Mead in the Grocery Store!!! ZOMGWTFBBCOPTER!

I was recently thrilled to find not one, but THREE meaderies represented at a local Whole Foods Market in Bay Area, CA! I'd never had mead before, apart from one botched attempt at making it.

There were two from a local meadery in Sunnyvale, called Rabbit's Foot. A Sweet and a Dry. There was also Ragnar's Reserve from Honeyrun Meadery, and Chaucer's Mead, which comes with a packet of spices for mulling.

I have had the RF Sweet and the Ragnars. The RF is absolutely amazing, like nothing I've ever had. I'll just c&p what I posted about it on my website:


The only other time I've ever had actual mead, it was something I tried to make myself and failed miserably at. This stuff is much better.

Located in Sunnyvale, CA, Rabbit's foot is one of the few commercial meaderies in the country. They have a bunch of different meads with fruits and spices and whatnot at the meadery, but I haven't been there yet. Today I spotted the Dry Mead and the Sweet Mead at a Whole Foods and thought I'd try the Sweet.

The honey flavor is very much there, but at twelve percent ABV it takes on a very "winey" character. The flavor is much more delicate than most wines however, and the alcohol really cuts through. There is, in the nose and on the palate, a certain alcoholic "burn" that reminds me of nothing as much as a really clean, well-done moonshine. I guess I could describe the flavor as being somewhat like if someone mixed a bunch of honey with some moonshine and a rich buttery California Chardonnay. It's very different, and it's very good.






The Ragnar's is very different. It claims to be a "dry" mead, and says to serve chilled whereas the RF Sweet says to serve at room temperature. In the Ragnar's, the alcohol is much more muted and the mead flavor much stronger. There is a very strong aroma and flavor to this one, that is almost exactly like this tree/bush that grows in the area and flowers every spring. If you live in CA you might know what I'm talking about, because it's everywhere right now.

The taste of honey is much less pronounced in the Ragnar's, the flavors of the fermentation are much more noticeable.

Also, the RF is a pale, straw-gold color while the Ragnar's is a beautiful shade of amber.

It's a tough call to pick between them, I think I'd have to go with the RF Sweet as the more compelling of the two. They are both "still" meads, however the Rabbit's Foot has just the slightest hint of bubbly about it that gives it an unusual mouthfeel, and coupled with its amazing flavor really puts it over the top for me.

That's just a personal preference thing though, they are both very, very good. I can't believe this isn't a more popular beverage.

One further comment: Of the two, I'd say the Ragnar's the more easily "accessible", especially to people who aren't afficionados of the finer points of booze. For those that DO appreciate such things, the Rabbit's Foot is probably the more interesting.

But, like I said, they're both excellent.