Brews News: Strong-flavoured fruits pair well in Munro Honey’s Hive and Harvest mead

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Hello? Is it mead you’re looking for?

With apologies to Lionel Richie, that’d be it if you arrive in Alvinston, thirsty for a switch from beer and a throwback to medieval times.

“Mead is an ancient alcoholic beverage made by fermenting honey with water, and often with various fruits, spices, grains or hops,” said John Bryans of Munro Honey and Meadery and Hive and Harvest mead. “It can be dry to sweet. Think of it as a honey wine with endless flavour possibilities, appealing to both wine and beer enthusiasts. Session meads tend to be very refreshing. Most people are amazed that the alcohol comes from the honey.”

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The brand Hive and Harvest was launched when Munro Honey moved from traditional bottles of mead which are approximately 12 per cent alcohol, to a more sessionable drink with half the alcohol and packaged in 355 ml cans.

“We created the name Hive and Harvest to reflect the essence of our product: honey from the hive and fruit from the harvest,” Bryans said.

Perhaps you’ve sampled it at wine and beer shows or spotted the blueberry Hive and Harvest at some LCBO stores.

The blueberry mead is one of four sold at the century-old honey farm. Classic Session is made with a blend of wildflower honey and no fruit, so it’s not as sweet. Hive and Harvest also has raspberry and cranberry versions.

“I have been using these fruits since we started selling meads in bottles,” Bryans said. “These fruit flavours have been the most popular. I find that any fruit with a strong flavour profile blends very well with mead. Blueberry and raspberry are quite popular, with cranberry gaining ground among people who are looking for something a little tarter.”

The Greeks called it “nectar of the gods” and according to Brittannica.com, mead made with honey, rice and fruit has been around since the seventh millennium BCE in China. In Anglo-Saxon literature, royals and aristocrats enjoyed mead.

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Care to join them?

NEW AND NOTED

Brewfest CK, a four-part celebration of craft beer in Chatham-Kent, kicked off at Sons of Kent in Chatham on July 13 and moves through Bayside in Erieau, Red Barn in Blenheim and ending at Glasstown in Wallacetown on Sept. 14.

Anderson Craft Ales in London has Cita Wheat, a wheat beer brewed with Citra hops and orange peel. In the taproom, they’re serving it in a glass rimmed with orange sugar. It’s also in 355 ml cans to go.

Local Heeman’s strawberries give a summer taste to a heat-beating gose at London Brewing. There’s also some basil in this brew.

One could do a tour of breweries with summer beers aiming to echo the flavour of a Creamsicle ice cream bar. Railway City’s Express Orange Creamsic Ale is the first that comes to mind. Point Brewing in Point Edward has one brewed with 600 zested oranges from Sarnia Produce. Back at Storm Stayed on Wharncliffe Road in London is Robin Sparkles, a tart berlinerweisse with orange juice and vanilla.

Blueberry-flavoured beers are a popular summer choice and reliable seasonals at several craft breweries, including Torched Brewing in Grand Bend which has Blueberry Hills Ale. Lake of the Woods of Kenora has one year-round, Forgotten Lake, that’s sold in Ontario at the Beer Store. The Exchange in Niagara-on-the-Lake has Blueberry Pi, a sour strong 7 per cent alcohol beer. Shakespeare Brewing in Perth County does a wheat version, the Bumbling Bear, brewed with berries from nearby TNT Berries.

Feeling like a Brit? Broken Rail in St. Marys has you covered with the new Mellow Fellow, a sessionable malt-forward English mild. It’s 3.2 per cent alcohol and ready to go at the Glass Street brewery in 473 ml cans.

Summer is for shandy. Lemon Breath is a fresh 3.7 per cent alcohol blend of beer and lemonade on tap only at Refined Fool in Sarnia. Pairs well with a warm day at Canatara Beach.

Wayne Newton is a freelance journalist based in London.

BrewsNewsTravels@gmail.com

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