Did you know that today – May 20 – is World Bee Day? As in the insects, not spelling bees. 🙂 Fun fact about me: I used to intentionally lose spelling bees as a kid because I knew all the words and was terrified of having to go to the state spelling bee and stand up and talk in front of other people. You might as well have told me I would be walking into an actual beehive.

But back on the apian track, or flight path. Considering the massive importance and amount of work these tiny heroes do to feed our planet, I thought it would be most appropriate to celebrate their hard work with a couple delicious mead recommendations on World Bee Day.

Just as hard cider is made from fermented apple juice, mead is an alcoholic beverage made of fermented honey and water. It dates back to ancient times, before even beer and wine had emerged on the scene. Africa is where it originated, and mead was likely the result of an accidental wild fermentation of honey. Keep in mind honey cannot ferment on its own unless a certain amount of water is added to it (otherwise we would all be getting buzzed whenever we used honey that was more than a few days old). The Vikings popularized mead in later centuries and this is the historical era which Oppegaard Meadery proudly touts.

Oppegaard Meadery hails from the hamlet of Tukwila, Washington. Owner Jon Oppegaard is super proud of his own Norwegian heritage and utilizes Viking designs on his bottle labels and Viking-themed tasting room. He offers a number of different meads, each of outstanding quality and style. From time to time he even does some wacky experiments and lets guests sample them (a number of years ago, my husband tried a taco mead made for Cinco de Mayo). 🙂

(Don’t worry, I am not blogging about taco mead today, promise). 🌮

It has been a long time since I tried these two meads but their deliciousness still haunts me (in a good way) to this day. When I drink mead, I definitely have to switch gears mentally because I can’t approach this beverage the same way as I do wine, beer, or cider. Mead shares a certain affinity with wine as its body/consistency is closer to that of wine than that of carbonated beer or cider. Alcohol levels are closer to wine, too.

Both of these beverages are technically melomels, or meads that have had fruit added to them. Oppegaard has crafted two impeccable meads that are truly delicious and dazzle with sumptuous, sweet flavors. The first is the aptly-named Dragon’s Blood Mead, which adds raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries with mead. Dark, gorgeous color, rich berry flavors, just right sweetness, nice weight on the palate. My notes from the first time I tasted this one read, “Pure awesomeness.” I still stand by that. $40/bottle.

Nectar of the Nordic gods

The Blackberry Mead, priced at $30/bottle, was perhaps my top favorite of all their meads. Local, Pacific Northwest blackberries and honey, bottled into happily-ever-after bliss. So, so enjoyable. Just go get some already.

In addition to sampling the superb meads at Oppegaard, you can attend a medieval fair in their parking lot with combat fighters, food trucks, and entertainment, meet up with your gaming friends to play some Dungeons & Dragons, or even take a class where you learn how to make your own mead. Lots of really fun and unique events to foster community, which I love to see happening. Check out their website for a complete list of goings-on.

It seems curiously fitting that Viking explorers adopted the product of another group of fellow traveler-explorers: honeybees. Honeybees go from flower to flower, gathering up their beloved nectar and pollen to create honey. Vikings went from place to place “in search of wealth and adventure on the seas. During their travels they brought mead with them to trade and consume” (Oppegaard Mead bottle description). So it’s not only something they both make to sustain themselves, but it’s a gift for others to partake in.

A toast to the Vikings for their pioneering efforts and rich legacy in the realm of mead, and to the humble honeybee, on whom we all depend and whose work is greatly revered and appreciated. Cheers! 🐝

What’s the buzz? Do you like mead? Have you tried Oppegaard or another brand? Bee opinionated – comment!