Is craft mead the new craft beer?
Craft beer is no longer associated solely with brew snobs and bearded Brooklynites, as the booming industry has increasingly carved out a larger share of the American beer market over the past decade. Now, an even more esoteric alcoholic beverage is hoping to follow suit: mead.
Yes, the medieval beverage made from fermented honey is eyeing its own revival amid a broader foodie movement in the booze business. The craft mead industry enjoyed 130 percent growth in sales from 2012 to 2013, the American Mead Makers Association said in a recent report, making mead the "smallest but fastest growing segment of the entire U.S. alcohol business."
"Mead is quietly booming and our industry has caught the beginning of a tidal wave," the report added.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
That may be true. Back in 2012, The New York Times quipped that mead was undergoing a "renaissance." Then again, the Times also said monocles were making a comeback, so it may not be the best source for spotting trends.
So is mead really poised to move into the 21st century and join your favorite quintuple IPA on liquor store shelves everywhere? Don't drink a celebratory toast just yet.
That mammoth spike in sales is impressive, but a tad misleading. The industry reported $112,000 in sales last year; craft beer reported $14.3 billion in sales, up 20 percent from the year before. Still, the growth is interesting nonetheless. And heck, if kombucha can get a cult following, why can't mead get one, too?
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.
-
'Is the death penalty racist? Of course it is.'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Today's political cartoons - May 8, 2024
Cartoons Wednesday's cartoons - social media guilt, gag orders, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Boy Scouts changes name to Scouting America
Speed Read The organization is rebranding, citing inclusivity
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in Morocco
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female president
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. says
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprising
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published