In America mead sales grew by 130% from 2012 and 2013, according to the American Mead Makers Association. They attributed this growth to the improving quality of mead and some even linked it with the phenomenal success of Game of Thrones. The top tipple in the court of King Arthur, Beowulf’s beverage of choice, mead is also referenced in the works of Chaucer, Shakespeare, Tolkien and in the Harry Potter books, although it has always inspired a small but loyal following among fantasistas of the swords, sandals and sorcery persuasion.

Mead, or honey wine, has come a long way from the days of swords and sorcery. Modern version are light, crisp and simply wizard

The rise in popularity of mead

But mead has mutated over the centuries to encompass a broad range of honey-based drinks. Nowadays it ranges from around 5% to 20% alcohol, can be still or sparkling, as dry as proper sherry or as sweet as a pixie princess trilling ‘Hey nonny no’ on a marshmallow mushroom. The original mead was simply fermented honey diluted with water, making it the world’s most ancient known alcoholic drink. Mead was brewed in China 9,000 years ago and the earliest evidence of European consumption is around 2800BC. It is entirely possible that mead-making even predates farming, which might explain its new following among the very latest demographic, the urban bearded hipster who has already clasped craft beer to his hairy chest. Mead fits perfectly with the hipster’s hankering for all things retro, manly and obscure. It’s so brain-achingly ancient it’s positively new again. Mead styles and strength

Drunk by hipsters and fantasists alike, mead is enjoying a ‘honeymoon’ period. The word derives from the ancient practice of giving one lunar month’s supply of mead, thought to be an aphrodisiac, to newlyweds.Typically, the alcoholic strength would have been around 14%, with the flavour nuanced by the strain of yeast used and the type of honey, ranging from light and fruity to dark and molasses-like.