Still vs Sparkling Mead: What’s the Difference?

TL;DR: Still vs Sparkling Mead

Mead begins the same way — honey, water, and yeast — but the choice between still or sparkling changes everything about how it looks, feels, and tastes.

🍯 Still mead is smooth, rich, and wine-like. It’s flat (no carbonation), highlighting pure honey flavor and ideal for aging or sipping slowly.

🥂 Sparkling mead is lively and crisp, with natural bubbles from secondary fermentation or added carbonation. It’s refreshing, aromatic, and great for warm-weather drinking.

🌿 Flavor focus: Still meads emphasize honey and fruit depth, while sparkling meads enhance acidity and aroma.

⚖️ Aging: Still meads often improve with time; sparkling meads are best enjoyed young and fresh.

With Craft A Brew’s Mead Kits, you can make either style — still or sparkling — using the same real ingredients and reusable equipment. Your choice comes down to texture, flavor, and how you like to raise your glass.

The Basics — Still vs Sparkling Mead

When it comes to home mead brewing, one of the first choices you’ll face is whether to make still or sparkling mead. Both start with the same foundation — honey, water, and yeast — but the presence (or absence) of carbonation changes the experience entirely.

This guide breaks down the difference between still and sparkling mead, exploring how carbonation affects taste, mouthfeel, and brewing technique. Whether you prefer a smooth, wine-like sip or a lively, effervescent pour, understanding these styles helps you master your next batch.

At Craft A Brew, our mead making kits give you the flexibility to create either version — naturally carbonated or completely still — using only real ingredients and reusable equipment.

What Is Still Mead?

Still mead is the traditional form of honey wine — fermented and bottled without carbonation. It resembles white wine in both flavor and body.

Key Traits:

• Smooth, rich texture without bubbles
  

• Emphasizes honey’s flavor and aroma
  

• Ideal for aging and developing complexity
  
  

Still mead is simple to make: once fermentation ends, you rack and bottle it without trapping additional CO₂. This results in a clean, mellow beverage where the honey takes center stage.

Perfect for:

• Traditional mead recipes
  

• Fruit meads (melomels)

• Dessert meads or sweet styles
  
  

“My first still mead turned out silky and golden — no carbonation, just pure honey character. Craft A Brew made it easy to learn!” — Anna W.

What Is Sparkling Mead?

Sparkling mead introduces natural or forced carbonation to create bubbles similar to champagne or cider. It’s lively, refreshing, and pairs beautifully with dry or semi-sweet recipes.

Key Traits:

• Light, crisp mouthfeel

• Fine bubbles from secondary fermentation or priming sugar
  

• Enhanced aromas and subtle acidity
  
  

To make sparkling mead at home, brewers often add a small amount of priming sugar before bottling, allowing residual yeast to create carbonation naturally. Others use a pressurized kegging setup for precision.

Perfect for:

• Dry meads or session meads

• Fruity or spiced recipes
  

• Summer serving occasions
  
  

At Craft A Brew, you can easily transform your base mead kit into a sparkling style — no special equipment required beyond your reusable fermenter and bottles.

Still vs Sparkling Mead — Side-by-Side Comparison

Whether you choose still or sparkling, both styles offer endless creativity — experiment with fruit, spices, or herbs to develop your signature flavor.

Why Homebrewers Love Craft A Brew Mead Kits

Craft A Brew mead kits are designed to make the art of mead making approachable — no chemical additives, no complicated equipment, just authentic ingredients and reusable tools.

Here’s why brewers trust our kits:
✅ Real honey ingredients for natural flavor and fermentation.
✅ Reusable gear that grows with you batch after batch.
✅ Easy instructions for beginners and seasoned brewers alike.
✅ Flexible recipes — make still or sparkling mead with the same kit.
✅ Expansive options — add fruit, spices, or herbal twists for custom batches.

“Craft A Brew’s mead kit was my gateway into brewing. My first batch was still, my second sparkling — and both were amazing!” — Derek L.

📦 Start with a complete mead kit
🔄 Refill anytime with fresh ingredients or new recipes

Shop Mead Kits

Ready to Brew Your Perfect Mead Style?

So, what’s the difference between still and sparkling mead?
Still mead lets the honey shine — smooth and refined. Sparkling mead adds effervescence and energy.

Whatever your taste, Craft A Brew gives you the freedom to brew both styles with real ingredients and reusable equipment.

Skip the guesswork and brew your own mead the way you like it.