21. Mead and other alcoholic beverages were made from honey across the medieval world
Mead was made of a mixture of honey, water, and yeast, though sometimes white wine was substituted for water. The maker, dependent upon where he was, often added other ingredients in accordance with local traditions and tastes. In medieval Europe, mead was often a product of a monastery, where bees were kept and honey was harvested. It was also used in the brewing of some beers and ales. A particular form of mead was used to prevent the fruits of summer from spoiling before they could be consumed, and was made with fruits to augment the taste (honey does not contain bacteria, though that fact was unknown at the time).
Mead is probably the beverage most associated with medieval life today, though it was less prominent than wine in the south of Europe and beer and ale in the north. The Danish warriors in Beowulf fortified themselves with mead, and as a result, it became mainly associated with the Scandinavian countries and the Vikings. Ancient texts from Asia, Africa, and the Middle East all contain references to an alcoholic beverage made with the co-operation of bees, though without their knowledge, and it seems to have been the result, like beer, of the observation of thin porridges fermenting themselves as a result of the natural yeasts and sugars contained therein.
