bernardsmith
Well-Known Member
Very possibly though some old recipes did suggest that the mead be aged and aging wine has a very long history. As to it being low ABV, that is possible if the fermentation was not active and the yeast not rigorous, but it would seem that they would not make a mead with little honey although they may have made it with less honey than many of us might. Medieval recipes seem to suggest 1 part honey to 4 parts water. I think that today we might us 1 part honey to 3 parts water (2 pints honey to 6 pints water to make 1 gallon where 2 pints = 3 lbs of honey and so a potential ABV of about 12-13%. Their meads may have been about 2-3 % less alcohol.
