Heroic Dreams - All Things Medieval

Mead is a bit of a strange brew and if you will excuse the obvious reference it is also a bit of an anachronism.   A lot of people who are interested in Medieval subjects are also very interested in Mead. But it has been my experience that very few people have actually tasted it. It isn’t readily available in your local wine shop, although, this is slowly changing over the past few years. And you can now get it online (depending on what state you live in).

And this brings me to the actual topic of this blog post. What do you do if you want to give mead a try but can’t find it local?

Yesterday I received a bottle of Peach Mead from Hidden Legend Winery and of course, I had to break it open. And I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is gentle and flavorful and it seems to me that this mead is a great introduction to the art and craft of mead. It has that distinct Mead taste and it has what I consider to be what makes mead beautiful and unique. It has that ability to morph itself to a wide palette of flavors. This is the real beauty of mead as compared to regular wine from grapes. Mead is a blank canvas that lends itself to flavoring. You can get mead in just about any flavor imaginable from Cranberries to pumpkin, apple, pear, and well you get the idea.

But there is one little thing about mead you should know. It has the long standing reputation of being a strong brew that will put hair on your chest, and there is a bit of truth to this. Mead can have a bit of a bite, all depending on the recipe. So, in my opinion, you have to find a mead that is a bit gentler. And the peach mead from Hidden Legend fits this requirement perfectly, it is a subtle mead that will give you a good sense of peach and of what mead is truly all about - in my opinion anyway.

So, if you are looking to try Mead for the first time i recommend you get two bottles. First you should get a bottle of plain mead which is just honey-wine; This way you get to taste a basic mead;  and second you should get a bottle of flavored mead so you can experience what mead truly is all about.  Here are a couple of resources for you.  Mead makes a great conversation piece come holiday visiting.

Hidden Legend Winery - They are in Montana and ship to roughly 15 states so you should check their list of states to see if they can ship to you. And, the delivery has to be signature accepted by someone over 21 years of age - You can’t let the kids take this delivery!

And, if you don’t already know, I have a mead making site where you can learn everything you ever wanted to know about making mead, including lots of video tutorials. The Joy of Mead.

Wassail! and you will get your mead in time for the holidays

Here is the label of the Peach Mead I just tried: