Everything You Need To Know About Honey Wine - The World's Oldest Alcohol

Honey wine, commonly known as mead has been consumed for thousands of years. In fact, in some cultures, honey wine is called “the drink of the gods.”

Mead or honey wine is a fermented beverage and contains honey, water, and yeast or bacterial culture. Although some manufacturers use fruits, spices, grains, roots, and herbs as well. The alcohol content of honey wine is typically around 5 - 20% and its flavor varies from very sweet to very dry in both still and sparkling versions.

According to Allied Market Research, the global honey wine market is expected to gain traction in the coming years and register a significant CAGR.

How Honey Wine is Made

Just like any other alcoholic drink in the market, honey wine is fermented. First, water is added to honey in order to dilute its thickness and bacterial culture converts the sugar in the honey to alcohol. When the fermentation process is done, the honey wine is moved to a different vessel for clarification.  

While this process sounds simple, it is in actuality very complex. There are an array of flavor profiles when it comes to honey due to the use of a type of flower pollen. Moreover, to brew different types of honey wines such as dry or semi-sweet wines, there are many steps involved in the manufacturing of honey wine.

Major Types of Honey Wine

There are countless types of honey wines available on the market and some of the most sought-after honey wines are mentioned below:

1.    Melomel: This honey wine is flavored with fruit juice or fruit, especially with raspberries or blackberries. Moreover, under the category of melomel, there are sub-styles of cyser and pyment, which are honey wines made with apple juice and grape juice respectively.

2.    Cyser: This honey wine is made from apples.

3.    Braggot: Some consider this as beer rather than honey wine. It is a mix of two drinks and is brewed with malt and hops. Moreover, it can be considered a beer-mead hybrid, in which grains and honey are fermented together.

4.    Sparkling honey wine: This is a carbonated drink and can be in combination with other styles.

5.    Acerglyn: This honey wine is made from maple syrup.

6.    Metheglin: This particular honey wine is used for medical purposes. It is an herbal, spiced honey wine.

These different types of honey wines are a result of wide-traveled routes of mead and its variation produced across the globe. For instance, Medovukha is honey wine consumed in Russia whereas Te’j is a version of honey wine in Ethiopia. As the craft beverage has gained importance across the globe, there are several high-quality honey wines available in today’s time and age.

Benefits of Honey Wine

Honey has always been regarded as a natural remedy for digestive issues or as an energizer. Moreover, it a vital part of therapeutic and culinary practices for centuries.

The sweetness in honey wine lures a lot of customers across the globe, but the honey in the mead inhibits bacterial growth and contains disease-fighting antioxidants as well. Moreover, the beverage has already gained popularity as a panacea, which is still a debate topic among scientists.

Apart from this, honey wine can be used to dress burns and wounds and some use it as an ointment for skin conditions. Some healthcare practitioners recommend honey for allergies, which helps the demand for honey wine.

While honey wine is heeded as a health-enhancing beverage due to the content of honey, there is no hard scientific proof that its consumption is completely beneficial to health. However, it is certain that consumption of honey wine excessively could hamper health. As the alcohol content in the honey wine ranges from 5 - 20%, it has some impact on the health of regular grape wine. Excessive consumption could result in addiction and lead to liver diseases, impaired digestive functions, systemic inflammation, and immune system function.

For most people, consumption of honey wine in moderation is well tolerated. However, if you are allergic to gluten, you must double check the drink before pouring yourself a glass. Honey wine causes severe allergic reaction in some people, especially they have alcoholic intolerances or allergies. In addition, honey wine has high calorie count. Thus, its overconsumption could negatively affect the health. Moreover, its overconsumption could cause increase in blood pressure, blood triglycerides, and risk of obesity and diabetes.

Having said that, the wave of crafting beers and alcoholic beverages locally has gained momentum. Thus, the future of honey wine is certainly bright. However, the beverage is alcoholic and should be consumed in moderation. While it contains well-known natural remedy–honey, it may not be beneficial to consumer’s health if consumed heavily. Thus, enjoy it reasonably and a glass of honey wine during dinner could sweeten your mood certainly.

Author Bio:

Swamini Kulkarni

Swamini Kulkarni holds a bachelor’s degree in Instrumentation and control engineering from Pune University and works as a content writer at Allied Market Research. She is deeply fascinated by the impact of technology on human life and loves to talk about science and mythology. When she is not glued to the computer, she loves to read, travel and daydream about her areas of interest.