When it comes to cheese pairings, wine has long been the obvious choice. A crisp white for soft cheeses, a bold red for the mature ones, perhaps a glass of port with blue cheese to finish. But lately, more people are discovering something even better… You’ve guessed it, it’s Mead. This ancient honey-based drink has a natural affinity with cheese that no grape, apple or grain can quite match. It is smoother than cider, more balanced than wine, and carries a gentle sweetness that flatters cheese instead of fighting it.
At the heart of it all is honey. The natural sweetness of mead comes not from refined sugar, but from honey itself, which gives it a rounded, mellow character. When paired with cheese, that sweetness enhances rather than overwhelms, softening the saltiness and tang while lifting the flavour. Think of how a drizzle of honey can transform a wedge of Brie or a crumble of blue cheese into something magical. Mead does exactly that, but in liquid form, sip after sip.
Another reason mead and cheese work so well together is their shared variety. There is a mead to suit every type of cheese, and the possibilities go far beyond what wine can offer. A dry traditional mead is wonderful with aged cheddars or firm, nutty cheeses. Sweeter meads, or those made with fruit, are excellent with blue cheeses like Stilton or Gorgonzola. Herbal and spiced meads, such as a metheglin, find their perfect partners in soft, creamy cheeses like goat’s cheese or Camembert. Instead of relying on acidity to cut through fat, as wine does, mead uses balance and body to bring harmony.
Then there’s the texture. Cheese is rich and creamy, and mead has a smooth, viscous mouthfeel that mirrors it perfectly. That silkiness makes the pairing feel seamless and indulgent, creating an experience that feels more natural and less forced than many wine and cheese combinations.
It’s also worth remembering that mead and cheese have been companions for far longer than wine and cheese ever were. Long before vineyards covered Europe, mead was the drink of choice, enjoyed alongside cured meats, fresh bread and local cheeses. Both mead and cheese rely on fermentation, both depend on the work of nature, and both reflect their place of origin. Pairing the two is not a new idea, but rather a rediscovery of something ancient and elemental.
We love serving our Traditional Mead with a local cheese from Brookes Dairy, a small Welsh cheesemaker whose Blue Wenalt is beautifully creamy, rich, and just the right amount of tangy. The gentle sweetness of the mead smooths out the salt and highlights the flavour of the cheese in a way that feels perfectly balanced. It’s the kind of pairing that makes you stop and smile. We wish you could try it too.
Beyond taste, there’s a deeper connection in this pairing. Mead and cheese both tell a story of craftsmanship, sustainability and place. They are products of patience and care, shaped by local ingredients and small producers who understand the value of working with nature rather than against it. Choosing mead over wine or port is not only delicious but also more sustainable, especially when both your drink and your cheese come from the same region.
So next time you put together a cheeseboard, try reaching for a bottle of mead instead of wine. Whether it’s a dry traditional mead, a fruity melomel, or a spiced metheglin, you’ll find that honey and cheese belong together in a way that feels completely natural. Once you’ve tried it, you may never look back.
Sparkling Mead:
For this light style of mead we’d certainly recommend a soft cheese, something like a Wigmore Semi Soft Sheep Cheese, or even a Roussas Dairy Galotyri PDO.
These light cheeses have a fresh, creamy texture and subtle tang that can complement the effervescence of sparkling mead. The clean acidity will help balance the sweetness and bubbles.
Serve simply on crusty bread or crackers, but drizzle a little raw honey over it. The honey will echo your mead’s sweetness and link the two. A few crushed hazelnuts or chopped pistachios add texture.
Or pair with slices of ripe pear or green apple + a smear of Galotyri, then sip the mead. The fruit’s crispness and the cheese’s creaminess will meld nicely with the bubbles.
Traditional Mead:
A Traditional style sweet mead behaves a bit like a dessert wine (Sauternes, late-harvest Riesling) but with richer honey aromatics. The key is contrast or complement.
For Cheeses we’d recommend Blue cheeses (our favorite is Brookes Dairy Blue Wenalt) or a Feta, hard sheep cheese, goat cheese, aged manchego or simply a salty hard cheddar.
Whisky Aged Mead:
Our Whisky Barrel Aged Traditional Mead opens up a whole different world of pairings. This mead is richer, deeper, more aromatic, and more savoury than a standard sweet or sparkling mead. Think of it like a cross between a dessert wine, a light whisky liqueur, and an oaked white wine, but with a strong honey undertone throughout.
Here the oak + honey + whisky notes love salt and umami. You can go for a more punch pairing such as an aged cheddar, a smoked cheese (such as a smoked goat or smoked gouda) or stronger blue cheeses (such as Stilton, Dolcelatte, or Roquefort).
Dark Cherry Traditional Mead:
Hive Mind’s new Dark Cherry Traditional Mead gives you a gorgeous mix of deep fruit, honey richness, and a little tannin from the cherries. It behaves somewhere between a cherry wine, a melomel, and a light fortified wine, which opens up some fantastic pairing options.
For cheese pairings, we recommend goat or soft sheep cheese topped with a little cherry compote as well as creamy blues (Gorgonzola Dolce, St Agur) and brie/camembert with toasted almonds.
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