into games then buy a copy.

Finally there’s also a suggestion that Malmesbury Mead also goes under the name of the Tower of London Mead, but I suspect that this is a Whiskey Mead instead of the ordinary dry version. Equally perhaps a visit to the Tower to find out how much you can charge an American tourist for a bottle.

Mead of Poetry

The giant Suttung ("the old giant") possessed the magic mead, a draught of which conferred the gift of poetry. Othin, desiring to obtain it, changed himself into a snake, bored his way through a mountain into Suttung's home, made love to the giant's daughter, Gunnloth, and by her connivance drank up all the mead. Then he flew away in the form of an eagle, leaving Gunnloth to her fate. While with Suttung he assumed the name of Bolverk ("the Evil-Doer").

Mead the essence of Odins quest for the secret knowledge of the Runes, of the duties of guests and hosts and more. From the Gestaþáttr of the Havamal

Shun not the mead, but drink in measure;
Speak to the point or be still;
For rudeness none shall rightly blame thee
If soon thy bed thou seekest.

and from the Rúnatal (or Odins Rune Song)

Gunnloth gave on a golden stool
A drink of the marvelous mead;
A harsh reward did I let her have
For her heroic heart,
And her spirit troubled sore.

and

Nine mighty songs I got from the son
Of Bolthorn, Bestla's father;
And a drink I got of the goodly mead
Poured out from Othrörir.

Mead truly the drink of the gods.

Mead over Ice

At some point on my travels I stumbled upon the following tip for the serving of Mead:

Serve hot in winter time or ice cold in summer

Which for me conjures up images of sticking a red hot poker into a sizzling goblet of Mead on a winters evening. I’m not sure I can wait to winter to try this, but in between the drinking of Mead with Ice is an easier achievement.

It’s also quite pleasant, and the chill emphasizes the bitter flavors which is good when the Mead is good (like Lurgashall) but less good when the Mead is poor.

Magners reinvented cider by advertising the idea of serving over ice. Their cider may be bland, sweet and dull, adding ice to cider is a perversity, but it did do wonders for the industry, so perhaps one could do the same for the drinking of Mead.

In this post Magners world every supermarket now stocks a solid half dozen good ciders, perhaps one day they’ll do the same with Mead.

Lurgashall English Honey Mead

After a stupidly busy week at work, I’ve finally found the time and headspace to try one of the Mead’s I acquired at the Hive last weekend.

And very nice it was too, definitely the best of the bunch so far which considering the expense (£9.95 for 50cl) is a good thing.

Produced down in Sussex like many good things, Lurgashall English Honey Mead has quite a smooth sweet taste, with a bit of a spicy tang and a strong honey aroma. Considerably less sticky that the Harvest Gold, but probably just as sweet. The tang is also very pleasant and it slips down very quickly indeed. hic….

The bottle has an old school cork, so my random ideas about Mead and Corks were clearly untrue, and although not cheap from the Hive, the Lurgasall website lists it at £7.50 a bottle or £45 a case.

Lurgashall also suggests it goes well with Cheddar cheese, which I have still to test, but for now it seems to go well with Cheddar biscuits which is kind of the same thing, well not really but still salty and nice.

Well balanced, with a very full, sweet honeyed flavour – but not too sweet! Our most popular mead.

Lovely over ice or mulled with spices, or orange and ginger. It goes well with Cheddar cheese and is a great accompaniment to desserts. Try adding two-thirds tonic and a squeeze of fresh lime for a superb cocktail.

I think good things will come of the Lurgashall range and I’m looking to find out more. Until then I’m starting to wonder how many Meads there are out there?

Last night I ended up listening to most of what was the Sisters of Mercy and chatting with a mate about Mead. He’s also into drinking Mead at Witchfest, and has a couple of bottles of Polish fortified Mead at home which I’ve yet to see. This strongly suggest there’s a damn more types of Mead than I’ve seen imagined far.

The Sisters wasn’t anything special, it’s not that they were bad, although the sound was pretty shite, it’s just that I wanted something epic, something awesome, something to remind me of younger days. Hence forward I’ll stick to the Mead.

Journey to the Hive

Good news for the blog, but bad news for my liver. I have at last stumbled upon somewhere with a decent range of Meads to drink.

The Hive Honey Shop in Wandsworth / Clapham Junction is one of those quirky independent shops that makes modern life interesting, diverse and reassuringly geeky.

They sell honey there and lots of it, along with every possible bee, honey or bees wax product imaginable. Then they sell everything conceivable associated with bees, from board games to greeting cards. Then they sell a whole load of other bee/honey products you couldn’t imagine, conceive of, or associate with bees.

You might suggest this is a theme gone too far, but I don’t believe such a thing is possible, so go there and tell me what you think.

They stock 7 varieties of Mead, along with posh wine shop style tasting tips. For one such Mead it’s suggested you try it with Stilton, which has to be worth an ambition. They offer free tasting in the shop, but I’d rather try them by the bottle.

I think all the Meads on offer originate at the Lurgashall winery, although some go under the name of ‘Malmesbury Mead’. Weirdly there seems to be no mention of the Malmesbury label of the Lurgashall website.

The 7 on sale were:

Lurgashall English Mead
Lurgashall Reserve Mead
Lurgashall Spiced Mead
Lurgashall Whiskey Mead
Malmesbury Dry Mead
Malmesbury Reserve Mead
Malmesbury Whiskey Mead

The range on the website seems to differ. On the day the state of my bank balance deterred me from buying all seven, just. So undoubtably another trip.

more to follow

Honeymoon's over

Over the last week I’ve done little but drink a fair amount of Mead, played games and written rambling blog posts. Ah holidays. Whether the blog, or I, survive into next week will be determined by the quest to find some more to drink.

In between to find out more, I’ve been trying to soak the label off a bottle of Lindisfarne. The writings on the wrong side see, and looking at it all curved makes my head hurt. In disgust I’ve given up and went to the website, to find this:

The word "honeymoon" is derived from the ancient Norse custom of having Newly-Weds drink Mead for a whole moon in order to increase their fertility and therefore their chances of a happy and fulfilled marriage. World famous Lindisfarne Mead is not only the connoisseur's choice but makes a supreme drink for young and old alike whatever the season. To many it is regarded the "nectar of the gods"

Now this is a delightful image, get married and then spend a month as newlyweds drinking nothing but Mead. But is it true? Wikipedia reckons not:

In many parts of Europe it was traditional to supply a newly married couple with enough mead for a month, ensuring happiness and fertility. Though some believe it is from this practice we get the word honeymoon[13][14], this etymology is not accepted by linguists[citation needed].

Although if I’m quoting from an un-cited reference from a Wiki, I must be loosing it, perhaps I have drunk too much Mead this week. No matter, I’d like to live in a world where it is true, so let’s make it so. In the unlikely circumstances I get married, I pledge to drink nothing but Mead for a month.

Gerry’s of Soho

Like many I left university with a degree, and no real clue about what I wanted to do with it. By luck, and for the craic of it, I ended up working in a small board games shop in Soho called Just Games.

Just Games was one of those quirky independent shops, with a world famous reputation, and a massive turnover (for a small shop). A business that had been established since 1968 making it probably the oldest game shop in the world. Maybe The Complete Strategist in New York. An independent shop regularly featured in Time Out, the Telegraph, the Lady magazine and a host of media mags.

Needless to say the shop has gone now, evicted by greedy landlords, the Regent Palace Hotel. Confident they could make more money from the property, they destroyed Just Games, the small independent shoe shop next door and forced the equally famous London butchers next door to relocate.

Rather than making money, the property then left empty for 5-10 years before being replaced by a chain store, albeit a Fresh & Wild rather than say a Tesco’s. The French would never let stupid crimes like this happen.

Soho still has plenty of independents left, and legendary amongst them is Gerry’s off licence on Old Compton Street. The window is a vast array of exotic alcohol from around the world, seriously go; the window alone will inspire awe.

So I’ve been saving Gerry’s to see what they had on the Mead front. Perhaps something Polish, or Lithuanian, maybe a Dark Mead made famous by Neil Gaiman’s Sandman.

Instead disappointment looms, and the two Meads they had were Harvest Gold and Lindisfarne. The two Meads I’ve already found. Damn and blast.

Neither were the Meads in question cheap, at £9.25 for Lindisfarne and £7.50 for Harvest Gold. But sod the price; I’d rather spend my money in an independent retailer than in Morrisons, if at least they had something quirky to buy,

Lindisfarne Mead

A bit more of an effort Selfridges wine department stocks one variety of Mead, Lindisfarne. John Lewis doesn’t have anything, which again is probably a reflection of Waitrose failing on the Mead front which still surprises me.

Selfridges is a darn site more expensive at £10.99 for a 70cl bottle at 14.5% alcohol. Dull screw top lid, and a much lighter coloured liquid. I wonder why there is an absence of corks, is this a recent phenomenon or does Mead react badly to corks?

From what I understand the cork growers of Spain face economic extinction as wine producers move over the plastic caps and screw tops, which strikes me as odd.

Cork seem entirely fit for purpose and support a localised industry that’s good for people and the planet. It’s not dependant on the Petrochemical industry, and the challenge of avoiding corked wines adds to the ambiance. Plastic must have an effect on the flavour, and undoubtedly contains trace chemical excitement, Phthalates and the like.

A relevant piece in the Independent cites Dom Perignon spotting corks in the water containers carried by 17th century itinerant monks. Naturally it takes someone wealthy, famous and male to discover ‘corks’ unlike the folk who’ve been using them for years.

And to the Mead, a much lighter taste than Harvest Gold. Not so sweet or viscous, but with more of an alcohol taste, a bit of a tang like cheap white wine.

Quite how much of this is my perception, it’s listed as stronger, and the effect of reading various criticisms of Lindisfarne on the Mead forums. Ha that there is such a thing, reassures me I'm not alone in this obsession.

Still very pleasant to drink, and the lightness makes it an entertaining alternative to Harvest Mead. But at three times the price, probably not, even if cheaper at source on Holy Isle.