〈Brewer's Note〉The Last Supper

When I started making mead at ANTELOPE, I really wanted to incorporate the nuances of craft beer, and that’s how I brewed The Last Supper.

I adopted the technique used in sour ales. It has been over two years since I created it, thinking it would be interesting and a breath of fresh air to have a mead that makes you say, "Wow, that's sour!" (suppa-!). Once again, here is the Brewer's Note for The Last Supper.

〈Renaissance→Modern〉

If I asked you to think of works by Leonardo da Vinci, what comes to mind?

Mona Lisa, The Baptism of Christ, The Last Supper.

Perhaps those, right?
While naming it "The Last Supper" might sound very noble, the truth is quite the opposite. "Supper" in Japanese sounds like "suppa" (sour). Yes, it's called "Supper" because it's a sour alcoholic beverage.

I imagine the great Renaissance artist would never have guessed that his work would turn out this way in the modern world. We use a mix of very primitive fermentation methods alongside some incredibly modern ones. While we currently benefit from modern science to make it, there is a possibility that we may adopt brewing techniques used in the Renaissance period again in the future.

It might be the kind of drink whose taste changes with the times.

〈Tasting Note〉

A slightly cloudy yellow. It has a strong acidic aroma that hits you right from the start, reminiscent of passion fruit, followed by nuances of honey. On the palate, there is a crisp acidity and bitterness, followed by the sweetness of honey. I highly recommend this for those who love white wine or sour beer.

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Style: Sour Mead

ABV (Alcohol by Volume): 10%

Carbonation: Yes

Volume: 500ml

Ingredients: Honey, Barley Malt

Sweetness (10-point scale): 5 (Semi-Sweet)

Serving Temperature: Chilled (4-8℃)

〈Mead making〉

There are broadly two ways to make an alcoholic beverage sour: producing lactic acid or acetic acid. Most take the lactic acid route, because the latter generally happens unintentionally.

We rely on either lactic acid bacteria or Lachancea yeast to produce lactic acid. Lactic acid bacteria, as the name implies, convert simple sugars into lactic acid without much alcoholic fermentation. Lachancea yeast produces a burst of lactic acid first, then proceeds with alcoholic fermentation; furthermore, in very niche terms, it has the excellent advantage of not causing cross-contamination.
I’ll skip the details as it’s too niche, but we are currently using Lachancea yeast.

This Lachancea yeast is extremely compatible with mead, and it’s believed that the more simple sugars present during the early stages of fermentation, the more actively it produces lactic acid. In beer, there is a lot of maltose, a disaccharide, which makes it hard to achieve the expected acidity. However, mead made only with honey and water contains over 92% simple sugars, so the Lachancea yeast produces plenty of acid.

Plus, this yeast smells great! 👏

I realized I've dived into some niche talk. This is a mead I really love. Thank you for your support!