Althouse: ""[T]here's still one alcoholic territory upon which we can exert our manifest drinking destiny: mead."

२४ फेब्रुवारी, २०१५

""[T]here's still one alcoholic territory upon which we can exert our manifest drinking destiny: mead."

Sure, it’s 9,000 years old, and it’s made from honey. But it tastes new, and holy hell, is it growing."

From "This Ancient Booze Is Now Growing Faster Than U.S. Craft Beer."

२२ टिप्पण्या:

Darconville म्हणाले...: The text of the link contains an obvious falsity: mead is not more popular than craft beer, just growing at a faster rate. Of course something that is near zero is going to grow faster than a multi-billion dollar industry.; २४/२/१५, ७:५९ AM
Mark म्हणाले...: Madison recently got our own Meadery a year or two back, just opened a tasting room I think.

Goes well with food.; २४/२/१५, ८:०४ AM
Bob Ellison म्हणाले...: Yes, what Darconville said. This is a stupid article from the get-go. The URL is "http://www.thrillist.com/drink/nation/mead-is-more-popular-than-craft-beer".

Wake me up when mead passes passes kale in popularity.; २४/२/१५, ८:०६ AM
traditionalguy म्हणाले...: ही टिप्पणी लेखकाना हलविली आहे.; २४/२/१५, ८:१० AM
traditionalguy म्हणाले...: It said Mead is Zeus's favorite. Well everybody knows that.; २४/२/१५, ८:१० AM
Florida Gator म्हणाले...: Does this mean that Meadhouse will be renamed to Heorot?

I'm a robot.; २४/२/१५, ८:११ AM
Curious George म्हणाले...: "If yeast gets thrown into the honey, it’s going to create alcohol.”

Yeast is in the air. It's everywhere.; २४/२/१५, ८:१२ AM
iowan2 म्हणाले...: My public school education never taught me how important fermentation, and the making of wine, beer, and spirits, where vital to the advancement of the human race. Potable water was a rarity, and learning to ferment drinkable liquids allowed for man to expand his roam.; २४/२/१५, ८:१८ AM
Bryan C म्हणाले...: I give it a try now and then but Mead's generally too sweet for my tastes.

But ciders are also getting more popular, which is nice. Unfortunately most of the apple varieties once grown for cider have fallen out of favor with Big Orchard and need to be replaced or rediscovered.; २४/२/१५, ८:२० AM
chickelit म्हणाले...: Some personal recommendations:

Got Mead?; २४/२/१५, ८:२५ AM
Peter म्हणाले...: Beer in the middle ages was made from barley, and most of it was so weak that it had to be consumed fresh for its alcohol content was not high enough to keep it from spoiling.

Then (11th century?) brewers discovered that adding hops to the barley would extend the shelf life of their beer (which it does via an antibacterial effect that favors the activity of brewer's yeast over less desirable microorganisms).

Today hops are added mostly to create that hoppy flavor, but it wasn't always so.; २४/२/१५, ८:३६ AM
chickelit म्हणाले...: Mark said...Madison recently got our own Meadery a year or two back, just opened a tasting room I think.

Get thee to a meade'ry! Why woulds't thou be a breeder of Wisconsinners?; २४/२/१५, ८:३७ AM
Brando म्हणाले...: Doesn't seem like something I'd like, but I welcome the expansion of our alchoholic endeavors! I predict it won't be long before we have fermented, distilled and brewed just about every combination possible.; २४/२/१५, ८:४४ AM
Edmund म्हणाले...: @Brando

If it's got carbs that yeast can turn to alcohol, it's been done. In Africa, they use sorghum, palm sap, milk, bamboo sap, and bananas, among other things.; २४/२/१५, ८:५३ AM
Julie C म्हणाले...: You people haven't lived until you've gotten drunk on Palm wine. Killer!; २४/२/१५, ८:५६ AM
dbp म्हणाले...: In high school and college I was a hobbyist beekeeper and produced a lot of honey. Some of it I sold by putting up a sign in front of our house, but just as much was given to friends and family. A good quantity just accumulated.

I finally got rid of the rest of it by making two 5 gallon batches of mead. I used champagne yeast, which allows for a high alcohol content but the process was slow--I think it took a couple of months to complete.

My wife and I would bring a couple of bottles to the grad student cookouts that seemed to take place a couple times per week when we were students. People were always reticent to try it, but once they did, they were hooked. It is almost enough to get me back into beekeeping, almost.; २४/२/१५, ९:२३ AM
Darconville म्हणाले...: @Bryan C

Good mead shouldn't be overly sweet. The meads I've had from new producers lately are usually cloying and quite terrible. Good mead should be at least 8% ABV (and I've had great ones close to 20%), but these producers are aiming for 3 - 5% for easy drinking, so there is just too much residual sugar.; २४/२/१५, ९:३० AM
अनामित म्हणाले...: Sweet mead is ahistorical. Brewers in the past had no reliable way to stop fermentation in alcoholic beverages other than adding alcohol to the point that the yeast couldn't function. Ciders, mead, beer, wine would all continue to ferment until the sugars were consumed or the alcohol percentage grew so high that the yeasts were killed. Cold weather could slow down or even stop the fermentation, but once the product re-entered a warmer environment those little yeasties would once again start eating the sugars and pissing out alcohol.
I don't believe that medieval brews were the weak sauce that an earlier poster posited, although there was a weak version of the good stuff that was fed to children...Kinderbier is what the Germans called it.; २४/२/१५, १०:५१ AM
Jaq म्हणाले...: Wake me up when mead passes passes kale in popularity

I like to cook kale in olive oil and butter with a little beer poured in for steam. Then some salt, gotta have the salt.

Kraft beer is just too much *taste* for me. I think the brewmaster's art (there must be a muse for brewing) has reached its apogee with Molson's Brador. Available only in Canada AFIK.

Maybe I should try mead. I wonder if anybody would trade me for a four-pack of Heady Topper somebody gave me for Christmas?; २४/२/१५, ११:२५ AM
Jaq म्हणाले...: Ah, I see. Molson's is about 8%, which is one reason I like it. Wake me up when meed makers get serious.; २४/२/१५, ११:२७ AM
Ann Althouse म्हणाले...: "If You Give a Dude a Kale Chip."; २४/२/१५, १२:५९ PM
ken in tx म्हणाले...: You have to boil your honey wort to get rid of the natural peroxide that honey contains. Otherwise it won't ferment. The peroxide in honey is why it doesn't spoil in the hive, and why it is good for treating wounds.

Mead should not be overly sweet. You can add hops and it tastes like beer with almost no head.; २४/२/१५, ३:५५ PM