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Fermentation Atlas

Alcoholic drinks from worldwide

Mead (base flow)miód pitny

Mead is honey diluted with water and fermented by yeast. In the Polish tradition the honey wort is often boiled first, fermented for several weeks and then matured for months to years, and the honey-to-water ratio sets the grade. Made in 8 steps over 13 months – 14 months. The longest step, mature and rack again, takes at least 12 months (Specification of the TSG "Trójniak staropolsk…) and runs at 15 °C (Cicha-Wojciechowicz D 2024). Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Saccharomyces bayanus do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main stepat least 12 monthsSet[tsg-trojniak][tsg-czworniak][tsg-dwojniak]Mature and rack again
Temperature15 °CReported[cicha2024]Mature and rack again
Fully documentedAlcoholic drinks13 months – 14 monthsMore alcoholic drinksMore from AfricaMore from Poland

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceProportions by volume from the Polish TSG specification for trójniak staropolski tradycyjny. The specification fixes ratios, not a batch size.
1 volumeNatural honey · No more than 20 % water and at least 70 % reducing sugars[tsg-trojniak]
2 volumesWater · For fruit meads at least 30 % of the water is replaced by fruit juice[tsg-trojniak]
Honey yeast · A high-attenuation yeast suited to strong honey worts[tsg-trojniak]
OptionalHerbs, spices or hops · The original specification named cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger[tsg-trojniak][tsg-czworniak]
OptionalTartaric or citric acid[tsg-trojniak]
Starterhoney yeast (selected Saccharomyces); unboiled worts can also ferment with their own wild yeasts

Total time across the recorded steps: 13 months – 14 months

Start
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20–30 °C

What changes: Honey dissolves into lukewarm water to make the wort

Step 1 of 8
Mix honey and water
Time
Not documented
Temperature
20–30 °C
Set
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Saccharomyces bayanus

Output: honey wort (brzeczka).

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

What makes this one different

Mead has no grain or fruit at its base; honey is the only sugar. Honey is too sweet to ferment neat and is low in nitrogen, so it is diluted 2–4 times and the yeast often gets added nutrients. Polish law fixes the grades by honey-to-water ratio, from 1 to 3 (czwórniak) to 1 to 1 (dwójniak) and the richer półtorak.

Related ferments

Variants

  • Czwórniak (Poland)1 volume honey to 3 of water; 9–12 % vol; at least 9 months' maturation.
  • Dwójniak (Poland)1 volume honey to 1 of water in the finished mead (the wort is made 1 to 2 and more honey added later); 15–18 % vol; at least 2 years' maturation.
  • Półtorak (Poland)The richest Polish grade, with the least water and the longest ageing.
  • Sycony and niesyconyBoiled wort against unboiled wort dissolved at 20–30 °C; the later steps are the same.
  • Braggot (bragget)Made with malted barley and wheat, between a beer and a mead.
  • BochetHoney caramelised before the water goes in.
  • Melomel, cyser and pymentWith fruit, apples or grapes.
  • MetheglinWith herbs or spices.
  • Sima (Finland)Quick lemon mead for May Day; raisins show when it is ready; now usually made with brown sugar.
  • Medovukha (East Slavic)Honey drink, often low in alcohol, with hops or spices.

Made the mead way

Safety

The TSG rules require boiled wort to be cooled on the day it is made, which they say keeps it microbiologically safe, and they ban preservatives. Volatile acidity above 1.4 g/L (as acetic acid) is outside the specification; acetic bacteria from barrels cause vinegar-like faults. If sulphite is used, EU labels must declare it above 10 mg/L.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

Pottery jars from Jiahu in Henan, China, held residues of a mixed drink of rice, honey and fruit from the seventh millennium BC. In Poland a 1948 law fixed the four mead grades by honey-to-water ratio, and they are now EU traditional specialities guaranteed. Poland made 7,100 hL of mead in 2019.

  1. [tsg-trojniak] Specification of the TSG "Trójniak staropolski tradycyjny" (PL-TSG-007-0033), with the amendment application by the Polish Wine Council, published by the Polish Ministry of Agriculturespec
  2. [tsg-czworniak] Specification of the TSG "Czwórniak staropolski tradycyjny" (PL-TSG-007-0035), with the amendment application, Polish Ministry of Agriculturespec
  3. [tsg-dwojniak] Specification of the TSG "Dwójniak staropolski tradycyjny" (PL-TSG-007-036), with the amendment application, Polish Ministry of Agriculturespec
  4. [cicha2024] Cicha-Wojciechowicz D., Drabińska N., Majcher M.A. 2024, Influence of honey varieties, fermentation techniques, and production process on sensory properties and odor-active compounds in meads, Molecules 29(24):5913, doi:10.3390/molecules29245913paper
  5. [cicha2024b] Cicha-Wojciechowicz D., Frank S., Steinhaus M., Majcher M.A. 2024, Key odorants forming aroma of Polish mead - influence of the raw material and manufacturing processes, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 72(18):10548–10557, doi:10.1021/acs.jafc.4c01276paper
  6. [li2026] Li X. et al. 2026, Advances in mead production and flavor characteristics - traditional and modern techniques, metabolic pathways of volatile compounds, and sensory evaluation, Food Chemistry X 33:103270, doi:10.1016/j.fochx.2025.103270paper
  7. [mcgovern2004] McGovern P.E. et al. 2004, Fermented beverages of pre- and proto-historic China, PNAS 101:17593–17598, doi:10.1073/pnas.0407921102paper
  8. [eu1169] Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on food information to consumers, Annex II item 12 (sulphur dioxide and sulphites above 10 mg/L)spec
  9. [wp] Wikipedia, Mead (outline of named styles only)wiki