**NOTICE** In this episode we consume alcoholic beverages. While we encourage our listeners to try along with us, we do not condone underage drinking. Do not consume alcohol if you are under the age of 21.
Beer. Wine. Vodka. Rum. The various drinks with little umbrellas poking out of the top. Most people over the age of 21 have probably tried many of these beverages. But how many of you have enjoyed a glass of mead? Well, put your car keys away and get comfortable, because today is your day.
Which meads are we trying today?
Camelot Mead - Oliver Winery and Vineyards, Bloomington, Indiana
Your Promised We’d Go Canoeing - Four Fires Meadery, Maumee, Ohio
Paint it Blackberry - Bootleg Hill Honey Meads, Davenport, Iowa
Raspberry Dream - Bootleg Hill Honey Meads, Davenport, Iowa
Chaucer’s Mead - Bargetto Winery, California
Toasty - Four Fires Meadery, Maumee, Ohio
Who is on this drunken quest?
Alan, just along for the ride.
Nate, lover of puns.
Matt, mead lover.
Amy, mead too.
And of course, our subscribers! Thanks to our small, yet coveted group. We appreciate the support. You too can join us on this food journey. All you need to do is… SUBSCRIBE!
The History of Mead
Mead is considered the world’s oldest alcoholic drink. And what does it consist of? Simply fermented honey and water. Chinese pottery vessels dating from 7000 B.C.E suggests evidence of mead fermentation that predates wine and beer. Ancient Greeks referred to it as nectar of the gods. It was believed to be sent from the heavens as dew and collected by bees. There are European cultures that considered bees to be the gods’ messengers, and mead was therefore associated with immorality and magical powers.
Celtic mythology tells of a river of mead running through paradise, and Anglo-Saxon cultures believed mead to be the bestower of immorality, poetry, and knowledge.
In the ancient times, mead was presumably made by diluting honey with water in clay or wooden vessels, then leaving airborne yeasts and yeast found naturally in the honey to do the rest. Today commercial mead is produced using a mix of honey, fresh yeast, lemons, and water. After fermenting it needs to be kept at least a year before drinking, but at around 16% it will keep indefinitely.
Mead can be produced in a variety of sweetness’s and it can be still or sparkling.
A mead’s flavor varies greatly depending on the honey type. Traditional mead often uses a mild honey such as orange blossom, clover, or acacia. But wildflower, blackberry and buckwheat honeys produce great results with sturdier spiced meads.
Mead is the fastest growing segment of the American alcohol beverage industry.
The Results
**SPOILER ALERT!**
Listen to the episode first if you do not want the results revealed to you yet!
6th/5th Place (TIE): Raspberry Dream
Alan: 2
Amy: 1
Matt: 2
Nate: 4
6th/5th Place (TIE): Paint it Blackberry
Alan: 1
Amy: 3
Matt: 3
Nate: 2
4th Place: Camelot Mead
Alan: 6
Amy: 6
Matt: 5
Nate: 5
3rd Place: Chaucer’s Mead
Alan: 5
Amy: 6
Matt: 6
Nate: 8
2nd Place: Toasty
Alan: 5
Amy: 6
Matt: 7
Nate: 8
1st Place: You Promised We’d Go Canoeing
Alan: 9
Amy: 10
Matt: 6
Nate: 7
There you have it. You Promised We’d Go Canoeing receives the Quest for the Best seal of approval. Check out their website to try them out for yourself.
https://www.4fmeadery.com/our-story
Thank you all for joining us on this episode of Quest for the Best. Let us know what you thought. Have you tried all these meads? We would love to hear your rating as well.
Also, do you have any foods you would love to get the coveted seal of approval? Let us know in the comments what you want to hear next.
And of course, remember to subscribe to hear the latest episodes. Additionally, paid subscribers will have access to monthly content where we put two restaurants head to head in a Quest for the Best battle. You definitely do not want to miss out.
SHOW NOTES:
https://www.irishexaminer.com/property/homeandgardens/arid-20377522.html
https://www.liquor.com/articles/10-facts-about-mead/
Forget the beer... break out the mead.