Varietal meads

A mead made from one honey tastes of that honey, which is the whole point of a varietal. As a rule the light honeys are mild and the dark ones strong. Light, delicate honeys such as basswood, the American linden, make fine meads that let the flower show.

Dark, earthy honeys are harder. One meadmaker describes fermented buckwheat as pungent and heather as extremely earthy, and prefers them blended with a lighter honey. The same maker avoids champagne yeast in varietal meads because it dries them out too much; EC-1118 is that kind of yeast, neutral and very dry.

In this game a bottle is named for its honey and carries that honey's premium when D47, 71B or K1V made it, half of it with EC-1118.