Mead Tasting in Orlando: Your Guide to Local Honey Wines

Orlando, Florida, often admired for its vibrant theme parks and alluring attractions, has added another must-visit experience to its roster: mead tasting. Mead, an ancient alcoholic beverage made from fermenting honey with water, and sometimes fruits, spices, grains, or hops, is enjoying a renaissance in the city’s culinary scene. With a history as rich as its flavor, this honey-based drink provides an alternative to the usual wine or beer tasting.

One can embark on a flavorful journey at Zymarium Meadery, a local establishment that boasts an array of award-winning meads. Located in the heart of Orlando, it offers visitors the chance to savor diverse meads highlighting the unique profiles of Floridian and international honeys. Whether one prefers traditional blends or seeks to explore the nuances brought about by additional fruits and spices, Zymarium Meadery caters to a wide spectrum of palates.

The meadery’s warm and welcoming environment is perfect for both mead connoisseurs and novices eager to explore the world of this honeyed nectar. With knowledgeable staff guiding visitors through the tasting experience, guests can deepen their appreciation for the craft of mead making while relaxing in one of Orlando’s most creative and sociable scenes.

History of Mead

Delving into the history of mead reveals a beverage deeply woven into the tapestry of human civilization, known to many as the oldest form of alcoholic beverage. Its influence spans continents, featuring prominently in various cultures and mythologies.

Mead Origins and Global Influence

Mead’s roots trace back to the ancients: Babylonians, Indians, Africans, Central Americans, Asians, Eastern Europeans, British Islanders, and the fierce Vikings all savored this “nectar of the gods.” Not merely a drink, mead found itself embedded in the mythologies and daily lives of countless civilizations. Evidence suggests that even before the advent of agriculture, mead might have been a staple in the diets of many early societies.

Evolution of Mead Making

Over millennia, the process of fermenting honey with water has transformed, giving rise to a multitude of mead variations. There’s traditional mead, a simple honey and water blend, and there are complex concoctions like fruited mead (melomel), which includes a blend of honey and various fruits. Regions developed their distinctive styles, with some preferring pure, unadulterated honey flavors, while others experimented with infusions of herbs, spices, or a mix of grains akin to a beer-mead hybrid known as braggot.

Mead in Orlando’s Culture

Though a relative newcomer to the mead scene, Orlando, Florida, has embraced this historical beverage with fervor. Establishments like the recently opened Zymarium Meadery celebrate mead’s legacy by offering over twenty flavors, showcasing both traditional and innovative takes on the ancient drink. This infusion of mead culture is a testament to Orlando’s growing appreciation for artisanal and craft beverages, and a nod to the rich historical tapestry that precedes it.

Mead Tasting Basics

In Orlando’s buzzing mead scene, understanding the basics of mead tasting can greatly enhance the experience. From deciphering the rich flavor profiles to grasping the nuances of mead varieties, there’s much to savor.

Understanding Flavor Profiles

The flavor profile of mead can vary greatly, ranging from sweet to dry, with possible notes of fruit, spices, or even floral elements. Traditional mead is often a pure expression of fermented honey’s natural flavors, while barrel-aged versions impart oaky complexity. When tasting, note the balance between sweetness and any tart or tannic qualities.

Types of Mead

Mead comes in a medley of types, each offering a unique tasting experience. Traditional mead is made with just honey, water, and yeast, presenting a straightforward honey flavor. For a fruit-forward sip, fruited mead incorporates various berries or other fruits, and spiced mead often features warming spices. Adventurous drinkers might enjoy hopped mead, with its beer-like bitterness, or a refreshing sparkling mead.

Tasting Room Etiquette

Upon entering a tasting room or taproom, it’s customary to greet the host and wait to be seated, if applicable. Although service animals are usually welcome, always check with the establishment in advance. Ordering a flight allows patrons to sample multiple meads, comparing them side by side. Remember to sip slowly and engage with your server—they’re often a wealth of information on mead and fermentation science.

Mead-Tasting Vocabulary

Familiarizing oneself with key terms can demystify the mead-tasting process. The ABV (alcohol by volume) indicates the strength of the beverage. Terms like dry or sweet refer to the residual sugars after fermentation. A mead may be described as full-bodied if it feels rich and weighty on the palate. When discussing texture, effervescence pertains to the bubbles found in sparkling varieties. Use this vocabulary to articulate your tasting experiences accurately.

Zymarium Meadery

Zymarium Meadery has firmly established itself as a beacon for mead enthusiasts in Orlando, brought to life through the vision and passion of co-owners Joe and Ginger Leigh. Its grand opening marked a significant milestone as Orlando’s first established meadery, where creativity in mead crafting meets interactive design elements, encouraging guests not just to taste, but also to engage with the space and the mead-making process.

The Vision of Joe and Ginger Leigh

Joe and Ginger Leigh are the passionate driving force behind Zymarium Meadery, crafting a unique space where community and high-quality mead converge. Their commitment to creating an inclusive venue stemmed from a desire to showcase the complexity and versatility of mead, while fostering social connections among patrons.

Origins and Grand Opening

Zymarium Meadery’s journey began with an Indigogo campaign which successfully garnered community support, ultimately bringing Joe and Ginger Leigh’s vision to life. They celebrated their grand opening with enthusiasm, marking Zymarium as the first of its kind in Orlando, a city now proud to host a meadery with such heart and ambition.

Mead Crafting at Zymarium

At Zymarium, the mead making process is an art form, combining traditional methods with innovative flavors. Each batch of mead is crafted with care by the mead maker, using locally-sourced honey to produce award-winning drinks. The meadery specializes in a variety of styles, from traditional meads that highlight the distinct aromas and flavors of the honey to fruited and spiced meads that integrate berries, coconut, vanilla, and more.

Interactive Elements

Joe and Ginger Leigh collaborated with local artist, Synthestruct, to enhance the tasting experience with interactive design, placing an emphasis on art installations that engage the senses. Guests at Zymarium are not just passive observers; they are encouraged to become part of the narrative, actively engaging with the mead and the space around them, adding a layer of personal interaction to the mead tasting experience.

Pairing Mead with Food

When planning a mead tasting, the pairing of mead with the right foods can enhance the tasting experience. Mead’s versatility comes from its varied flavor profiles, which can range from dry to sweet, and can include notes from the honey, fruits, and even hops used in its production.

Mead and Food Combinations

Dry Meads: These are best paired with savory dishes such as grilled meats, roasted vegetables, or herbed potatoes. The absence of sweetness in dry mead contrasts well with the saltiness and umami flavors of these foods.

Semi-sweet Meads: These have a delightful balance that compliments creamy pastas, spicy Asian cuisines, or rich cheeses like camembert. The medium sweetness doesn’t overpower the dish, yet it’s enough to counteract the heat or richness.

Sweet Meads: These meads shine alongside desserts. A sweet mead with notes of vanilla or chocolate can be paired beautifully with pastries or fruit-based desserts. The similar sweetness levels create a harmonious blend of flavors.

Fruit-Infused Meads: They often carry the essence of the fruit they’re infused with, making them a refreshing pairing for salads, light appetizers, or dishes that include the same fruits featured in the mead.

Spiced Meads: With their warm and inviting flavors, spiced meads pair perfectly with hearty dishes such as stews or meals that include a hint of spice themselves, like cinnamon-infused desserts.

Crafting a Tasting Menu

When creating a tasting menu for a mead event, start with lighter dishes and meads, moving towards the heavier and stronger flavors. An example progression for a tasting could be:

• First Course: Cheese platter featuring a range of textures and flavors, from creamy to sharp, paired with a semi-sweet traditional mead.
• Second Course: Main dish featuring herbed chicken or seafood, paired with a dry or semi-dry mead to highlight the herbal notes and complement the proteins.
• Third Course: Dessert, such as a honeyed apple tart that echoes the honey used in mead, paired with a sweet, fruit-infused mead to round off the tasting experience.

Each pairing should aim to either contrast or complement the flavors of the mead and the food, ensuring the palate is continually engaged.

Local Mead Tasting Tours

Orlando is home to a vibrant meadery scene, with the opportunity for locals and tourists alike to explore rich flavors of mead in various tasting rooms and bars.

Orlando’s Meadery Highlights

Orlando boasts its very first meadery, Zymarium Meadery, where one can savor award-winning meads in a welcoming atmosphere. Zymarium Meadery is known for its commitment to crafting a wide array of meads that highlight the natural flavors of locally sourced honey. Visitors can indulge in everything from traditional meads to innovative fruited and spiced variants.

Location and Hours:

• Zymarium Meadery
  1121 N Mills Ave, Orlando, FL
• Hours:
  Thursday-Friday: 5 p.m. to midnight
  Saturday: Noon to midnight
  Sunday: Noon to 10 p.m.

Planning Your Tasting Experience

When planning a mead tasting tour in Orlando, it’s essential to consider the hours of operation and parking availability. Zymarium Meadery offers a taproom experience with the convenience of exclusive off-site parking at a nearby location.

• Parking Information:
  • Exclusive off-site parking at 1021 Lake Formosa Dr.

For those looking to visit multiple local meaderies, it’s best to map out each destination’s location and tasting room hours in advance to maximize the tasting experience. Most meaderies, including Zymarium, welcome visitors to bring outside food, allowing for a curated pairing with their mead selections.

Florida’s Contribution to Mead

Florida’s meaderies are not only creating delightful beverages but are also enriching the local ecosystem and community. From utilizing native ingredients to bolstering the bee population, Florida’s impact on mead production is noteworthy.

Local Ingredients in Mead Production

Florida’s meaderies, such as Zymarium Meadery, pride themselves on incorporating locally sourced ingredients, creating a unique flavor profile for their mead. Ingredients like Florida lychee, southern highbush blueberries, and specialized honeys such as holly blossom and black mangrove blossom honey are not only indigenous but also elevate the taste of Florida mead.

Supporting the Bee Population

Mead production in Florida has an inadvertent yet critical benefit—supporting the local bee population. Through the demand for high-quality honey, meaderies are indirectly encouraging the protection and proliferation of bees, which are essential pollinators in the ecosystem. Initiatives to conserve areas like Coconut Grove ensure that bees continue to thrive, providing the essential ingredient for mead.

Craft Beverage Community in Florida

Florida’s craft beverage scene, enriched by podcasts such as the Florida Foodie podcast, showcases the camaraderie and enthusiasm for local productions. Outlets like WKMG ClickOrlando highlight the success stories of mead taprooms like Zymarium Meadery, cementing Florida’s role in expanding the craft mead community.

These efforts have not only put Florida on the map for mead connoisseurs but have also cultivated a robust network that propels the craft mead movement forward.

Mead Varietals and Tasting Notes

Discover the diversity of mead, each varietal offering a unique flavor experience from sweet and fruity to spiced and complex. Embrace the rich honeyed notes and learn to discern the subtleties within this ancient beverage.

Sampling Mead Flavors

When one visits Zymarium Meadery, an array of mead flavors unveils itself. Visitors have the opportunity to savor traditional meads that emphasize the natural aromas and distinct flavors of various honeys. Patrons can also indulge in the vibrant notes of fruited meads, as well as the warming depths of spiced meads. For those seeking a twist, the meadery often experiments with hopped meads, marrying the worlds of beer and mead for a truly distinctive tasting experience.

Guided Tastings and Mead Education

Zymarium’s knowledgeable staff hosts guided tastings, where guests are led through the nuanced world of meads. During these sessions, the tasting room becomes a classroom, educating mead enthusiasts on the diverse flavor profiles and the subtleties between each variety of mead. This personal interaction ensures visitors not only taste but also understand the distinctions and craftsmanship involved in mead production.

Seasonal and Specialty Meads

Miel de miel, a specific type of seasonal mead, highlights the delicate interplay between honey and the season’s freshest ingredients. Zymarium prides itself on crafting specialty meads that reflect the changing seasons, utilizing locally sourced fruits and spices to create limited-edition batches. These exclusive offerings, often available only in the taproom, entice mead lovers to revisit and taste the ephemeral flavors of the season.

Visiting Zymarium Meadery

Zymarium Meadery has made a significant mark as Orlando’s first meadery, situated in the eclectic Mills 50 neighborhood. It has become a must-visit destination for both locals and tourists looking to experience the unique art of mead making.

Location and Accessibility

Zymarium Meadery is located at 1121 N. Mills Avenue, nestled within the vibrant Mills 50 district known for its cultural diversity and artistic flair. For those driving, off-site parking is available, ensuring convenience for visitors. The meadery is easily accessible, making it an ideal stop for anyone exploring the area.

• Address: 1121 N. Mills Avenue, Orlando, FL
• Parking: Off-site parking available
• Website: Zymarium Meadery
• Hours: Check the website for current operating hours
• Accessibility: Welcomes service animals

Meadery Tours and Events

Visitors to Zymarium Meadery can look forward to insightful tours of the production area, where the intricate process of mead production comes to life. Special events are frequently hosted at the adjacent Orange Studio, offering a unique experience of mead culture. Keep an eye on their website for announcements regarding these special events.

• Tours: Available; visit the website for schedule and booking
• Events: Hosted regularly, check the website for upcoming events

Customer Experience at Zymarium

The staff at Zymarium Meadery is known for their warm and friendly service, greatly enhancing the tasting experience. With a cozy atmosphere, the meadery invites guests to relax and savor the variety of meads produced using locally sourced honey and other quality ingredients. The milieu of the Mills 50 neighborhood further complements the welcoming vibe.

• Service: Friendly and informative staff
• Ambiance: Cozy atmosphere in Mills 50 neighborhood
• Offerings: Assortment of meads made with local honey

The Future of Mead in Orlando

As mead experiences a resurgence, Orlando is buzzing with new developments. The city’s community, influenced by local successes like Zymarium Meadery, is eager to see how mead will evolve.

Innovation in Mead Production

Orlando’s foray into the mead market, led by businesses like Zymarium Meadery, hints at a future ripe with innovation. Brewers are adopting a modern approach to mead-making, utilizing interactive design elements in their taprooms to enhance the tasting experience. They are experimenting with unique flavor profiles, blending traditional methods with new techniques to attract a diverse clientele.

Expanding Mead Availability

The demand for gluten-free options like mead is on the rise. As a result, taprooms and bars across Orlando are poised to stock a greater variety of mead, including locally-produced bottles from Zymarium. This expansion offers an opportunity for residents and visitors alike to savor the rich heritage of mead with a local twist.

Educational Outreach and Community

Education about mead is set to become a cornerstone of the local scene. Establishments like Zymarium Meadery are initiating conversations, including appearances on the Florida Foodie podcast, to inform the public about mead’s unique qualities. Additionally, educational outreach, through interactive events and collaborations with local news, will foster a knowledgeable community that appreciates mead’s place in both history and modern culture.