Have you ever heard of mead? In English, it is called mead.
It is said to have a longer history than wine, as it naturally ferments and turns into alcohol when the conditions are right, simply by having honey collected in a container.
Because it takes years for natural fermentation to turn into sake, the honey wine that is distributed is made by diluting honey with water, adding fermentation ingredients (wine yeast, sake koji, etc.), and brewing it in one to several months.
Because of the low production volume and high production price of fermented sake, there is only a small amount of it distributed in Japan.
The Nikkei Newspaper recently ran a feature article on honey wine. There are about 10 breweries located mainly in Honshu.
There are two main categories: those made by sake makers and independent breweries.
It tastes similar to sherry in Western liquor, or ume (plum) wine in Japan. However, the taste varies depending on the production method, the character of the honey used as the raw material, and additives used to add flavor.
In Europe and the United States, it is sometimes used as a wedding drink. It was also customary for newlyweds to drink mead for the first month.
This is said to be the origin of the word honeymoon.
There are two beekeepers in Kenbuchi Town.
One of them, Mr. Saotome, uses his own honey (honey from multiple flower species) as the raw material for this product.
Production will be outsourced to Deerlet Field Brewery in Ogano Town, Saitama Prefecture.
Completion is scheduled for the end of June 2024.
First, we would like to see how the honey from our town will taste like in the honey wine.
