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WineEast Commercial Mead Production Drink from honey can be produced year-round, making the most of winery equipment By Chris Stamp P eople are often confused by mead: Is it wine, or is it beer? Historically, it has been known as both. While the primary ingredients of mead are honey and water, the basic recipe has been augmented with an array of other ingredients, many of which are common to either wine or beer, such as fruit, hops and barley. In addition, some production methods employ boiling, an activity more akin to beer brewing than winemaking. In reality, mead blurs the lines between wine and beer and makes it difficult to assign it to one realm or the other. Mead production predates wine and beer making in most ancient cultures, yet it is relatively uncommon today. Decline in mead production coincided with the spread of viticulture from the Mediterranean basin as well as the advent of grain malting, both of which provided cheaper fermentable products than honey. Today, however, there is a quiet renaissance in mead making. This niche market is partly driven by technological advances that eliminate some of the problems inherent in commercial mead production. Mead products are stylistically diverse. By adjusting the honey-towater ratio, alcoholic strength and residual sugar can be controlled. The presence or absence of dissolved carbon dioxide and the use of herbs, spices or fruit define a mead's ultimate identity. View video in the Wines & Vines Digital Edition. Bob Liptrot and Dana LeComte, owners of Tugwell Creek Honey Farm & Meadery in Sooke, B.C., discuss how they harvest honey and make mead. Raw materials—honey The type of honey selected is as important to the flavor of mead as grape varieties are to the flavor of wine. The floral source used by bees determines the flavor characteristics of their honey, which translates directly into the flavor of the mead. Strong flavored honeys make strong flavored meads, and lighter flavored honeys yield lighter flavored meads. One of the more interesting and creative aspects of mead production is the selection and blending of different honeys to achieve a desired flavor profile. In addition to flavor, color must be considered when selecting honey, as this obviously impacts the appearance of the finished product. Standardized color indexes are used to categorize honey under one of the following: water white, extra white, white, extra light amber, light amber, amber and dark amber. Honey color is not indicative of quality, and it is not necessarily proportionate to the flavor intensity. Honey that has undergone minimal processing is the most desirable. Many commercial honeys receive detrimental heat treatments The basic recipe for mead is honey and water, but some producers add fruit, herbs and spices to the mix. to retard crystallization. Depending on the extent of the treatment, many of the more interesting nuances of a honey's flavor can be lost. In addition, most supermarket honey has been blended to the extent that no distinctive varietal characteristics remain, even though they often state "clover honey" on the label. The best source for high-quality honey outside of keeping your own bees is probably a local beekeeper or a reliable packer who understands your needs. We've received honey sealed in plastic pails, in 55-gallon drums and in 1,000-liter cubes. Depending on the quantity of honey you will be using, the forklift-able cubes are the most convenient. When purchasing honey, be sure it has not crystalized. If it has, it must be heated to 130°F and held there until all the crystals are dissolved. (It's probably best to have a honey packer do it for you.) The amount of honey you will require depends upon your target finished alcohol, desired residual sugar and whether or not you are going to "stretch" the honey with less costly sugar. Since honey averages about 81.5° Brix and weighs about 12 pounds per gallon, you can closely estimate your honey requirements using an equation to calculate the required initial Brix and a second formula to determine the number of pounds of honey required. Win es & Vin es F EB RUA RY 20 13 73