What's the ideal mead temperature for drinking it?

[NeverDie]

Refrigerated? Room Temperature? Other?

 

[Miraculix]

Refrigerated? Room Temperature? Other?

The one you like it most at. I like mine slightly chilled, about 12c approximately.

 

[Maylar]

Personal preference. I like mine room temp, my brother likes them chilled. Why do white wines normally get chilled and reds not? Beats me.

 

[NeverDie]

Well, if chilled to 36F, I don't notice as much aroma. I haven't yet tried other below room temperature temperatures, which is why I was looking for clues. I'll give 12c a try.

 

[Maylar]

A quote from a mead competition judge I know:

All of the comps I have judged at are room temperature. In general, colder meads seem to narrow the expression some. On certain meads, it seems to squelch the flavors a good bit. Just a little bit chilled is nice on some of the lighter stuff. Most everything I drink is room temp unless I have carbed it.

 

[Miraculix]

A quote from a mead competition judge I know:

Well, to be completely honest, I only prefer mine slightly cooler because my mead got a bit hot due to higher alcohols.... And this doesn't come through so much when chilled

 

[CKuhns]

Higher ABV meads "young" IMO do require them to be chilled. Aged Meads I personally prefer just under room temp 55-60 and still. Lower ABV Meads for me definitely must be chilled and carbonated.

 

[NeverDie]

Higher ABV meads "young" IMO do require them to be chilled. Aged Meads I personally prefer just under room temp 55-60 and still. Lower ABV Meads for me definitely must be chilled and carbonated.

As a practical matter, how do you arrange to drink at your preferred temperature? Do you start with normal refrigeration and wait for the temperature to rise to the ideal zone? Do you have a separate refrigerator which keeps it at the perfect quaffing temperature? Or other?

 

[CKuhns]

Great question - I do have a wine fridge that I set at 55 Deg F. In other cases a regular fridge and leave it poured up for 10 - 15 minutes. The biggest problem is at 15% ABV and even a 6 to 8oz pour it does get to room temp pretty quickly.

 

[S-Met]

Personal preference. I like mine room temp, my brother likes them chilled. Why do white wines normally get chilled and reds not? Beats me.

Most whites are served too cold and most reds are too warm.
I like light floral whites like pinot gri or sauve Blanc or sweeter residual sugars wines in the 37-46
Medium to full whites 40-55
Light to med reds like Granache, Pinot Noir or Rhone 50-60
Med-full reds like Bordeaux varietals, petite sirah or tuscans 53-65.
Lots if other factors, may lean me one way or another.

Mead is like wine. It is not fair to say mead is best at x temp because they are so varied. Is it sweet? Dry? Off-dry? Semi? Floral? Spicy? All these may affect the ideal taste.

Ex'mead-ament:
Chill your mead in the fridge. Next, line up 6 shot-glasses and pour 10 min apart. Taste on the last pour. Decide which you like best. Repeat in 3 min intervals around the one you like the best. This will vary between styles, but will get you acquainted with the temps you like based on flavor.

 

[jtratcliff]

Refrigerated? Room Temperature? Other?

Yes!

 

[DevilDogmeadguy]

As a practical matter, how do you arrange to drink at your preferred temperature? Do you start with normal refrigeration and wait for the temperature to rise to the ideal zone? Do you have a separate refrigerator which keeps it at the perfect quaffing temperature? Or other?

I keep mine stored in a wine fridge at about 55 degrees F. But when I know I'm going to break a bottle out I'll bring it out of the fridge and let it warm up a bit so it's just slightly cool to the touch, a bit below room temp. I have noticed with some of my melomels however, that drinking it cold can depreciate flavors. I tested it with some buddies once and started drinking two liters of a blueberry mead, every 20 minutes we'd try a glass and sure enough the warmer it got the more we could taste the berries.