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SKOAL MEADERY

Ancient Brewing Poetry

SKOAL! — A SCANDINAVIAN TOAST

Norse Pattern

The Art of Mead

Forged in the traditions of the Norse gods

Mead Horn

Mead is not a beer, wine, or spirit — it is its own class of alcohol, believed to be the oldest alcoholic beverage known to humanity, predating both wine and beer by thousands of years.

Mead has held a pivotal place in many cultures throughout its nearly 8,000 year history. The result of fermentation — water mixed with Organic Raw Honey and Yeast yields a drink of legendary proportions.

Our Mead is made in the traditional methods, synergizing the ways of the ancients with modern yeast cultivation. Using Organic Raw Honey and selected waters from Mpumalanga, we have created something truly special.

A Journey Through Time

8,000 years of mead across civilizations

~7000 BCE — China

Earliest evidence of mead in Northern China, pottery with fermented honey residues.

~4000 BCE — India

In the Rigveda, mead (madhu) is celebrated as a divine drink of the gods.

~2800 BCE — Egypt

Egyptians called mead "sacred drink" — pharaohs buried with mead for the afterlife.

~1700 BCE — Greece

Greeks believed mead was Ambrosia, bestowing longevity and immortality.

~500 CE — Viking Age

Norse warriors drank mead from horns. The Mead of Poetry granted wisdom.

~800 CE — Medieval

The "honeymoon" tradition — mead for a full moon after weddings.

Today — Renaissance

Mead is experiencing a worldwide revival with traditional and innovative styles.

Our Range of Meads

Crafted with the wisdom of the ancients

🌲

Vidar

Traditional Mead

Named after the Norse god of nature. Pure honey, yeast, and water — as nature intended.

🍌

Valkyrie

Banana Mead

Inspired by divine shieldmaidens. Banana-infused mead with warrior spirit.

🌹

Freyja

Rose Mead

Named after the goddess of love. Delicate rose-infused divine elegance.

🍯

Ambrosia

Traditional Melomel

The elixir of the gods. Brewed in the traditional ways of old.

🐉

Dragon's Blood

Berry-Infused Mead

Infused with forest berries. Honey backtones with cherry and blackberry.

❄️

Skadi's Comfort

Spiced Winter Mead

Orange, ginger and cinnamon — the flavour of winter mountains.

Types of Mead

Click to learn more about each style

Traditional

Honey, water, yeast

Melomel

Mead with fruit

Pyment

Honey-wine hybrid

Cyser

Apple honey cider

Metheglin

Spiced mead

Braggot

Mead-beer hybrid

Hydromel

Light session mead

Bochet

Caramelized honey

Sack Mead

Super sweet

Rhodomel

Rose petal mead

Cultural Selection

Mead around the world

🇿🇦 South Africa — iQhilikah

Traditional Xhosa honey wine brewed for centuries with roots and herbs for ceremonies.

— Southern African Tradition

🇪🇹 Ethiopia — Tej

Ancient honey wine with gesho leaves for bitterness, served in traditional berele flasks.

— Ethiopian Tradition

🇵🇱 Poland — Miód Pitny

Four varieties based on honey-to-water ratio: Czwórniak, Trójniak, Dwójniak, Półtorak.

— Polish Tradition

🇷🇺 Russia — Medovukha

Ancient Russian mead with hundreds of recipes, aged for decades in oak barrels.

— Russian Tradition

🇮🇳 India — Madhu

Celebrated in the Rigveda as the divine drink. Word survives as "honey" in many languages.

— Vedic Tradition

🇸🇪 Scandinavia — Mjöd

Viking sagas tell of mead halls where skalds recited poetry and warriors feasted.

— Norse Tradition

Fascinating Facts

Wonders of the oldest fermented beverage

Oldest Ferment

Evidence dates to 7000 BCE in China, predating wine and beer by millennia.

Honey Never Spoils

3,000-year-old honey found in Egyptian tombs was still perfectly edible.

Bee's Work

One pound of honey needs 60,000 bees visiting 2 million flowers.

Drink of Kings

Queen Elizabeth I loved mead with rosemary and bay leaves.

Honeymoon Origin

Newlyweds given mead for a full moon cycle after weddings.

Modern Renaissance

US meaderies grew from under 30 to over 500 since 2000.

"The mead of poetry was said to grant wisdom and eloquence to those who drank from it."
— Norse Mythology

How It All Began

A husband and wife's journey

We are a husband and wife team, bound by shared curiosity and love for the natural world. Neither of us cared for most alcoholic drinks — the harshness of spirits, bitterness of beer, complexity of wine. But we shared something else: an absolute love of honey.

That golden nectar always held a special place in our hearts. Its warmth, complexity, ability to transform the simplest dish — honey was magic in a jar. We collected different varieties, tasting subtle differences between wildflower, buckwheat, and orange blossom.

Then came the question that changed everything: How does mead taste? Our fascination with the Viking way led us down this path. We read of warriors drinking from horns, gods feasting in Valhalla. But we had no way of knowing what mead actually tasted like.

So we decided to make it ourselves. We gathered knowledge from books and ancient texts, adding the magic of old — tradition forged with intent. What started as a simple question between a husband and wife has become our passion and craft.

Skøal!

Our Mead Collection

Contact Us

Raise your horn with us

Get In Touch

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Whether you want to learn more, inquire about orders, or share appreciation for the ancient craft — we'd love to hear from you.

Location: Mpumalanga, South Africa