Mead selection (or lack thereof)

[Hercules]

Drove from Dallas on opening day and looking forward to some Oberhof mead then was told they'll only be offering Thorne's this year. Last year I believe we had the choice of three brands.....so what gives? They only going to be offering Budweiser as the only beer next?

[Vixara]

As one of the mead girls, I don't much mind haha, but they DO have two types. They have the Viking mead, and his new Knightly mead (which is a semisweet)

[Hercules]

Viking and Knightly are both by Thorne. I did try the Knightly and the mead girl went through two bottles because the corks kept breaking apart. Heard someone else complaining about "floaties" in their mead. I want ma Oberhof back.  

[raevyncait]

Well, I guess the upside is that the $20 I was going to send with my friends to buy me a bottle of Oberhof can now stay in my pocket, to be used for Scarby treats of some kind.

I have to say that I think it's great that Sherwood DOES offer a choice, even if my choice isn't one of those offered. To the best of my knowledge, Scarby has ONE kind of mead, and I've NEVER tasted any of it that I like, though I understand from others who do like it and drink it, that there are times when it is better or worse than other times. Every time I've had it, it has reminded me of a wine cooler/flavored "malt beverage", and since I don't like beer, there are VERY VERY few of those that I like at all.

[Vixara]

Its all kind of a personal preference. I personally love the sediment in my mead, its just part of it. The viking IS a 600 year old family recipe of Thorne's.

[Hercules]

Well, I guess the upside is that the $20 I was going to send with my friends to buy me a bottle of Oberhof can now stay in my pocket, to be used for Scarby treats of some kind.

Not sure if linking to other products is allowed here but here goes!

http://bellmountainwine.com/services.htm

And Raevyncait you're right. Scarborough does their single selection of mead which drives me up the wall too. TRF had a variety to choose from and I had hoped Sherwood would offer a selection too as they did last year. I tried Thorne's (excuse previous mispellings) and did not care for it. 

[Vixara]

No you were right on the previous spelling of the mead. Thorne is just HIS name Like I think I mentioned, I know I am biased lol. Helps that he is a wonderful friend of mine. Some people like it, some people don't. Everyone has their own preference and that is fine too.

[Zardoz]

Well, some of the Girltourage enjoyed the Viking mead last year and wanted to have some last weekend, but they didn't see the Viking being offered. I don't know what vendor, but who ever was selling it told them the Knightly mead was the same stuff, just a new label. But in any event they did not care for it.  I'm not a honeywine aficionado, but I thought it was very dry and maybe a little vinegary compared to most meads I've tasted.   

[PollyPoPo]

At Robin's Feast, we were offered both meads, the Viking and the Knightly.  The Viking is the sweeter version, with the Knightly being the lighter.  Personally they are both too sweet for me.

[Hercules]

I did see both the Viking and Knightly there.

Guess I'll just stick with beer.

[Merlin the Elder]

Not personally a mead fan, as it is too sweet for my taste. I prefer a nice hoppy beer or ale, or a good thick stout, if I'm not drinking Jack Daniel's...

Is there such thing as a really dry mead, or is sweet just the nature of the beast?

[raevyncait]

I think by nature, mead is usually fairly sweet, however I'll try to remember to bring what I have left of the bottle gifted to me for my birthday back in October, which is pretty try, and not quite sweet enough for my taste. One of my friends makes his own meads, sometimes plain, sometimes flavored. My favorite of his is blueberry, but alas, there was no blueberry in last years brewings, and what I received was plain.

[PollyPoPo]

...Is there such thing as a really dry mead, or is sweet just the nature of the beast?

I think the definition of mead is honeywine, so most of it will be sweet I guess.  

I know at the Feast we were offered a white wine and a red, as well as the meads (and non-alcoholic beverages).  Both wines were just a bit dry for me so my dearest Daughter stole some mead from her Hubby and we mixed up a decent wine/mead combination that I found drinkable - a bit too drinkable.  

[LadyStitch]

Lord Dragon tipped us off to a place outside of St louis that has award winning Meads.  We checked their site out on Sunday.  Everything thing there looks yummy.  I was surprisised that the costs per bottle were fairely reasonable.  $15-18. And they do ship, which is always a plus. We might have to invest in some for TRF or even earlier.

[Merlin the Elder]

Polly, looks like you're at the opposite end from me. I like to have a wine hit my tongue and suck all the moisture out!

The honey does not necessarily have to make it sweet, though perhaps as was said, sweet is in the definition of most meads. I've made many ales and stouts, and I use honey instead of any other kind of sugar. It does impart a distinctive flavour, but since the sugars are consumed by the yeasts to make alcohol, the brews are not any sweeter.  A dryer mead would likely be higher in alcohol content.

The meads I have sampled were way too sweet for my taste.

[C Dragonworks]

I too am a Obenhof mead lover...it is from Fredburg...We first found it when hauling a TB broodmare and stopped for lunch at a place that had wine for sale.... first mead I have gotten since MerryDown  that really made me smile...the rest is either too sweet or just lacks what I like... So I am drinking Long Hammer IPA and not mead!

[Hercules]

IMO Oberhof is a dry mead. Not AS sweet as other meads. My favorite is from Meadery of The Rockies, Cherries and Honey. The tartness of the cherry offsets the sweetness. Also Oliver winery offers several meads and they ship to Texas (Meadery of the Rockies does not).

I've made my own mead. But in order to get it to the dry level I prefer I had to put in the Rambo of yeasts which made for a VERY potent brew....

[Merlin the Elder]

...I've made my own mead. But in order to get it to the dry level I prefer I had to put in the Rambo of yeasts which made for a VERY potent brew....

Nothing wrong with that! 

[raevyncait]

IMO Oberhof is a dry mead. Not AS sweet as other meads. My favorite is from Meadery of The Rockies, Cherries and Honey. The tartness of the cherry offsets the sweetness. Also Oliver winery offers several meads and they ship to Texas (Meadery of the Rockies does not).

I've made my own mead. But in order to get it to the dry level I prefer I had to put in the Rambo of yeasts which made for a VERY potent brew....

Cherries & Honey??? YUM!

[Captain Teague]

Lord Dragon tipped us off to a place outside of St louis that has award winning Meads.  We checked their site out on Sunday.  Everything thing there looks yummy.  I was surprisised that the costs per bottle were fairely reasonable.  $15-18. And they do ship, which is always a plus. We might have to invest in some for TRF or even earlier.

Glad you liked their site. Their plain honey is dry. Their mix of blackberry wine and honey mead is semi sweet. (Our favorite )
We are currently waiting of a shipment of their new raspberry to try. 

[mpullen]

Please note that most of the commercial meads (e.g., Chaucers) are just a mixture of white wine and honey. Thorin's is a true honey brew, no matter what recipe offered.

Okay, Thorin, deliver the bribe.

[Captain Teague]

 

[Hercules]

Lord Dragon tipped us off to a place outside of St louis that has award winning Meads.  We checked their site out on Sunday.  Everything thing there looks yummy.  I was surprisised that the costs per bottle were fairely reasonable.  $15-18. And they do ship, which is always a plus. We might have to invest in some for TRF or even earlier.

Can you share the site or name of the meadery?

[Captain Teague]

Not certain I am allowed, but not the first time I been in trouble round here. 

http://www.pirtlewinery.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=12


A bit of background on them. I found them through gotmead.com and as their site says they have won several international competitions with their mead and also wines. I personally am a sweet type fan ( and most definitely not a wine connoisseur ), so me saying their straight honey is dry is for certainly true. Although I personally do not like "heavily" sweet mead and some other brands are indeed so. The effervescent mead is also very dry. I like their blackberry since it combines a dry and a sweet and does tickle the palate. Looking forward to trying the raspberry as I said before. I have never been to their winery but I figure they are somewhat small and can tell you that their selections of mead often sell out within a couple of weeks after they offer the different types for sale as batches become ready. Getting ANY of their mead products is nearly impossible in the month or two before Christmas as I have seen them sell out within a day of putting bottles up for sale online. They DO ship, but check your state laws as some states do not allow incoming shipments of alcohol and will require filing for certain permits and paying extra taxes.

We have been ordering from them for a little over 3 years and they are great merchants. Matter of fact this last order, they had a delay in bottle labels from the printers which they ran out of for the raspberry so they immediately called us to ask whether we wanted the blackberry shipped first or if we wanted to wait until the full order was ready, no extra charge for shipping if we did not want to wait for the labels on the raspberry.

We try nearly every mead that comes along. And there are some types that we like, however most are around 50+ per bottle too. I still prefer the Pirtle more in the end. And a quick look at their prices should easily show it is well worth the cost of a bottle to find out if anyone else does. 

[Hercules]

Effervescent mead is fun especially when put in a boda-bag and carried for more then ten feet. MEAD-O-GASM!

We've also found the Redstone meadery to have good selection. Pricey, but good.

[Queen Bonnie]

 I Love Thorin's mead.

[JackGonzo, MD]

Not only did Central Market but the big Specs downtown has begun selling Mead...never have to go without when a desire arises anymore lol