White Winter Black Mead

Brewed by White Winter Winery
Style: Mead
Iron River, Wisconsin USA

Bottle courtesy of tytoanderso. Pours ruby red. Smells of black currants, some honey, a hint of tartness. Tastes of black currants with a touch of honey. Decent.

Thanks be to The Cheeseman for this taste. This is a very dry mead and wine combination. Light and sweet red wine flavors hit the palate first, followed up by the refreshing honey touches. Good stuff.

ABR 2008. Nice nose of berries and honey. Flavor is sweet, finishes with some dryness.

Amber with no head. Aroma like a dry wine with fruits, oak and mild honey. Taste of fruit peel, light honey. Sweet and dry. Decent, though I’m not a great judge of meads – to be honest I’d rather have a wine or a beer.

Small pour (approximately 3 oz.), on tap at Gitchee Gumee Brewfest in Superior, WI on 4-5-08. This was the second of 12 beers that I rated (out of about 20 total beers that I tried). Of course, this was actually a mead, so the previous statement isn’t entirely accurate, but work with me here; okay people? Pours a clear copper with a nice glow. No presence of any head. Wine and honey scents in the pleasant aroma. Tart, sour, vinegary flavor (but not in a bad way). Tastes like a dessert wine. Medium body. Smooth in the palate. Little to no carbonation. I should note that I’m not a good judge of meads, as I have tried very few, but I did enjoy this.

Bottle at iowaherkeye’s tasting. Thanks for sharing Joey. Poured an attractive clear ruby red color. Aroma was of distinct fresh berries, almost like a Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel. Slightly sweet up front with a dry-ish finish. The alcohol was certainly tangible at 11.5%, but not overpowering. The berries strong-armed the base mead flavor to a certain extent, but not in a bad way. Pretty tasty.

dark red with a bit of head. An interesting beverage, but not exactly what I’d call a mead. currants overpower everything, but a bit of vanilla and oak comes through. Dry and somewhat sour. Noticeable ABV. thin mouthfeel. I don’t have much experience with these, kind of difficult for me to rate. Good, but need a few more tastings of something similar.

Thanks for sharing, iowaherkeye. The body is burgundy with a pretty head. This looks, smells and tastes more like a currant red wine than any mead I have ever tried. The aroma is completely black currants, I could not pull out any other smells. The taste has lots of currants with a floral tone to it. There was definitely noticeable alcohol. A little bit of black pepper spice came through in the finish. The currants dominates the honey, but that is not a bad thing.