Mead is a unique alcohol drink, created by fermenting honey with water with possible addition of various fruits, spices, grains or hops. Mead sometimes is referred as “honey wine”. As long as primary substance fermented is honey, final alcohol drink is considered mead. Main defining characterizing of mead is that the majority of the beverage’s fermentable sugar is derived from honey.
Mead is one of the world’s oldest alcohol drinks – it’s recipe is mentioned in ancient documents dating 6000 years ago. Although it is gaining its popularity in many markets only recently. EU has wide varieties of meads, that depends on the type of honey, additives, the yeast and aging process. Mead is called differently in European countries – for example Croatian mead is called gverc or medovina, Lithuanian mead, made of natural bee honey and berry juice – midus. Estonian traditional fermented drink, with a taste of honey – madu, Polish mead, made using two units of water for each unit of honey – trojniak (TSG), quick-fermented low alcohol Finnish variety – sima. Mead is produced in various European countries for centuries is re-living its renaissance today again, supplying customers with unique, natural, niche European product.
