Each day, we get questions from customers standing at our tasting bar asking about our process, products, or mead in general. Often, it’s the same question someone else has asked. So, we decided to gather some of them together and answer them here.
Topic: Mead Tasting Questions
Question #1 – Often when people come in to do a tasting, they are overwhelmed with the choices and ask, “Will you choose for me?” or What’s your favorite?
The answer, at least from me, Becky, is no I will not choose for you. And the reason is simple – I don’t know your tastes! I can tell you what the best sellers are. But your tastes may be very different. For instance, 4 of our top 5 best sellers are sweeter. If you like drier meads, then you are going to be out of luck.
The other reason I make people choose their own is because usually it’s easy to get your first 3 or 4, but then it’s harder. It forces you out of your comfort zone to pick something else. Very often, someone will choose something they don’t expect to like and do like it. I’ve heard many times, “I’m so surprised I like this one!”
Question #2 – Is it really important to swirl mead/wine?
Swirling your wine/mead before you taste it isn’t just being pretentious; it actually does something! Try this next time you are drinking some wine or mead: smell your glass without moving it around very much. Then swirl your mead in the glass and take another whiff. You will find that the aroma (nose in wine speak) will be much stronger, and you’ll be able to smell so many more things in the mead.
Question #3 – Why can’t I just throw it back, like a shot?
We recommend taking at least two sips of the mead when you are tasting it. The reason is whatever you had in your mouth before the tasting (coffee, another mead) will influence the perceived flavor of the mead. Taking a second sip, you will get more of the true flavor. A third is even better.
Question #4 – Related to the last one, why should I eat crackers in between meads?
The crackers are a neutral flavor to help clear your palate between the different tastes of the meads. Some meads in particular have very strong flavors (Kickin’ Cranberry Orange, Nordic Blend, Coffee, Ben’s Special Ginger) and can really influence how the next mead tastes. Eating a couple of crackers helps to minimize that influence.
Question #5 – I want to try the Spiced Apple first and then the Off-dry Apricot. Why can’t I?
We generally arrange the mead tasting to go from the driest (least amount of sugar) mead to the sweetest. It’s easier on your palate to progress in this manner. As mentioned above, what you are tasting before can influence the experience of tasting the next mead. Going from our sweetest (and mead with the most spices) to an off-dry mead will make the drier mead taste even drier and often bitter. Trust us, we’ll get them in just the right order!
Next time: Mead Serving Questions
If you have questions, we are always happy to answer them. Not everyone knows about or understands the difference when we are talking about mead!