Mead vs. Cider: What’s the Difference?
With origins dating back thousands of years, mead and cider have quenched thirsts and tantalized taste buds for generations. Though similar in some ways, these fermented beverages pack distinct differences that make each uniquely satisfying. While both begin from honey or fruit, the ingredients, processes, flavors, and textures create distinct drinking experiences. From honeyed notes to crisp apples, discover the contrasts between mead’s honeyed warmth and cider’s bright tartness. We’ll explore their histories, production methods, and varieties to appreciate what distinguishes these classic libations. Sip through the nuances and decide your favorite in the mead versus cider debate!
Quick Summary
Mead and cider are both alcoholic beverages, but they start from very different ingredients. Mead begins by fermenting honey with water, while cider is made by fermenting apples. The main ingredient affects the taste – mead has a honeyed sweetness while cider tastes bright and appley. Mead can have a higher alcohol content since honey provides fermentable sugars. Cider is usually carbonated, but mead isn’t. Regarding varieties, mead comes in dry, sweet, or flavored versions, but cider ranges from sweet to dry hard ciders. While they connect to history, mead and cider offer distinct drinking experiences based on their central ingredients and production methods.
What is Mead?
An ancient alcoholic beverage made from honey, mead has quenched thirsts worldwide for thousands of years. This unique fermented drink remains a beloved craft beverage today. From its basic ingredients to the many varieties produced, mead has a fascinating story.
Definition of mead
Mead is an alcoholic drink made by fermenting honey with water. Sometimes called “honey wine,” it originated across cultures worldwide where honey could be collected from beekeeping. The essential process combines diluted honey with yeasts and water, then allows the mixture to ferment until the sugars transform into alcohol. Mead may be still or carbonated, and different additions during fermentation can create various styles.
Ingredients used to make mead
At its most basic, mead requires just three ingredients:
- Honey – Providing the main sugars that the yeast will consume to produce alcohol. Honey gives mead its signature sweetness.
- Water – Added to dilute the thick honey to help the yeast ferment the sugars. The water amount impacts the final sweetness.
- Yeast – Usually brewer’s or wine yeast strains that convert the honey’s sugars into alcohol during fermentation. The yeast affects the flavors.
Other potential ingredients that may be added are fruits, spices, grains, or hops. These can provide extra flavors, body, and complexity. But honey, water, and yeast form the foundation of all mead.
Varieties of mead
With its simple ingredients and production process, mead lends itself to many variations that create different styles:
- Traditional mead – Just honey, water, and yeast with no additions. It can be dry, semi-sweet, or sweet.
- Melomel – Meads that incorporate fruit additions like berries, apples, citrus, etc. during fermentation.
- Metheglin – Meads featuring spices like Cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and others for added flavor dimensions.
- Braggot – A style that includes malt, making it a hybrid drink between mead and beer. The malt provides further fermentable sugars.
- Acerglyn – Mead which uses maple syrup as the main fermentable sugar rather than honey. Produces a distinctive maple-sweet flavor.
Many other styles exist, allowing skilled mead makers to explore new directions.
The alcohol content of mead
Given its basis in honey, mead can achieve a wide range of alcohol levels:
- Standard meads often reach 8-12% ABV. This is similar to many wines.
- Session meads may be around 5-7% ABV. More approachable for casual drinking.
- Higher gravity meads with more honey can get up to 18-20% ABV. These are intense and dessert-like.
- Braggot styles may be closer to 4-6% ABV, with the malt lowering the final alcohol somewhat like with beers.
In summary, mead, as a fermented beverage, bases its production and flavors on the unique properties of honey. The many styles and variations allow mead makers to innovate within this very old craft continually. From sweet to dry finishes, still, to sparkling, subtle to strong, mead has an identity all its own.
What is Cider?
With ancient origins and renewed popularity, cider has carved out a significant niche in the modern craft beverage scene. Made from apples, cider’s fruity flavors and versatility help explain its lasting appeal. From farmhouse drinks to a diversified industry, cider continues spreading its appley goodness in new directions.
Definition of cider
Cider refers to a fermented alcoholic beverage made from apple juice. Rather than a single type, “cider” encompasses a wide family of styles originating from apple fermentation. The apples are crushed and pressed with the fresh juice, then fermented by yeasts into hard cider. Additional ingredients may be added to make flavored ciders.
Ingredients used to make cider
Cider’s pure, core ingredients are:
- Apples – The source of fermentable sugars and defining flavors. Hundreds of apple varieties may be used, often in blends. Bittersweet and bittersharp apples offer the best cider flavors.
- Yeast – Typically cider-specific yeast strains that convert apple sugars into alcohol and bubbles during fermentation. Ale yeast can also work.
- Water – Added as needed to the apple juice to achieve the desired sugar and acid levels before fermentation.
Other potential additions that give unique twists:
- Fruit – To create fruited ciders, berries, citrus, stone fruits, etc.
- For extra complexity, Spices include Cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, vanilla, rosemary, hops, and others.
Varieties of cider
With so many apples and possible ingredients, cider offers tremendous diversity:
- Traditional dry ciders – Made solely from apples, producing a crisp, appley flavor.
- Fruit ciders – Ranging from dry to sweet with added fruit like strawberry, peach, blackcurrant, and much more.
- Hopped ciders – Ciders infused with hop varieties give a pleasant bitterness.
- Spiced ciders – Cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, and others complement ciders.
- Perry – Made from fermented pear juice rather than just apples.
New styles are always emerging, fueled by cidermaking creativity.
The alcohol content of cider
Most ciders contain 4-8% alcohol by volume (ABV), though the range extends further:
- Standard ciders are 5-6% ABV, similar to many beers.
- Dry ciders often reach up to 8% ABV with highly fermentable sugars.
- Ice ciders use frozen apples, producing a concentrated juice that can hit 10-12% ABV.
- Session ciders aim to lower 3-5% ABV for light, fruity refreshment.
So cider covers a spectrum from mellow to robust alcoholic strengths while staying rooted in apples as the key ingredient. Cidermakers continue expanding the creative boundaries of this diverse craft beverage.
Differences between Mead and Cider
With origins dating back thousands of years, mead and cider are prominent in fermented beverage history. Both provide unique drinking experiences that still captivate people today. However, there are notable distinctions between these two classic craft drinks derived from their ingredients, production methods, and qualities.
Flavor profile
The source ingredients used to make mead and cider directly influence their distinctive flavors:
- Mead showcases the sweet, rich flavors of honey. It can range from thick and honeyed if made very sweet to dry and wine-like if fermented completely. But the honey comes through, giving mead a smooth, warming sweetness.
- Cider highlights the bright, fruit-forward flavors of apples. Cider expresses apples ‘ acidity and fruit notes, ranging from dry and tart to gently sweet. The appley aromas and flavors come through as fresh or mellow.
Other additions like fruits and spices diversify the flavor profiles, but honey and apples form the core.
Carbonation
Mead is largely still rather than sparkling:
- The yeasts in mead production yield minimal carbon dioxide, so the finished mead has little to no bubbles.
- Some mead makers add carbonation through secondary fermentation or direct injection. But most mead offers a smooth, still mouthfeel.
Cider often contains lively carbonation:
- The yeasts ferment cider in a way that retains residual carbon dioxide, creating natural bubbles.
- Many ciders are actively carbonated to achieve a prickly effervescence, especially commercial varieties.
- Overall, carbonation helps refresh the cider’s bright apple taste.
Alcohol content
Both mead and cider can achieve a wide range of alcohol levels:
- Mead commonly reaches 8-12% ABV, though specialty meads may exceed 15-20% ABV. The abundant fermentable sugars in honey allow high potential alcohol.
- Cider often lands 4-8% ABV, though ice ciders climb toward 10% ABV. Cider tends to ferment fully dry, limiting alcohol levels.
- So, while cider trends are lighter in alcohol and mead skews higher in alcohol, there is a significant overlap in their ABV ranges.
Production process
Mead and cider take different paths from raw ingredients to fermented beverages:
- Mead begins by diluting honey with water and adding yeast. The mixture ferments until the yeast converts honey sugars into alcohol. Total fermentation time ranges from 1-3 months.
- Cider starts by milling and pressing apples into fresh juice. The juice is fermented by cider yeasts into hard cider over 1-6 weeks.
- The simpler mead process allows wider variability in ingredients and approaches. Cider relies on quality apple juice.
Similarities between Mead and Cider
While mead and cider have distinctive identities, they share common threads that tie these fermented beverages together. Both drinks boast ancient origins and roles in human history. And importantly, mead and cider rely on similar natural processes to transform basic ingredients into alcoholic libations. Their core commonalities speak to the human ingenuity that gave rise to these time-tested craft beverages.
Both are fermented beverages
The most essential shared trait of mead and cider is that both are fermentation products. This means yeasts convert sugars into alcohol to create the finished drink:
- For mead, honey provides the sugars that yeast ferments into alcohol. The yeasts feast on the abundant sugars in honey.
- For cider, apple juice supplies the sugars that yeast converts through fermentation. Yeasts consume the fructose in apple juice.
So, while their sugar sources differ, mead and cider depend on yeast fermentation to yield the alcohol that defines them. This shared production method is fundamental.
Both have a long history of consumption
In addition to the fermentation process, mead and cider are bonded by their deep roots in human culture:
- Mead is one of the oldest alcoholic beverages, with evidence of mead production dating back over 9,000 years. Mead arose in cultures worldwide where honey could be harvested.
- Cider’s origins are still young but still ancient. Cider was widely produced and consumed around 2,000 years ago during Roman times. Cider grew alongside apple cultivation.
- Both mead and cider were everyday drinks for centuries rather than niche products. They quenched thirst and played cultural roles.
So, while mead predates cider, they have long, intertwined histories. Their heritage is part of the appeal for modern drinkers.
Looking beyond their definitive common ground as fermented drinks, mead, and cider share some additional traits:
- Alcohol content – Both range considerably but often land around 5-12% ABV. So they offer similar alcohol levels.
- Versatility – Mead and cider lend themselves to many flavors, styles, and personalization. Creativity abounds with both.
- Gluten-free when made traditionally without grain additions. This makes them suitable for gluten restrictions.
- Food friendliness – Mead and cider pair well with numerous foods like cheese, meat, and desserts. Their acidic tang complements dishes.
FAQ
What alcohol content do they have?
Depending on the yeast, ingredients, and fermentation process, mead and cider can range considerably in alcohol content. Many meads fall around 8-12% ABV, though some special varieties like melomels can reach up to 20% ABV. Standard hard cider is usually 4-6% ABV, similar to beer. But there are also stronger apple ciders at 8-12% ABV, so there is a significant overlap in potential alcohol levels between mead and cider.
Related Video: Whats the difference between Mead and Cider?
Conclusion
Whether you’re a history buff, flavor chaser, or simply thirsty, mead and cider provide tempting options with links to the past and unique profiles. Mead offers honey’s sweetness and body, while cider delivers bright apple refreshment. Though they share old origins and fermented craft, their source ingredients and processes create different end products. Mead drinks smooth, warm, and rich. Cider finishes crisp, bright, and clean. With so many varieties and flavors, there’s a mead and a cider for every palate. The choice between the two classic libations ultimately comes down to the experience you seek – the honeyed embrace of mead or the apple tang of cider. Either way, you can go right with these historic sippers!