Mead, a gluten-free alcoholic beverage made by fermenting honey with a variety of fruits, herbs and spices, comes as 'conscious' consumers lean towards high-quality natural ingredients and explore new flavors and techniques. is increasingly making its presence felt in India's fast-growing alcoholic beverage market.
The proof of pudding is in eating, or in this case, drinking. His Moonshine Meadery, one of the few brands in India offering mead, just celebrated its 6th anniversary and has grown about 80% year-on-year since its inception. Similarly, Nashik-based mead brand Serana Meads is expected to end the financial year with almost 200% year-on-year sales growth.
Even though it's an industry
What sets Mead apart from others is the fact that it is a 100% natural gluten-free beverage made without synthetic additives.
“Often referred to as the drink of the gods in Greek mythology and prevalent in ancient cultures around the world, mead is actually the world's oldest alcohol, with its existence dating back to 6500 BC. '' said co-researcher Rohan Rehani. Founder of Pune-based Moonshine Meadery.
Fermented alcoholic beverages such as wine are made by fermenting fruit, more commonly grapes, and beer is made by fermenting malted grains. “Mead uses honey as the main fermentation ingredient,” says Dr. Yogini Budkar, co-founder and partner at Serana Meads, adding that their mead is made using ethically sourced honey. He added that it has been done. “We don't steal it from the bees, we only harvest the excess,” added Dr. Ashwini Deore, another co-founder and partner at Serana Meads.
Cerana Meads offers mead in two areas. A type of mead called 'hydromel' is a low alcohol carbonated mead sold at a pocket-friendly price of Rs 199 per 330ml pint. Products in this category are Chenin Blanc Mead, Pomegranate Vanilla Mead, Jamun Mead, and Blue Pea Lavender Mead. “The second vertical is standard mead, which ranges from 10 to 14% alcohol by volume. A half bottle (375 ml) in this category costs Rs 450 and a full bottle (750 ml) costs Rs 810. 's products are Pinot Noir Mead and Yule Spic. These are currently available in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane, Palghar, Nashik and Pune,” Budkar added.
Moonshine Meadery also offers a wide selection of mead, including a 4.5% ABV “light” mead. Currently, we only offer Lemon Tea Mead in this category. “All of our other meads are 6.5% ABV. Our flagship meads, Apple Mead, Coffee Mead and Traditional Mead, are available year-round. We also produce a small amount of mead, which we call “MeadLAB.'' Guava chili mead, grilled pineapple mead and salted kokum mead are some of our very popular mead labs,” Rehani added.
Due to the diversity of flavors and sustainability factors (mead uses significantly less carbon dioxide and water than other alcoholic beverages, as the main ingredient is a by-product), mead is mainly used by young and conscious people. It attracts drinkers. “Alcohol consumption is a matter of familiarity and habit, so the age group most likely to be interested in mead at the moment is the new LDA (legal drinking age) group, consumers in their mid-20s,” says Serana. Deore said. Meads.
For Moonshine Meadery, “people in the 25-45 age group who are looking for flavorful drinks are basically our consumer base,” according to Rehani. “We are bridging the taste gap as consumers move from juices and colas to beer and spirits.” there is no. This fits well with the expectations of young Indians who are looking for more flavorful drinks,” he added.
