Nightcap. Mead. Because it's Easter. I should have Sahti but I don't. I somehow missed the window of opportunity of brewing, and here I am. No Sahti. But I have Mead. This is a commercial product. Sea-buckthorn and apple are the key inputs here. Vintage 2019. Interesting. This drink portrays a crystal clear appearance. The color is pale gold, distantly milky maybe. Beautiful, for sure. The scent is not particularly powerful. Rather mild actually. Zesty green apple is the dominant element. Is there sea-buckthorn in the air? Well... maybe but it's really modest. I expected it to be more prominent. The second thing that makes me furrow my eyebrows is the absence of sweetness. I expected a Mead to be sweet or oversweet but the scent is actually somewhat sour. It's not necessarily a bad thing but definitely something I don't expect of a Mead. But let's see. The first sip lifts the sea-buckthorn at par with the green apple. That's where it belongs! Don't be shy when you can be bold. But definitely this Mead is not a sugar bomb. This is a bit sour and relatively thin even. Like apple flavored white wine. Honey is absent. It's also interesting to see that a Mead doesn't necessarily feel thick if there are no tons of sugar there. Maybe this is the standard for Meads if the sugars were somehow sucked away from them? Well, that's an unverifiable counterfactual anyway. The mouthfeel is light, juicy, pulpy and moderately tart. Still, fairly subtle and elegant. Not vinous despite the apparent resemblance to white wine. Different anyway. Very natural. P.S. This is so different from what I have understood as a Mead that I had to check if this fulfils the qualifications of Mead in the first place. My source is the BJCP. Yes, this is a Mead. A Dry Mead, to be precise. Good to know. Life is a continuous learning journey. P.S.2. I can hear a tawny owl 🦉 calling in the nearby forest. Very easy to recognize but difficult to see. Especially in the dark...