White Winter Strawberry Mead

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

Sample at the meadery, late July 2006, from a White Winter glass. Pink/rose color, translucent with fairly thick slow-falling legs....honeyed strawberries light on the nose with hints of orange....dry and citric in the body, growing acidity with warmth, a fair amount of fresh slightly underripe fruit in midpalate....I found this very well balanced, fruity and acidic but also quite sweet without ever being cloying; average if not above for this meadery.

Yum. Pale strawberry color. Subtle aroma of strawberries. Fresh ones. Not overpowering. Smooth and satiny on the tongue. The flavor was refreshing strawberry mixed with some honey and a little alcohol. Very appealing.

Sampled at the White Winter Winery. Pale pink color with soft, subtle strawberry nose. Dry strawberry flavor with hints of honey.

Beer #40 of 42 at GTMW, 8-8-09. At the end of a lo-o-ong day of drinking beer, I finally find a mead. Nice fruity smell, call it a frickin’ 7 out of 10. Looks clean and sparkly. And it tastes, surprisingly enough, like strawberries stewed in light honey.

During May ’07 brewpub tour, stopped at the winery in Iron River, WI. Pours a earthy pink rose color; it’s close to a white zinfandel or actual strawberry juice with no artifical color added. Aroma of fresh hand picked strawberries with a touch of honey, herbal flowers and a pinch of salt. Taste is a little tart, earthy and a dry honey aftertaste. Finish is semi-dry.

From a corked 750 ml. clear wine bottle with a blurb on the back label, no bottled/freshness date, sampled at cellar temperature in a snifter. Poured a like a zinfandel, a clear reddish pink, nice looking in the glass. Aromas of honey, sour apple hard cider and a light, dry strawberry, the whiffs of alcohol are cider-like. Even, smooth wine-like carbonation and a dry, tart, light bodied wine mouthfeel. A nice tart and sour taste, sour apple cider, just enough honey to give it a balancing sweetness, a tart strawberry, the acidity is smooth like in a well made hard cider, the alcohol is much more cider-like also, not wine-like, and a dry tart strawberry and apple cider finish with a light bitterness, good melomel drinkability. I am not the biggest fan of fruit melomels, but this was better what I was expecting, sour, tart and flavorful with a nice sipping drinkability.

Sampled at the Peoria Int'l Beer Festival. Light pink in color, clear. Light flowery strawberry aroma. Bitter strawberry seeds dominate the flavor, with the fruity, flowery strawberry notes taking a back seat. Finishes semi-tart. Rather light on the palate, not very thick or sticky.

Light rose color with a body that only lightly coats the glass. Mild berry aromas. The key dry honey flavors backed by a mildly sweet berry presence. A touch of tartness to remind one this has some strawberries. Another interesting vinaigrette is in order.