Mead: what it is, how it is made and how to drink it (and Portuguese mead)

By Tiago Reis, co-founder of Ra-Ro · View profile

About a 4 minute read

Mead, hidromel in Portuguese, is an alcoholic drink made by fermenting honey with water. It uses no grapes or grain: yeast turns the sugar in the honey into alcohol, as in wine. It is one of the oldest fermented drinks known and can be dry, medium or sweet. In Portugal, Licores Serrano make a traditional mead in Covilhã with heather honey from the Serra da Estrela.

Mead at a glance

• What it is: a fermented drink of honey, water and yeast.
• Alcohol: varies widely; usually between a table wine and a fortified wine.
• Styles: dry, medium or sweet, with or without fruit and spices.
• How to drink it: chilled as an aperitif or digestif; in winter also slightly warmed.
• At Ra-Ro: Traditional Mead made with heather honey, 21.80 euros.

How mead is made

The base is simple: honey diluted in water. Yeast is added, which feeds on the sugars in the honey and turns them into alcohol. Fermentation is slow, and the mead then rests for months to find its balance. The type of honey decides almost everything: colour, aroma and final taste. A light, floral honey gives a light mead; a dark, intense honey gives a fuller one.

Types of mead

• Traditional: only honey, water and yeast.
• With fruit: fermented with fruit such as berries or apple.
• Spiced: with cinnamon, cloves, ginger or herbs.
• Dry, medium or sweet: depending on how much sugar is left unfermented.

Portuguese heather honey mead

In the Serra da Estrela, bees make a dark, amber heather honey with sour, salty and sweet notes. Licores Serrano, in Covilhã, use it for their traditional mead. The distillery has worked with mountain spirits and liqueurs for over 40 years and ferments this honey using old methods. The result is an aromatic mead to sip slowly. We tell the full story in Heather honey mead: the drink of the gods made in the Serra da Estrela.

How to drink mead

• Chilled: between 8 and 12 degrees Celsius, as an aperitif or with dessert.
• Slightly warmed: on cold nights, without letting it boil.
• Glass: small, like a port or white wine glass.
• Once opened: keep it closed in a cool place and drink it within a few weeks.

Food pairings

Mead goes well with aged cheeses such as Serra da Estrela cheese, nuts, honey sweets and fruit desserts. It also works with roast pork and game. For a winter night, pair it with a papa wool blanket, as we suggest in Rainy nights: mead, bitter honey and a papa blanket.

If you like unusual honeys, read about bitter strawberry tree honey too.

Frequently asked questions

What is mead?

An alcoholic drink made by fermenting honey with water and yeast. It is one of the oldest fermented drinks known.

Is mead a wine?

Not exactly. Wine is made from grapes and mead from honey. The fermentation is similar, which is why mead is sometimes called honey wine.

How strong is mead?

It varies by producer and style, usually somewhere between a table wine and a fortified wine.

How do you drink mead?

Chilled, between 8 and 12 degrees Celsius, as an aperitif or with dessert. In winter it can be drunk slightly warmed, without boiling.

Is there Portuguese mead?

Yes. Licores Serrano make a traditional mead in Covilhã with heather honey from the Serra da Estrela.

Where can I buy Portuguese mead?

At Ra-Ro, which sells Licores Serrano's heather honey Traditional Mead with shipping to Portugal, Europe, the USA, Canada and Brazil.