The Suzdal mead (Suzdal Medieval Plant). Beer Beverages
Mead - an alcoholic drink, traditionallyprepared from honey, water, yeast and with all kinds of flavor additives - spices and berries. There was this drink several centuries ago, when the honey was very popular. The mead differs not only in composition, but also in the sterilization of honey and fortress. This drink is popular, but it is very rare to find it, so all fans are well aware of the Suzdal mead.
Mead of Suzdal
No wonder this drink is famous for the whole of Russia. It is in the city of Suzdal is the only enterprise that produces a famous mead of different fortress. Suzdal's medieval factory originated in the XIX century, when it was rebuilt by a noble merchant figure Vasily Zhinkin. It should be remembered that the mead is an original Russian drink that arose before the reign of Peter I - when the Russian side began to appear such drinks as coffee and tea.
Even vodka did not have such popularity ashoney product. Drink was a mandatory dish both on the tables of noble masters and kings, and among ordinary commoners. Even the financial situation of citizens was determined by the presence of honey alcohol - its absence on the table meant extreme need.
History of the plant
Suzdal's suburbs have always been famousits honey monastic manufacture. Revive a popular drink, which is a bit forgotten with the advent of vodka, the merchant of the second guild Vasily Zhinkin decided. In addition to the constructed honeymoon plant (one of the first in the country), the merchant contained a couple of shops selling wine. In addition, Vasily ran a small wax-work - then the wax was very valued and cost a lot of money. On the basis of this same wax-workman, the merchant opened medieval production. It should be noted that at the time there were no more than 30 drinking establishments in the city. But to sell products, in addition to taverns, it was possible at the Euphrosynevskaya Fair, which was held annually and was quite popular.
The second life of the plant
The case of merchant Zhinkin flourished until 1914, whilein Russia was not introduced a "dry law". For more than half a century, the Suzdalian mead disappeared from free sale. The more vivid was the announcement of one of the largest restaurants in Suzdal that it is in it that they cook mead according to an old recipe with observance of all traditions. This was done on purpose - the honey drink was one of the main values of this city, and in the post-war period (this happened in 1967) the country needed a currency extracted through tourism.
A tourist center was established in the city, whichadvertised an old Russian product. The idea was completely successful - the mead, which was not cooked in a restaurant, but in a small factory on the edge of the city, became the main bait not only for domestic, but also for foreign tourists. There were also honey beer drinks, which are no longer sweet, but small sour.
The heyday of the honeymoon
The trick in attracting tourists wasThe fact that the honey drink was transported throughout the city - in large jars, like milk, selling to anyone who wants. However, the city of Suzdal was not exported from the city. You could try it only when you arrived in Suzdal. The Suzdal medovars experienced the second decline, together with perestroika. The city was left without a tourist stream, the drink became unclaimed, and the plant closed. However, this did not cause the complete disappearance of mead - the baton was intercepted by the local handicraftsmen. Fortunately, unlike other spirits, the Suzdal mead is very easy to prepare.
Every second inhabitant of Suzdal knew her recipe - 4a liter of spring water, 500 grams of honey, a half kilogram of sugar and 100 grams of yeast. For the fortress, alcohol or a little vodka was added. Professionally, the mead is prepared in such a way - in a large cauldron, a thick honey must be brewed, which must be thick enough. After it is sent to wander in a special room, where the ripening of the drink. This process can be short-lived - if the honey drink is non-alcoholic, or take more than a month - with a mead strength of 7-8 degrees. The finished drink is filtered and bottled.
Honey rivers flow
The second resurrection of the honeymoon took place in90-ies. Igor Zadorozhny and Sergey Gorovoy, Moscow businessmen, decided to start making mead. The location of the plant, of course, was chosen Suzdal - a place where for many decades "Medovukha Suzdal Cossack", "Five-atyty", "Half-colon", with rosehip and spices, nonalcoholic - pleased the taste of residents and visitors.
A lot of time, effort and money was put on,to restore the destroyed and worn out equipment of the old honeymoon. Now the company employs about a hundred people. The main priority for entrepreneurs was the process of making mead - the "right" honey and preserving the ancient cooking technology. At the plant began to be produced and beer beverages based on honey, with time a little forgotten.
Factory today
Today everyone can eatnumerous types of mead and beer drinks in the tasting room, open at the honeymoon. Its interior is designed in the old style - oak furniture, carpets and chandeliers, wall painting and ceramic mugs.
Any of the visitors can come here topersonally find out what a truly Russian mead is Suzdal. Guests are greeted by people dressed in Russian national style, who offer to drink, eat and listen to the history of the origin of the drink. It is noteworthy that a minimum of 40 thousand people pass through the walls of the tasting room every year. The honey drink was even dedicated to its own holiday - the Day of the Mead. Cool and slightly tart, made from honey from their own apiaries, with grown herbs for taste, the mead is drunk with buckets - just as they drank it in Russia. Abroad, the honey drink got its name - "Russian power engineer".
