What is Mead?

Simply put, mead is an alcoholic beverage fermented primarily from the sugars found in honey. It is believed to be the oldest known alcoholic beverage, dating to 7000 BCE, and has been popular among many of history’s great civilizations such as the Greeks, Romans, Ethiopians, and most famously, the Nordic Vikings.

Meads have traditionally been brewed in the style of a sweet dessert wine. However, a recent trend has been gaining attention - “craft,” “session,” or “draft,” meads closer in style to dry sparkling wines, ciders, and beers. These carbonated meads are lower in alcohol than traditional meads, and more completely fermented, yielding a beverage with low residual sugar. The result is a much quaffable and refreshing beverage, perfect on a warm summer day. These dry meads also pair easily with any meal.

Mead is also known for its beneficial health qualities. It is naturally gluten-free and boasts the phytonutrients, vitamins and antioxidants of the honey used to create it. Session style meads are exceptionally low in sugars and carbohydrate; Hiveworks Mead in particular boasts a zero sugar content. It is an ideal beverage for anyone watching their carbs. Mead is also known for reducing stress and hyperglycemia, promoting digestion, and has even been used to treat drug resistant infections! At Hiveworks, we use only natural, simple ingredients; water, honey, yeast, and add fresh fruits, hops, herbs, and spices to flavor our meads. Our meads, unlike many others, are free of sulfites.

Finally, mead is an exceptionally environmentally friendly form of alcohol. Honey bees are kept primarily as crop pollinators - contributing pollination services to over 70% of the food we eat! The honey used in our meads is simply a natural byproduct of our agricultural system. Because the main ingredient is a byproduct, mead has a remarkably low carbon and water usage footprint when compared to other alcoholic beverages. Wine, beer, and ciders all have far greater environmental footprints. Mead, for example, uses 1/600th the water needed to produce beer or wine!

Hiveworks is committed to contributing to the health of the planet, the welfare of honey bees, and the protection of native pollinators, a vital keystone in the health of our local fauna and flora.