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Mead popular again for first time since Beowulf

Mead, the medieval warrior's choice of alcoholic drink, is making a quiet comeback across the US.

The number of American "meaderies" producing the drink has tripled to about 150 in the past decade.

Vicky Rowe, the owner of Gotmead.com, a website for enthusiasts, said: "They're just popping up all over. And a lot of those are wineries that have decided to add mead to their mainstream product lines." A form of the drink – made by fermenting honey and water – is thought to have been drunk as long ago as 7000BC in ancient China.

But it is better known for its appearance in Beowulf, the Old English epic heroic poem describing the battles of Germanic tribes around the sixth century, and in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales....

Read entire article at Telegraph (UK)