Lyme Bay Westcountry Mead

So last weekend after an eclectic pub crawl around South London, I ended up in Borough Market a wee bit merry and in a foody mood. Never a cheap combination.

After a certain amount of investigation I bought myself half a kilo of Stilton from the Neals Yard dairy and some Mead from the New Forest cider company who seemed to be the only stall in the place to carry the Amber nectar, from the Lyme Bay range. Ok I admit it, I bought a wee bottle of cider too, but there was an excuse. I'd promised to buy my Dad some Mead in exchange for the Stilton, and it seemed rude not to buy some cider too, after he got talking to the proprietor.

The Stilton didn’t last very long, and god was it good. Cholesterol is something that happens to other people, and the pork steaks in Stilton were worth dying for..

The Mead lasted the week, at least until a small posse of people appeared round my flat to play board games, and I wanted to offer them something more delicate that the Harvest Gold I was drinking, as their first initiation into Mead.

So even after Harvest Gold, the West County Mead was pretty sweet. After the sweetness there’s a strong taste of honey, and the scent to match so it’s quite nice but its sweetness does it a disservice.

Not a bad tipple, I’ll finish the bottle tomorrow and ruminate more, but nothing earth shattering. So I think I’ve failed in attracting new drinkers to the cause. At least this time.

Of Kuksa’s, Vappu and Sima

In a previous post I’ve declared my lust for a Mazer as a traditional mead drinking bowl and I have at least mentioned the Finnish mead Sima.

My dad however has returned from a cruise round Scandinavia with a ‘Kuksa’ as a birthday gift, obtained at enormous cost, thanks Dad. Described thus

a traditional work of Sami duodji, it is a type of drinking cup made by the Sami people of northern Scandinavia from carved birch burl.

He’d been reassured by a local craftsman that it was a traditional receptacle for Mead, the man himself making his own mead, which was unfortunately not for sale.

The story sounds plausible simply because of Sima, and its role in the Vappu festival.

Sima is described as a Sweet mead made with honey, lemon and sometimes raisins. The Sima usually being accompanied by munkki (a donut), tippaleipä (a special Vappu funnel cake) or rosetti (a rosette).

Vappu is the Finnish version of Mayday, and undoubtedly has its pagan origins, it’s described as a two day carnival, a pagan equinox festival associated with Walpurgis Night although it’s not clear cut how old it is.

Vappu: From Helsingin Sanomat

The history of Vappu stems from Germany where May Eve is celebrated as Valpurgisnacht, a well-known witches' sabbath.

Walburga, the original Vappu, was born in around 710 AD, and she died 69 years later in Heidenheim, in what is now Germany. She was an abbess and a missionary. Her life was naturally a good one but what singled her out for canonisation was that after her death and the subsequent interment of her relics (on May 1, 870) in the Church of the Holy Cross in Eichstätt, strange things began to happen. Her shrine became an important pilgrimage site because of the clear liquid, referred to as a “miraculous oil”, that oozed from the rock on which her tomb was placed. Some twenty years after the interment, Walburga's relics were inspected and diffused, and this spread her cult status far and wide.

At this point we move into the realm of speculation. There are two possible theories. On the one side we have the possibility that soon after her death, the memory of her became confused with that of Waldborg, a pre-Christian fertility goddess, and the witches' sabbaths became known as Valpurgisnacht, without materially changing their contents. This confusion is not helped by the fact that Walburga is supposed to be a protectress of crops as well as a healer, and in art she is often pictured with three ears of corn in addition to her flask of medicinal oil.

The other scenario, which seems equally plausible, is that the abbess was seen as a handy tool for quietening down the witchcraft rituals associated with this time of the year. As so often throughout the history of the early Christian church, saints' days and other holy days were often placed strategically in the calendar to counter the effects of “less devout” pantheistic or pagan festivals, and this may be the case here, as St. Walburga and her healing oils were given the tough task of countering the bacchanalian orgies of April 30th.

This particular dodge might have worked for Christmas (timed to coincide with the very rowdy Saturnalia orgies of Roman days), but at least to judge by the standards of Finnish Vappu, there isn't very much of a devotional aspect to be seen.
What began in Scandinavia in the 18th century as a civilised at-home celebration amongst the academic set (many of whom had studied in Germany) has changed with time and was adopted here in Finland with the rise of nationalism amongst students in the mid-19th century.

So clearly two things have come from this wee little cup. The need to visit Helsinki to join the festivities and to drink the mead, and to drink mead sooner to discover and dull the taste of the birch in the Mead.

Midaus Balzamaz Zalgiris

So I’ve cleared my pallet for the 6th and final mead of the Midaus set.At 75% abv I’m kind on intimidated by this one, but as an experience and an obstacle it needs to be done.

And a word of the ennui of existence. It’s a Saturday night and a set of fine musicians are playing up the road. My friends are scattered across London and the country, and so I guess I’m going alone, which would be a lonely experience if I wasn’t so used to it.

Entertainment is what it is, and although better in the good company of others, there is perhaps something in my nature that makes it unlikely to happy. Thus the enuui to which I refuse to surrender.

So to the mead, this time a mead balsam which I think means something.

A mead distillate of wonderful taste and aroma, with cranberry juice and lemon juice.

A mellow scent, with a hint of the strength but not much more. I’m hoping this one isn’t too drinkable, as that way lie blindness and oblivion.

Agghhh the taste entirely what you’d expect almost pure ethyl, numb lips and nothing much to taste. I’d be tempted to dilute it with something but can’t see the point. However persistence in the face of adversity.

So with water it’s drinkable but still no fun, and not to be repeated. No more than I expected and other true meads await.

Midaus Nektaras Suktinis

And so as the evening progresses. I’m investigating the bands of the night on My Space. I’m not sure when the world changed such that every music act the world over embraced My Space, and I wonder if this is the difference and the virtue of My Space over Facebook.

So to the penultimate Midaus product the Suktinis at 50%, again a half finished mead product with alcoholised blueberry, black and red currant juice and lemon juice.

A very different scent to the last, with a pleasant cinnamon air, although there’s no such listing on the bottle.

The first sip is strange indeed, sort of herbal with a sweet milder sting. I don’t know if we’re anywhere near the world of Mead anymore, but I think we’re doing credit to the world of Metheglin’s.

The final taste is increasingly herbal, almost a green leaf taste, not minty but along those lines, perhaps more of a nettle than a mint, with that alcoholic reminder.

Listening to Smokey Bastards version of ‘Drunken Sailor’ definitely helps the spirit go down, although the song Sprocket has more appropriate lyrics.

If a man can’t drink while he’s living, how the hell can we drink when he’s dead?

Feckless nihilism awaits…..

Midaus Nektaras Du Keliai

So an evening of Celtic Punk beckons with bands such as Circle J, Ciaran Murphy, Smokey Bastard and the Hackney Marshins. I’ve also got 3 wee bottles of Midaus left, and although the last one is 75% abv I’ve determined to crack them. And they said pre-loading was only a habit for the young.

So Du Kelai at 44% a half finished mead product with cranberry juice, lemon and acorn decocotion. A sweet Ethyl smell, not quite medicinal but getting there.

A slightly fruit taste, quickly hidden by the sweetness and then the burn of the alcohol. Drinking Mead type substances of this strength must drive one blind.

Its different to the others from the range but far from a pleasant tipple..