Honey wine, also known as mead, is an alcoholic beverage somewhere in between beer and wine. Like beer, mead is often flavored with spices, fruits, or hops, but it has an alcohol content more in line with grape wine. To provide insight into how honey wine is made, here’s a helpful guide.

How Is It Made?

The process begins by combining honey with water to dilute its sugars, ensuring it can ferment properly. Next, sweeteners and additives are put into the diluted mixture. During the fermentation process, yeast and oxygen are added to convert the sugars to alcohol. After fermentation, the mead will age anywhere from a few months to years before it’s ready to serve.

What Does It Taste Like?

Honey wine can taste different depending on its additives, and it can be flavored with grains, hops, spices, or fruits. When accented with fruits, mead adapts a flavor profile that’s similar to a sweet dessert wine.

Honey wine can be enjoyed chilled or at room temperature. Light and dry varieties are best served chilled, and dark and sweet mixtures can be enjoyed at room temperature. Similar to traditional wine, a glass will typically have anywhere between eight and 20% ABV—drink it cold if it is too strong for your preference so that you taste less alcohol.

If you want to try mead, buy a bottle from Manoa Honey on Oahu, HI. Although they’re located in Wahiawa, this company has its products in several retailers across the island, including Whole Foods^®, Down to Earth^®, Kokua Market, and Compleat Kitchen. They have been in business since 1989, and their team cares for bees to ensure they’re thriving and producing the highest quality of honey. Visit their website to find a retailer near you, or call (808) 927-0501 to place an order.