Medovuha Suzdal (Suzdal Medieval Factory). Beer Beverages

Mead - an alcoholic drink, traditionally prepared from honey, water, yeast and with all sorts 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, although popular, but it is very rare to find it, so all lovers are well-known Suzdal mead.

Mead of Suzdal

It's not for nothing that this drink is famous all over Russia. It is in the city of Suzdal is the only enterprise that produces a famous mead of different fortresses. Suzdal Medieval Plant was founded 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 as a honey 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 suburban area has always been famous for its monastic honey. 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 kept a couple of shops that traded wine. In addition, Vasily ran a small wax-work - then the wax was very valued and worth 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 Euphrosynev Fair, which was held annually and was quite popular.

The second life of the plant

The case of the merchant Zhinkin flourished until 1914, until a "dry law" was introduced in Russia. 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 postwar period (this happened in 1967) the country needed a currency extracted through tourism.

A tourist center was created in the city, which advertised an old Russian product. The idea was completely successful - the mead, which was not brewed at the restaurant, but at 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 beers, which are no longer sweet, but small sour.

The heyday of the honeymoon

The trick in attracting tourists was that the honey drink was transported throughout the city - in large jars, like milk, selling to anyone who wanted. 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 remained without a tourist stream, the drink became unclaimed, and the plant closed. However, this did not cause the complete disappearance of the mead - the baton was intercepted by the handicraftsmen. Fortunately, unlike other spirits, the Suzdal mead is very easy to prepare.

Every second inhabitant of Suzdal knew this recipe - 4 liters of spring water, 500 grams of honey, a half kilogram of sugar and 100 grams of yeast. For the fortress added alcohol or a little vodka. Professionally, the mead is prepared in such a way - in a large cauldron, a strong honey must is 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 honeymooning occurred in the 90s. 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.

It took a lot of time, effort and money to restore the destroyed and worn out equipment of the old honeymoon factory. 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 enjoy numerous 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 to personally find out what a truly Russian mead is Suzdal. Guests are greeted by people dressed in Russian folk style who offer to drink, eat and listen to the history of the origin of the drink. It is noteworthy that at least 40 thousand people pass through the walls of the tasting room every year. The honey drink was even dedicated to its own holiday - 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".