Sorry craft beer, your little cousin’s all grown up – ancient, enigmatic mead is poised to become America’s new booze of choice. They say history repeats itself, and in this case, we can’t wait. Are you ready to fill your AleHorn drinking horn with mead?

It’s steeped in history and legend

While the first planted harvested hops and grapes were still just gleams in a caveman’s eye, bees had been busy doing their thing for time immeasurable. The simplicity of mead’s recipe (honey + yeast + water + time = party) led to its independent discovery by people all over the world from Africa to China.

Just like today, alcohol was one of the ancient world’s greatest unifying forces. No matter where your ancestors came from, there’s a good chance they drank mead out of cow horns.

Mead’s also become a very important thread in our common cultural fabric. George R.R. Martin and J.R. Tolkien and Chaucer are just a few of the storytellers who have used honey brew to add richness to their tales.

After hundreds of years of playing second fiddle, mead is back!

Last year, American Mead Makers Association reported a 42% spike in business, which they attribute to the recent resurgence of fantasy epics like Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings. Since 2011, mead’s become the fastest growing alcoholic beverage category in the US.

The sheer number of mead breweries means that the quality and variety will only increase as mead’s popularity gains steam, so you can become a mazer in no time.

It’s easy to make your own