Lurgashall Spiced / Metheglin Mead

Brewed by Lurgashall Mead
Style: Mead
Lurgashall, England

Thanks much to Brewfiend for sharing. Pours a nice dark yellow color. Nice clovey, christmasy piney cinnamony spicy nose. Wow, great balance on the palate with a nice, but not overwhelming honey flavor, as well as some cinnamon, nutmeg, and as Ben said allspice. Wow, very nice mead.

Methgelin label. Mead and 300 night at Brewfiends; this one thanks to him! Dark yellow color. Aroma of cloves, cinnamon and pine. Sweet honey taste with cinnamon and allspice. The hands-down winner of the night for me. Very much a Christmas mead.

Bootle shared by Brewfiend, pours a brown tinted golden beverage. Aroma of Christmas tree pine, cloves, rosemary and some sweet mincemeat raisin pie filling. Texture is smooth and silky with flavors of sweet honey, cloves and spruce pine. Finish is as sweet at its flavor, a slight herbal bite and apple/honey aftertaste. Not as much alcohol burn as the Lurgashall Reserve but still has plenty of alcohol warmth.

A deep, golden yellow coloured mead, served in a wine glass. an immediate hit of mulled wine-like aromas, plenty of cinnamon and clove accompanies the sweet honey aroma. The taste is sweet, rounded honey flavour is matched by the cinnamon lead spicy flavour, then the flavour becomes a touch medicinal, but pleasant. Tasted at the Cider stall at the 2007 Cambridge Beer Festival, the last thing, and a wonderful way of finishing the evening!

Bottle... Clear light yellow mead. Herbal, honey-sweet aroma with a hint of menthol. The flavor is nice for sipping. Ultra-sweet, but that’s expected; it’s mead. I’m not picking up the nutmeg or clove, but I’m getting a cinnamon vibe. Full-bodied and oily/syrupy with only a whisper of carbonation... maybe not even that. Finishes sweet and a touch grassy.

Bottle at Sunset Grill on 8/5/06, unsure of the age.
Medium-tinted golden mead with some hay-colored tints and some pencil-yellow tones as well. Clear, filtered, leaves minimal legs on the glass.
The nose is very fragrant, with a dash of almond and sweet wildflower honey initially and then blossoming in to a huge, cherry-sweet, spice/honey mixture that, while probably lacking complexity, is certainly unique (to my inexperienced mead nose, anyway). Dries out at the very end, with some anise and hints of white pepper-like notes, maybe chamomille too. No alcohol or much yeast influence.
The flavor, it seems, has the force of the aroma, but that’s where it ends. Sticky, rich, powerfully sweet honey coats (cloys?) the palate and a bold, brash spice/herbal note strikes in to this. Anise, vanilla, chamomille and who knows what else. Very strong, domineering and unbalancing. Much like barrel-aging is currently used in the brewing industry. Rather plain, sticky texture is not overly supportive, no doubt filtered/pasteurized. Alcohol is only slightly warming in flavor but provides a nasty sharpness post-finish.

Strong sweet honey aroma with a hint of cinnamon. Uber-sweet with an alcoholic kick at the end of the swallow. Flavor and nose have herbal notes, but it is difficult to isolate them. Mouthfeel is thick, but not syrupy. Sipped in small quantities, this makes an excellent dessert beverage paired with light or citrus fruits. I suggest this on the rocks to temper the honey sweetness a bit.

Reading Beer Festival 2006. Fairly fresh creamy floral aromas. Spicy medicinal sweet mouthfeel. Spices help to balance the sweetness.