In Norse mythology, the einherjar consume mead during their feasts in Valhalla.
Valhalla is Odin’s hall in Asgard, where warriors chosen from those slain in battle are received. Norse texts describe the einherjar fighting during the day and feasting afterward. Their food is the boar Sæhrímnir, which is restored after being eaten, while the goat Heiðrún supplies mead.
The mead is commonly associated with Heiðrún, who stands on Valhalla’s roof and feeds on the leaves of the tree Læraðr. She produces enough mead to fill a large vessel for the hall’s warriors. This detail comes chiefly from Grímnismál, a poem preserved in the Poetic Edda.
Mead is a fermented honey drink, not simply sweet water or ordinary ale. In Norse mythology, it also has strong links to poetry and inspiration through the myth of the Mead of Poetry, although that is a separate myth from the drink served in Valhalla.