Mead

[BigJonno]

After drinking rather large amounts of it over the weekend (live action roleplay events rule!) I can safely say I know why the Norse had a reputation for being a little on the rowdy side. I'd like to see how many people here would still be standing after a pint of mead or two. (If you don't know, mead is more like a strong wine than anything else. I was drinking various kinds that were between 15 and 30% proof.)

[Loki]

Aye! My two-year stuff is quite potent! (and very tasty!)

[Vitki]

Well, anything above about 10% will have been made with specialized wine yeast, which the ancient Norse wouldn't have had. Mead was made with naturally-occuring yeast already present in the honey, yeast found in spit, or yeast left in an old barrel previously used to make mead. All of these were considered magical, as they had no knowledge of yeast.

Each species of yeast has a certain tolerance for alcohol. That's how you brew something to have a certain percentage -- use a yeast strain that dies at that level, you get exactly that in the brew.

The naturally-found yeasts used back then would've put the mead at about 8% or so most likely, more like a strong beer than distilled liquor.

Oh, and Odin's words passed down in the Havamal caution against drinking to excess, for several reasons. I'm of a strong belief that the ancient Norse simply *weren't* the drunken types we tend to think of them as.

~Vitki