What is the alcoholic beverage made from fermented honey called? Mead is the answer.
Mead is an alcoholic drink produced by fermenting honey with water, usually with yeast. Depending on the recipe, it may be still or sparkling, dry or sweet, and low-strength or relatively strong. Fruits, spices, herbs, grains, or hops can also be added, creating styles such as melomel, metheglin, braggot, and cyser.
Honey’s high sugar content gives yeast the raw material needed to produce alcohol, but fermentation can be slower than with some fruit juices because honey lacks certain nutrients. The final flavor depends on the honey’s floral source, the amount of dilution, the yeast strain, fermentation temperature, and whether the mead is aged.
Mead is often confused with honey-flavored beer or wine, but it is defined by honey being the primary fermentable sugar. It has a very old history: archaeological and textual evidence places honey-based fermented drinks in several ancient cultures, long before modern commercial brewing. “Honey wine” is a useful nickname, although mead is its own beverage category.