Mead is an alcoholic drink made by fermenting honey dissolved in water with yeast. Most mead is 8 to 14% ABV, the same strength as wine, and it can be dry or sweet, still or sparkling. It is one of the oldest fermented drinks there is, and the result ranges from a light, sessionable drink to something with the depth of a good wine.
What exactly is mead?
The simplest description: imagine a wine made from honey instead of grapes. It has the structure and strength of wine, but the flavour starts with the floral, sweet character of honey and changes with the yeast, nutrients, and anything else added to the ferment.
The honey provides all the fermentable sugar. There’s no grain, no grapes and no fruit in a traditional mead. The yeast converts those sugars into alcohol and carbon dioxide, leaving behind more or less sweetness depending on how far fermentation runs.
Most home meadmakers also add yeast nutrients to provide the nitrogen and micronutrients that honey lacks. Without them, fermentation can stall or produce off-flavours. To choose a strain, see the best yeast for mead.
A very brief history
The oldest chemical evidence of a honey drink comes from pottery found at Jiahu in China, about 9,000 years old. It held a fermented mix of rice, honey and fruit (McGovern and colleagues, PNAS, 2004). Mead itself appears in ancient Hindu, Norse, Greek, and Celtic texts. In Norse mythology the gods drank mead in Valhalla, and in Old English tradition the mead hall was the social centre of the community.
As agriculture spread, beer and wine became cheaper to make and mead faded. The craft mead revival of recent decades has brought it back as a serious drink.
The main styles of mead
Mead is not a single drink. It is a category with dozens of recognised styles. The most common:
Related calculator
Mead Recipe Calculator
Enter batch size, target ABV, sweetness, and yeast to get a full mead recipe — honey, water, OG/FG, nutrients, and yeast amounts.
How mead is made
The basic process is short. The hard part is patience, not technique.
- 1Sanitise everything Mead is as easy to contaminate as any fermented drink. A no-rinse sanitiser like Star San makes this straightforward.
- 2Dissolve honey in water Warm water helps the honey mix in. Avoid boiling, which drives off aroma.
- 3Add nutrients A staggered nutrient schedule (TOSNA) gives a cleaner, faster fermentation than adding everything at the start.
- 4Pitch yeast Rehydrate dry yeast per the manufacturer's instructions before adding it to the must.
- 5Ferment Primary fermentation usually runs 2 to 6 weeks depending on temperature, yeast strain, and how much honey you used.
- 6Rack and age Move the mead to a clean vessel off the yeast cake, and let it clear and develop.
- 7Bottle Still or sparkling, sweet or dry, depending on your target.
Free Mead Brewing Playbook (printable PDF)
A printable PDF companion for the mead calculators and guides.
How mead differs from wine and beer
The most useful comparison is with wine, since mead and wine share a simple sugar source, similar strength, and similar fermentation times.
| Mead | Wine | Beer | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sugar source | Honey | Grape juice | Malted grain |
| ABV range | 3.5 to 18%+ (most 8 to 14%) | 9 to 16% | 3 to 12% |
| Primary flavour | Floral, honey | Fruit, tannin | Malt, hops |
| Ferment time | 2 to 6 weeks | 1 to 4 weeks | 1 to 3 weeks |
| Aging benefit | High | High | Low to medium |
| Carbonated? | Either | Either | Usually |
The main practical difference: mead needs far more attention to nutrients. Honey is almost entirely sugar with very little nitrogen or micronutrients. Without them, yeast can stress, ferment slowly, and produce hydrogen sulphide (a rotten-egg smell). A good nutrient schedule prevents this.
For ABV by style and how mead compares with beer, wine and spirits, see mead alcohol content.
What equipment do you need?
You don’t need expensive equipment to make good mead. A basic setup:
That’s it. The biggest investment is time.
