There are several drinks that can be made using honey, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic. I feel this is one area where beekeepers don't make maximum use of their crop. On many occasions I have seen beekeepers waste enough honey to make several gallons (sorry - litres!) of honey based drink. During extracting time I have seen several pounds (sorry - kilos!) of honey left in combs or washed down the sink. Why are beekeepers so wasteful, when the bees have spent so much time and effort collecting the honey?

This page, like the rest of the website, is very much work in progress. I will try to complete it ASAP.

I list below the usual alcoholic honey drinks in the hope it will inform readers on the different types.

• Mead is simply honey, water and fruit acid, usually citric acid. The addition of other ingredients will make it something else, such as those below.
• Metheglin is mead with the addition of spices or herbs
• Melomel is mead with the addition of fruit (apart from grapes)
• Pyment is effectively melomel using grapes or grape juice
• Cyser is mead made with apple juice instead of water
• Sack Mead is a term that is rarely used now. It is strong mead in excess of 14% alcohol.

The above are a few of the common terms. There are many more, often confined to regions where honey and honey based drinks are part of the culture. I encourage the reader to do further research.

Roger Patterson.

Page created 24/08/2018