Should Mead Be Chilled? (5 Must Read Tips)

Mead is what happens when, instead of grapes, an alcoholic drink is made from honey instead. 

Fermented honey mixed with water produces a drink so tasty and golden that Mead was nicknamed ‘The Drink of the Gods’.

But when put in the hands of mortals, what is the best way to serve Mead?

And should Mead be chilled?

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Should Mead Be Chilled?

Yes, Mead should be chilled. Traditional mead should be served slightly chilled between 15 - 18°C (60°F - 65°F), fruit mead should be chilled to 7 - 13°C (45°F - 55°F) while sparkling mead should be served at 5 - 7°C (41°F - 45°F). All types of mead should be stored at a cool temperature between 11 - 15°C (51°F - 59°F).

Credit: Bottle of Traditional Mead From Lyme Bay Winery

Mead is a very versatile drink and can be served in lots of different ways depending on the style of mead and the preference of the person drinking it. 

It can be tricky, therefore, to always know exactly what temperature to serve your mead at, so go with your gut on this one.

If your Mead makes you want to drink it like a white wine, then serve your Mead slightly chilled.

But on colder days when you require some liquid comfort, serving your Mead at around room temperature is a delicious option, too. 

Let’s take a look at some popular styles of Mead and their recommended serving temperatures:

3 Popular Styles of Mead and Their Ideal Serving Temperatures:

• Traditional Mead - Often a darker and fuller-bodied version of mead, traditional mead can handle slightly warmer temperatures. So treat this style of Mead like a red wine and serve around 15-18°C (60-65°F).

• Fruit Mead - Mead made with fruit, often referred to as Melomel, is a delicious combination of fermented honey, spices and seasonal fruit such as strawberries and blackberries. Serve them slightly colder, between 7-13°C or 45-55°F.

• Sparkling Mead - This light, crisp and carbonated style of mead can be served well chilled, to help keep the bubbles in check and make this mead a really refreshing aperitif. Serve between 5-7°C or 41-45°F.

So that’s serving temperature sorted, but what is the recommended storage temperature for mead?

What is the Best Storage Temperature for Mead? 

Treat your meads like you would your wine and store them at cellar temperature, between 11°C and 15℃ (51–59°F).

You can help to keep your sweet mead consistently at this temperature range by storing your bottles in a wine refrigerator or wine cellar that has a controlled humidity with limited exposure to light and vibrations.

As long as you’re careful not to overfill your fridge, you can store a lot more than just wine in your wine fridge!

So can Mead go in the fridge?

Should You Put Mead In The Fridge?

Yes, in order to get your Mead to its ideal serving temperature you can put your bottles in the fridge. 

Just be warned that domestic kitchen fridges are often quite cold and dry, so you only need to place your bottles in these fridges a few hours before serving.

Wine fridges are a much better option when it comes to chilling mead as it will help keep your mead at the recommended serving temperature and won’t dry out any corks in the meantime.

So if different fridges have different effects, how long should you put your mead in the fridge?

How Long Should You Chill Mead For?

How long you should chill Mead depends on a) the fridge you are using and b) what your personal preferences are.

If you are using a specialist wine fridge your mead can safely be stored here for long periods of time, and will be ready to drink whenever you are ready.

Wine fridges are designed to store your Mead consistently, so you don’t have to worry about it. 

For domestic fridges you can chill your Mead a 3-4 hours before serving to help chill it to the required temperature.

Remember that if you like your mead served slightly warmer, or if you’re working with a slightly darker style of mead to leave it in the fridge for a shorter amount of time. 

Don’t worry if you leave your Mead in the fridge too long and it gets too cold for your liking, Simply take it out of the fridge and let it warm up to your preferred temperature.

Related: How Long Does Mead Last?

5 Tips on Serving Mead

• The recommended temperature for serving Traditional Mead is between 15-18°C (60-65°F.
• Mead with fruit can be served colder (7-13°C or 45-55°F) and carbonated Mead can be served even colder, still (5-7°C or 41-45°F). 

• Try not to leave your Mead in a domestic fridge for too long, instead only put it in the fridge an hour or two before serving. 

• To maintain the serving temperature in between pouring you can use a wine cooler.

• Store your Mead like you would store your wine, between 11°C and 15℃ (51–59°F).

Summary of Do You Chill Mead

Here's a summary of all you need to know about chilling Mead:

Before You Go...

We hope you enjoyed our article on whether Mead should be chilled.

Do you need to know how to chill red wines correctly?

Read our next article about chilling red wines correctly here...

Should Red Wine Be Chilled? (Full Guide)

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