Modern mead range nourishes ingenuity

IT is one of the world’s oldest drinks and producer Stephen Wilkins is putting a modern twist on mead.

Pre-dating both wine and beer, mead was the go-to drink for many ancient civilisations and Mr Wilkins is hoping more Tasmanian begin to get a taste for it.

While many people associate mead with a sweet style, often including honey, Mr Wilkins’ specialty is what he calls session meads, which can be drunk similar to beer or cider.

He started making mead as a hobby in the 1990s and established his business Wanderer Mead about three years ago.

“I really loved mead, but the problem was you couldn't buy the type of mead I wanted to drink, so I thought the bets way around that was to start making it myself,” he said.

A former high school teacher with a passion for ancient history, Mr Wilkins also has a vivid imagination and coming up with an entertaining name and story for each of his mead creations is all part of the fun.

Unlike wine and beer, which are generally with base ingredients of grape and hops, Mr Wilkins said with mead the possible flavour combinations are endless.

“A lot of people think mead has to include honey and when it was made in medieval times some of it did, but if it grew or crawled and had sugar in it they would chuck it into the brew,” he said.

“The first recorded recipe for it was from the first century AD but it was being made well before that.”

All Mr Wilkins’ meads are made from natural ingredients and most of them are sourced from Tasmanian producers.

The meads are carbonated, which gives them a nice mouth feel. While Mr Wilkins’ range has a similar level of alcohol to beer, he said some mead can be made with up to 20 per cent, depending on the fermentation time.

Mr Wilkins has seven meads in his present range, some of which are now served on tap in bars around Launceston.

Each of the meads has a unique flavour combination. Many of their names have a Viking theme and the bottles have specially designed logos which feature the character they are named after.

As well as selling through specialist retail outlets, Mr Wilkins is a regular at the Launceston Harvest Market.

“When you mention wine or beer, people know what to expect but a lot of people don’t know what mead is and they’ve never tasted the type of meads I’m making,” he said.

“That’s one of the reasons I went with the Viking theme, because people know about Vikings.”

While mead is making a comeback across the globe, Mr Wilkins said the products he is producing are still a little unusual.

“I think that’s one of the things I like most about it because what I’m doing here isn’t all that common,” he said.

At present Mr Wilkins makes the mead at his property near Sidmouth. Down the track he also has plans to open a cellar door.

To find out more about the products go to the Wanderer Mead Facebook page.