Mead or Braggot or, well, It had Honey and it was Good

If you've ever had mead you are probably decidedly in the minority. Mead, or honey wine, as it is often called, is a fermented beverage of primarily honey(s) and water, and, though the guidelines are somewhat vague, a braggot is a mead with other fermentables such as barley in the mix.

At the Brewcommune Homebrew meeting I went to a week or so ago I was lucky enough to get to try my second honey beverage. The first being one brewed by my cousin. I don't remember much about that one but I do remember a LOT about the one I sampled recently.

This was described as an Imperial Cream Ale which meant it was a braggot since it had more than just honey as a fermentable. Made up of 6 pounds of two types of honey, Western Sumac and Orange Blossom. Six Pounds of honey was enough to make 10 gallons. This was then aged for six years in bottle and was kicking at 17.2% ABV.

Poured out into my HIGHLY classy clear plastic solo cup it smelled of, you guessed it, honey. Floral and very sweet, it even SMELLED sticky. At 17.2 ABV there was bound to be alcohol on the nose and there was definitely a burn.

My first taste floored me. You would think that something brewed nearly entirely with honey would be too sweet but this straddled that line so well. I felt like I was drinking a meadow. Floral, sweet, and refreshing I was running my tongue through wildflowers. Despite the alcohol on the nose there was no unpleasant alcohol burn on the tongue. Smooth and viscous and perfectly sweet. This was definitely my favorite of the night. I wish I could buy it easily somewhere