Is Mead The Oldest Alcohol?

The earliest surviving description of mead is possibly the soma mentioned in the hymns of the Rigveda, one of the sacred books of the historical Vedic religion and (later) Hinduism dated around 1700–1100 BC. During the Golden Age of ancient Greece, mead was said to be the preferred drink.

The alcohol content of mead ranges from about 5% to 20%. For comparison, regular grape wine has a typical alcohol content of about 12–14%. Excessive alcohol consumption can lead to serious health risks including liver disease, systemic inflammation and impaired digestive and immune system function ( 4, 5 ).

It is no surprise that so many nations consider mead their national drink as mead is a worldwide phenomena by its origin and distribution. One will meet many nations in Africa and in Europe, in the Americas and Asia that are proud of mead as their national beverage.

This “wine” was made from rice, honey, and hawthorn fruti/and or grape around 7000 – 6600 BCE, making it the oldest alcoholic beverage in the world with definitive proof. Jiahu Scientists analyzed shards of pottery from 16 different vessels to determine what this Chinese fermented beverage was made from.

Is mead more like beer or wine?

Mead is more like wine in terms of process, but no grapes are used in the mead fermentation. Mead is typically made solely from honey, water and yeast. The beer process requires boiling of grains, honey is only warmed to make mixing easier.

Mead is a fairly straightforward process, much like wine, but there’s lots of room for error in each step. Typically you take honey, mix with warm water and add yeast. The ratio of honey to water will determine the alcohol percentage (as well as the aggressiveness of the yeast).

What is the alcohol content of mead?

Alcohol Content. The alcohol content of mead ranges from about 5% to 20%. For comparison, regular grape wine has a typical alcohol content of about 12–14%. Excessive alcohol consumption can lead to serious health risks including liver disease, systemic inflammation and impaired digestive and immune system function ( 4.

It’s one of the oldest alcoholic beverages ever made, as it was consumed as far back as 4,000 years. Interestingly, mead was common across ancient cultures around the world including those in Asia, Europe and Africa.

While there isn’t much information available on the precise nutritional content of mead, pure alcohol alone provides 7 calories per gram. One serving of any alcoholic beverage contains about 14 grams of alcohol, equaling at least 100 calories.

Mead is a fermented beverage traditionally made from honey, water and a yeast or bacterial culture. Sometimes called “the drink of the gods,” mead has been cultivated and consumed across the world for thousands of years. This article explores mead and its possible benefits and pitfalls. Share on Pinterest.

In Greek mythology, it was often referred to as “the drink of the gods” and allegedly given to warriors after a fight to enhance healing of their battle injuries. Today, many still believe that drinking mead benefits your health and that the drink has healing properties.

All you need to make basic mead is honey, water and a yeast or bacterial culture. However, ingredients such as fruits, herbs, spices, grains, roots and flowers are often included as well.

Mead is typically gluten-free, depending on what is added during the fermentation process. Thus, if you have a gluten allergy, double check the mead you plan to drink to ensure no gluten-containing ingredients were included in the brew.

What is mead in Irish?

Mead ( Old Irish mid) was a popular drink in medieval Ireland. Beekeeping was brought around the 5th century, traditionally attributed to Modomnoc, and mead came with it. A banquet hall on the Hill of Tara was known as Tech Mid Chuarda (“house of the circling of mead”). Mead was often infused with hazelnuts.

Mead was produced in ancient times throughout Europe, Africa and Asia, and has played an important role in the mythology of some peoples. In Norse mythology, for example, the Mead of Poetry was crafted from the blood of the wise-being Kvasir and turned the drinker into a poet or scholar.

Bochet: A mead where the honey is caramelized or burned separately before adding the water. Yields toffee, caramel, chocolate and toasted marshmallow flavors. Bochetomel: A bochet-style mead that also contains fruit such as elderberries, black raspberries and blackberries. Braggot: Also called bracket or brackett.

aged mead: a mixture of honey and water or berry juices, subject to a very slow (12–50 years) anaerobic fermentation in airtight vessels in a process similar to the traditional balsamic vinegar, creating a rich, complex and high-priced product.

For a weaker mead, mix a sextarius of water with nine ounces of honey. The whole is exposed to the sun for 40 days, and then left on a shelf near the fire. If you have no rain water, then boil spring water.

Meads will often ferment well at the same temperatures in which wine is fermented, and the yeast used in mead making is often identical to that used in wine making (particularly those used in the preparation of white wines). Many home mead makers choose to use wine yeasts to make their meads.

Mead was often infused with hazelnuts. Many other legends of saints mention mead, as does that of the Children of Lir. Later, taxation and regulations governing the ingredients of alcoholic beverages led to commercial mead becoming a more obscure beverage until recently.