As the Game of Thrones season finale approaches (Monday 15th June) Lanarkshire mead maker Beehive Brae is welcoming the impact the show has had on the industry and potentially in protecting dwindling bee numbers.
The dramatic fantasy phenomenon is pushing sales of mead through the roof, with the American Mead Makers Association (AMMA) reporting a 42% increase in sales last year.
Mike Lees, Beehive Brae Chairman said:
“Already in the UK many of our contemporaries are reporting a surge in sales of 15% and above since the show started. A drink that was once considered the poor relation to beer, wine and spirits is now finding a new audience. Game of Thrones and similar fantasy dramas are helping to introduce mead to a new hipster audience of trendy twenty and thirty-somethings. In America, the same young people attracted to the craft beer market are also sampling mead and that’s what we hope to recreate here, with ethical shoppers also attracted to our honey beer.”
Mead, which is a combination of honey, water and yeast dates back around 11,000 years in China and nearly 5,000 in Europe. The recipe is fermented until it reaches about 14 per cent proof. In the US, AMMA research conducted across 52 meaderies, reporting an increase in production of 128 per cent. The rising cost of honey forced medieval drinkers to seek alternatives to mead and the drink’s popularity wained.
Today, Beehive Brae’s mead varieties are infused with elderflower, rose petals and rose hips, making it a completely different offering from what was available to our ancestors. The Motherwell meadery is finding a new popularity with fans of Game of Thrones, Outlander and Vikings, with re-enactment societies and a growing craze in Medieval Fayres, with a number of such events on the horizon over the summer.