Chaucers Mead

Produced utilizing fresh honey without the addition of artificial flavorings, concentrates or artificial colorings. Even though greater production difficulties occur because pure, raw honey is used for fermentations, the intensity of flavor generated through this technique is worth the effort.
Exhibits a richness similar to a fine liqueur, this dessert-style beverage is not fortified, hence, it should be consumed shortly after purchase to enjoy its natural and rich honey flavor. Chaucer's Mead can be enjoyed in one of two ways, either chilled or heated with spices to create a delicious wintery drink.
The honey is produced in hives throughout Northern California and is composed of a blend of three types; orange, alfalfa and sage. Each of these components brings a unique quality to the blend and contributes to the overall complexity. Orange adds a pungent orange blossom flavor and has light color. Alfalfa is neutral in flavor but yields a dark, amber color. Sage, on the other hand, has a mild taste and a light color.

3.3

171 reviews

Soquel, United States

Community reviews

3.4 Pours like a mead, clear yellow no head or lacing. Aroma of honey, grass, vegetables. Taste is sweet salad basically. Nice, not overly sweet or crazy.

3.4 Poured a light yellow almost neon glow. Aroma is sweet apple pear,warm,mildly cidery,slightly buttery. Taste is sweet pear,apple,mild cider,mellow buttery,has some tartness but more in finish with somewhat of a spicey kick at the end.Kinda sweet somewhat balanced with the tartness though. Pretty impressive for my second mead I tried- Had Rogues mead-didnt care for it it was 5% also and dry probably why I didnt like it.This ones good but resembles a sweetish cider to it. Pretty good will like to try it with the spices next time.

2.7 Appearance: Pale Yellow, still Aroma: Honey, juicyfruit and sulphur Flavor: Honey, candy sugar, sulphur Overall: Sweet and a bit strange.

3.0 4oz glass. Yeah, it’s sweet alright, and kind of syrup-y too, although not quite to a fault. Served semi-cold, it looks a lot like dark-ish white wine, and the taste even reminds me of some super-sweet whites I’ve had as well. Interesting to try once or twice, but I don’t think I’d keep a bottle around the house, even for dessert (I prefer port).

3.2 Bottle from Fermentation. Pale golden almost clear pour with decent legs. Flowers, light citrus and honey on the aroma. Flavor very similar with spices and a dry clean finish. Not syrupy or too sweet.

3.4 750 ml bottle-still-yellow/gold. A-honey, lt malt, some floral. T-honey, sweet lt malt, some floral.

3.5 Bottle shared by John. Pours clear gold. Nose and taste of honey, beeswax, vanilla cream and light citrus fruit. Bright and clean. Medium body.

3.5 Tried with and without the spices. Much better with the spices they mask the plastic flavor. Was not as sweet as I was expecting which was a good thing.

3.2 Thanks for sharing this one, Chipalsa. The nose is sweet honey and alcohol aromas with a chemical smell. Tons of honey aroma. Color is pale yellow. Taste is strong honey with a subdued alcohol presence. A little unrefined but very pleasant. The mulling spices provided added a unique twist to how I’m used to having mead. Cool stuff.

3.3 Nose is strongly honey, plastic, and bandaid. Clear yellow. Medium body. Flavor is honey and bubblegum, with a slightly medicinal finish. Flawed, but still enjoyable. The name and label appeal to my inner geek.

2.4 Purchased this to try something different. Artificial cork was a dog to get out with a traditional corkscrew. For a product that can’t age, the manufacturer should really consider switching to a screw-cap. But I digress. I drank chilled without the mulling spices. Pours a pale gold, slightly more yellow than a typical white wine. Aroma is nothing to write home about; waxy with sweet honey coming through. First sip yields a taste strikingly similar to a very sweet white wine (somewhere between Pinot Grigio and Moscato) that fades to honey briefly and is lost to a lingering waxy taste and mouthfeel. Makes me think that the company used cheap low-quality honey that was not separated from the beeswax residue before brewing began. Overall, this may be the only true mead for those on a budget and unable to make their own, but this is nothing to write home about.

3.2 bottle from app vintner, did NOT add the accompanying spices - pours clear gold, no head, still. Aroma is fruity, there is an artificialness to it that I can’t place, but reminds me of juicy fruit gum. Taste is sweet, no real burn from the alcohol, though it does add some spiciness. Palate is a little syrupy. overall, very drinkable, but boring, feels generic, if that makes any sense.

3.5 Bottle from Appalachian vintner. Pours all golden an honey with honey and floral notes on the nose. Slightly slick mouthfeel. Sweet Honey on the tongue. Very smooth. Not a lot of alcohol burn. Very solid.

3.4 What a delicate offering of sugary goodness! The nose is of honey (of course) and light graham crackers with some faint earthiness as it decants. Bitter sweet is the honey as it fills your mouth with light and spicy alcohol, and with a warm finish makes for a fun drinker. 750ml worth of this is gone quickly, and makes for a great dessert to Italian cuisine!

3.1 Beautiful pale yellow color. Still variety. Typical rubber band aroma of mead. Honey sweetness in flavor with that rubber in the finish. Somewhat "sticky" texture drinking it.

4.0 bottle purchased around 2007. pours a clear lightly gold hue with no head. when drinking hot and mulled with the provided spice pack, there is a lot of cinnamon and clove in nose with sweet honey. the cold base is sweet and has an almost white grape character. i enjoyed both ways. the heated version seems to bring out the alcohol a little more. pleasantly surprised. very nice.

3.6 Yellow color with a few white bubbles. The aroma is heavy on the honey. The flavor is full of honey, floral notes and some alcohol. Medium mouthfeel.

3.4 Pours a nice light clear yellow. Aromas of honey, wax, and slight alcohol. Flavor is mostly nice sweet honey, mild earthy comb, and a hint of booze. Sort of a earthy underlying floral quality as well.

3.5 This poured a lighter straw yellow color with no head, to be expected with mead. Aroma was mainly honey, some nitrous oxide and light bready notes. Flavor was bread yeast and honey, a bit too sweet for my liking but not too bad.

3.4 Bottle with Carla. Pours a light yellow without carbonation. Smells sweet and lightly dry of honey with light hints of pine and cedar branches. Tastes sweet of elderberries, vanilla and honey with a hint of alcohol at the end.

3.6 Clear gold color. Light honey aroma. Moderate honey flavor, with clover standing out the most. Drifting into an almost spearmint spice towards the finish. Medium to full bodied.

3.7 Drank warmed with seeped in spice packin a silver chalice. The mead has both an aroma and flavor of light, spicy honey - no surprise. The alcohol and warmth go down smooth and I expect this would be appropriate for a wintertime sipper around the fireplace, although I tried this in the middle of summer.

2.7 Had this at the 2011 mid summer morning mead tasting at Vintage, nice place, y’know? Clear and barely any color at all. Smell is like honey in a plastic bottle. Taste is plain honey mead, no frills and I like that. A rather well behaved mead on the palate. Just plain good ol mead. On target for what I believe to be the style. This one seems to be below avereage in the alky content or it just hides it well. Decent finsh, mouth coating of course; bet gentle.

3.2 Bottle shared with the inlaws. Very light in color, kind of suprising with the mix of honey’s involved here. Very light nose, somewhat floral. Flavor is crisp and fruity, body is light, and finish is clean.

1.1 Bottle from Stephanie. Pale orange pour with little to no head. Aroma is alcohol, astringent, and fruity. Taste is lots of sweetness, fruit, alcohol, and pain.

2.7 1st mead so I have nothing to compare this too. I see why this beverage has faded into obscurity. Odd, cloying sweetness. Carbonation would have helped cut the sweetness, but I understand. This has plenty of residual sugar to ferment out another percent or two of alcohol, and would make a better beverage. I know this is not very fresh, but the honey flavor isn’t that great, almost like the fake honey over a decent wildflower honey. Clean but unimpressive flavor.

3.2 Pours light cloudy gold. Smells like honey and alcohol, not complex. Tastes very sweet and almost a little sour and strongly of alcohol. Medium-bodied with a slick and sticky texture and no carbonation, Chaucer’s Mead finishes sweet, too much so. Not really my thing.

3.7 this mead has a clear to medium yellow appearance, with an aroma of a moderate honey with some floral hints. flavor is a sweet flora yet bitter, leaving a slight tingle on your tongue, and hides the alcohol well. suggest following mulling spice directions to enhance flavors, and "spice" it up a notch.

3.6 750ml bottle. Pale, clear yellow and still. Aroma of floral honey, citrus, spices and some white wine like aroma. The flavor is lots of sweet honey with some spicy qualities and a light alcohol warming. Medium body with a great smooth mouth feel that is sweet without leaving a sugary feeling. Pretty great mead, especially for the money. Lots of honey flavors and aromas and pretty sweet but not cloying.

3.3 Fløska. Pale yellow colour. Aroma of bubble gum with herb and honey. Sweet herbal fruity honey bit alco flavour. Sweet honey fruity finish. Pleasant.