HAND-PAINTED & ARTFULLY DESIGNED

The Buzz on Mead

Written by Mallory Coats

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Posted on March 08 2016

Lately my husband has been turning our living space into brew stations. I encouraged the hobby with some beer brewing kits, not knowing what the takeover would look like. Not only have we been collecting and saving bottles for the brewing process but now he has decided to venture into brewing mead. I had no idea what mead was but I quickly learned it's an alcoholic beverage that comes from honey, and I suppose it's considered to be "brewed." Well, we already happen to use a lot of honey at home, but since we don't do anything half way we will soon be adopting a group of the cutest bees around! I think I was tricked into this idea since I have yet to find a type of mead I truly love; however, I've been told the hobby is here to stay!
Being the designer I am, of course I'm already researching and brainstorming label and branding ideas for our homemade brews. Before the pretty packaging here are some fun facts I've learned about mead:

1. Mead is it's own category, like cider. 
Mead is fermented with three basic ingredients: honey, yeast and water. It can be flavored with various fruits as well. It isn’t classified as beer or wine in the typical sense, but stands apart in its own rank of alcoholic beverage.

2. It's fancy! "Nectar of the Gods" 
Referred to as “nectar of the gods” by ancient Greeks, mead was believed to be dew sent from the heavens and collected by bees. Many European cultures considered bees to be the gods’ messengers, and mead was thus associated with immortality and other magical powers, such as Olympus-level strength and wit. For this reason, mead continued to factor heavily in Greek ceremonies even after its eventual decline in drinking popularity.

3. It's *BASICALLY* healthy :) 
It was used medicinally in early England by infusing herbs of different varieties to heal various ailments.

4. Honeymooners?
Yep, honeymoon came from mead. The origin of "honeymoon" dates back to the medieval tradition of drinking honey wine for a full moon cycle after a new marriage. Supposedly the mead would ensure a fruitful union bearing plenty of children. Often mead was included in the bride's dowry.

5. Mead is brewing all around
There are almost 250 meaderies in America currently. Even local mead festivals are cropping up and some chefs are using mead in their dishes.

Now that we know what mead is, here's some packaging design and the last is our first homemade brew that I dutifully oversaw:

Mead Design Influence

Mead Design Influence

Homemade Mead

Stay tuned to see how the bee adoptions turns out!
For full article on mead see http://liquor.com/articles/10-facts-about-mead/#gs.MwTgxzk
Packaging: CODO design, Hired Guns Creative, Honey Creative and

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