Valheim Mead: Recipe, Honey Choices, and Tips

The Valheim “Tasty Mead” is based on the recipe from the popular video game Valheim. The game uses blueberries, raspberries, and honey to make a food item that restores health and stamina. We converted that recipe into a real-world mead recipe.

The recipe uses 1 pound of honey, 1 pound of raspberries, and ½ pound of blueberries in 1 gallon of water. The result is a light fruit mead with strong berry flavor and a noticeable honey character.

Why this recipe works

The recipe has a simple balance of three main flavors.

• Honey provides the fermentable sugar. It also gives the mead its floral and honey-like character.
• Raspberries provide most of the fruit flavor. They bring strong berry character, acidity, and color.
• Blueberries add a softer fruit flavor. They also add color and help round out the raspberry flavor.

The two berries work well together because they do not taste the same. Raspberry provides brightness and acidity. Blueberry provides a deeper and softer fruit note.

This also makes the recipe easy to change. You can adjust the ratio of the two fruits to create a different character.

Choose a good honey

Honey is important because there is only 1 pound in a 1-gallon batch. The fruit will provide a lot of the flavor, but the honey still affects the finished mead.

A mild honey such as clover or orange blossom works well. These honeys provide a clean base without competing with the berries.

A stronger wildflower honey can also work. It will give the mead more honey character.

Avoid very strongly flavored honey if you want the berries to remain the main flavor. We’ve got a whole guide on how to choose honey for your mead.

Ferment the mead first

Add the honey, fruit, and water to a clean and sanitized fermenter. Mix well and add your yeast and yeast nutrients according to the recipe.

Use a hydrometer to track fermentation.

Do not bottle the mead just because fermentation appears to slow down. Wait until the gravity is stable. Bottling a mead that still has fermentable sugar can create dangerous pressure.

Fruit can also make fermentation messy. Leave enough headspace for foam and fruit activity. A blowoff tube can help during active fermentation.

Sweetening and carbonation

The original recipe uses erythritol during secondary or at bottling. The recipe calls for 1 tablespoon per 12-ounce bottle. Erythritol is not fermented by brewing yeast, so it can add sweetness without providing the yeast with another source of fermentable sugar.

The recipe also calls for 1 teaspoon of sugar per 12-ounce bottle for bottle conditioning. The yeast consumes this small amount of sugar and produces CO2 inside the sealed bottle.

This creates natural carbonation.

Be careful when combining sweetening and bottle conditioning. Do not add fermentable honey or sugar for sweetness and then assume the yeast will ignore it. Extra fermentable sugar can cause excessive carbonation.

Things to keep in mind

Fruit contains water, sugar, acids, and other compounds. This means the exact alcohol level and final flavor can vary from batch to batch.

Frozen fruit is a convenient brewing option. It is easy to measure and usually releases its juice well after thawing.

Pour the mead carefully if you want a clearer final drink. Fruit particles can settle during conditioning.

Give the mead time to clear before packaging. A young fruit mead can taste sharper and more acidic than it will after some conditioning.

The most important part is the balance. Raspberry provides bright fruit character. Blueberry adds depth. Honey provides the fermentable sugar and background flavor. Together, they make a simple fruit mead that brings the Tasty Mead from Valheim into the real world.