2-12-2019 Tonight at 9PM EST, we're talking with long-time mead history buff Dan McFeeley. Dan has been on the Gotmead forums for almost as long as Gotmead has *had* a forum. He was a regular poster in the Mead Lovers Digest email list before Gotmead even existed, and you can find his posts in the MLD archives on Gotmead. He hasn't been super active lately, life and parenting has kept him busy, but his interest in history, and mead history, is still keen.

Dan has written several articles (linked below) on mead and mead history over the years. Back when he was actively making mead, he won a number of medals (and there weren't all that many comps then!) in the Indy International, the International Mead Festival (the predecessor to the Mazer Cup) and the AHA Midwest Regional.

Dan is going to talk with us about mead in history and legend. One of the discussions we're planning on is an examination of the 'honeymoon' legend, often talked about. We'll delve into mead in Africa and Europe, examine some of the sources used by Morse. We'll delve into indigenous culture, bees and beekeeping, and explore the cultural attachments of honey and mead.

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9PM EDT/6PM PDT

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Bring your questions and your mead, and let's talk mead! You can call us at 803-443-MEAD (6323), or Skype us at meadwench (please friend me first and say you're a listener, I get tons of Skype spam), or tweet to @gotmeadnow.



Show links and notes



Articles by Dan:

Honey in History. Dan McFeeley, Bee Culture: February 2002 Volume 130 Number 2.
The Taste of Mead: Acidic Properties and Flavor. Dan McFeeley, Zymurgy: September/October 2006 Volume 29 Number 5.
Those Olde English Meads. Dan McFeeley, Repast: Quarterly Publication of the Culinary Historians of Ann Arbor Fall 2010 Volume XXVI Number 4.


Roger Morse in Review: Contributions to Mead and Meadmaking, Dan McFeeley

Meads and Their Lactones: A Cautionary Tale for Mead Makers by Dan McFeely, “Bee Culture”, September 2002


Books:

The Sacred Bee in Ancient Times and Folklore, Hilda Ransome
A Sip Through Time, A Collection of Old Brewing Recipes, Cindy Renfrow
Ancient Brews: Rediscovered and Re-created, Dr. Patrick McGovern
Uncorking the Past: The Quest for Wine, Beer, and Other Alcoholic Beverage, Dr. Patrick McGovern
Sacred and Herbal Healing Beers, Keith Pepperell
Ale, Beer and Brewsters in England: Women's Work in a Changing World, Judith Bennett
Lady with a Mead Cup: Ritual, prophecy and lordship in the European warband from La Tene to the Viking Age, Michael J. Enright
Wassail: In Mazer of Mead, Robert Gayre
Mead: The Libations, Legends, and Lore of History's Oldest Drink, Fred Minnick
Making Mead (Honey Wine): History, Recipes, Methods and Equipment, Roger Morse
The World History of Beekeeping and Honey Hunting, Eva Crane







Let There Be Melomels by Rob Ratliff

The Big Book of Mead Recipes by Rob Ratliff

Upcoming Events

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