Wolf Woods from The Brimming Horn Meadery is a honey mead built around hops and juniper berries, a combination that sounds like a campfire story but drinks with a practical purpose: it pulls the sweetness of honey toward pine, citrus and herbs. I like the idea because the botanicals have something real to do here, not just a name on the bottle. At 12% ABV in one published listing, this is a slow-sipping pour, not a session beer. My rating: 3.91 out of 5.
At a Glance
| Producer | The Brimming Horn Meadery |
| Style | Metheglin mead |
| ABV | 12% listed by a community beer directory; bottle/menu materials show a broader 11-14% range |
| IBU | Not published |
| Ingredients publicly described | Honey, hops and juniper berries |
| Package | 500 mL bottle listed by the producer’s retailer |
| Community score | 3.91 out of 5 |
| Calories | No official figure found |
Quick take: Wolf Woods is for someone who enjoys honey wine with a savory, evergreen edge. Juniper brings a resinous, gin-like aroma; the hops add a familiar bitter-herbal counterpoint; the honey keeps the whole thing anchored. I would pour it in a small tulip glass, let it warm slightly, and pair it with food rather than treating it like a pint of pale ale.
What is Wolf Woods?
Wolf Woods is a metheglin, the traditional name for mead flavored with herbs, spices or other botanicals. The producer describes it as honey, hops and juniper berries, with a Viking-inspired character. That short ingredient description tells us more than a generic tasting-note paragraph would. Honey supplies the fermentable base and the rounded sweetness, while juniper gives a piney, aromatic note that can read as forest, citrus peel or gin botanicals. Hops bring their own green, floral or citrus character, depending on the varieties and how they are used.
The brewery does not publish the hop variety or a full recipe, so I will not pretend to know whether the hops lean toward grapefruit, pine or flowers by cultivar. Nor is there a malt bill to list: this is mead, not malt-based beer. The exact balance can shift by batch, and with no recipe sheet, the reliable description is the one the maker actually gives: honey, hops and juniper. That combination is unusual enough to be a good reason to seek it out.
The Brimming Horn Meadery: Delaware roots and Viking-minded mead
The Brimming Horn Meadery is based in Delaware, with its original operation in Milton and a second location in Seaford. The company says its founder, Jon Talkington, developed the meadery from a long-running interest in fermentation and history. The meadery opened its first location in 2017, then announced plans to expand to Seaford in 2022. Its own story connects the name to the old image of a drinking horn passed around among friends, and many of its mead names draw on Northern European mythology.
That background feels like a natural fit for Wolf Woods. The name is evocative without needing a complicated backstory, and the juniper gives the Viking-style description some sensory grounding. I appreciate when a brewery theme is reflected in the drink itself rather than stopping at the label. Brimming Horn also produces fruit wines and ciders, and describes both Delaware locations as places to taste its drinks. Online listings show Wolf Woods in a 500 mL bottle, though stock and shipping availability depend on location.
Mead has more in common with wine than with a conventional beer recipe: honey is fermented with water, then botanicals or fruit may be added to shape the result. If you are new to the category, I would treat it as its own drink instead of expecting an ale-like malt backbone. Beer drinkers who already enjoy a distinctive aromatic profile might find familiar points of reference in a hop-forward beer, like the examples in our hazy IPA explainer, but Wolf Woods is not an IPA and has no barley malt listed.
ABV, IBU and ingredients
Alcohol: A published community beer-directory entry lists Wolf Woods at 12% ABV. The brewery tap menu and the bottle imagery give a wider 11-14% ABV range, which may reflect batch variation or an approximate label range. I would use 12% as a listing, not claim the bottle is always precisely 12%. Either way, it is a strong mead: a small pour makes more sense than a full pint, and the alcohol can become more noticeable as the glass warms.
IBU: There is no verified IBU figure. In a mead, IBU is not the full story anyway. The bitterness contribution from hops may be present, but perceived balance also depends on residual honey sweetness, acidity and botanical aroma. Without a producer figure, assigning an IBU would be guesswork.
Honey, hops and juniper: Those are the publicly described ingredients. The honey base is the center of gravity. Hops can supply a bittering or aromatic note, but no variety or addition schedule is published. Juniper berries are not hops; they bring their own evergreen, resin and spice qualities. No malt bill applies, and I could not locate an official calorie or nutrition panel. Any calorie estimate would depend on serving size, alcohol and residual sugar, so I would not put a number on it.
For homebrewers, the lesson is restraint. Honey ferments differently from a grain wort, and botanical additions can quickly dominate. I would keep the first tasting simple and note whether the juniper reads as fresh pine, citrus peel or dry spice before reaching for more hops. The right glass matters too: our piece on how the wrong glass can change a beer is about beer service, but the same aroma-capture principle helps with a botanical mead.
Tasting notes: honey first, then the woods
The pour is described in honey-gold to amber terms, with the exact shade depending on the honey and batch. I look for a honey-led nose that moves toward juniper: pine needles, a light citrus lift and a dry, herbal aroma. Hops may overlap with those notes rather than arriving as the bright, unmistakable grapefruit of a modern IPA. That is part of the interest here. The profile is built around a meeting of sweet and resinous, not a contest to see which ingredient shouts loudest.
The flavor profile points to honey as the broad, rounded start. Juniper gives the middle a firmer edge, like evergreen and spice, while hops can leave a clean, slightly bitter finish. The published description calls it sweet, piney, citrusy and herbal, which is a useful compass: I would expect sweetness, but not necessarily a syrupy drink. Acidity, fermentation character and the dry-down matter as much as sugar. The finish may linger with herbal warmth and a hint of honey.
At 11-14% ABV, Wolf Woods will feel fuller and warmer than a standard beer. I would not serve it ice-cold; a cool cellar temperature gives the aromatics a chance to show up. Start with a small glass, take a few minutes between sips and let the temperature rise gently. If the first impression feels too sweet, a salty or sharp food pairing can reset the palate. If juniper is the note you love, sip it on its own and notice how the aroma shifts.
My favorite part of this flavor idea is the way it sits between categories. The honey is wine-like, the hops speak to beer drinkers, and juniper borrows from gin and botanical spirits. That makes it an interesting bridge for a tasting flight. I would place it beside a traditional mead first, then a dry hopped mead, and only then pour something more fruit-driven. Our Honey Bunches of Blonde review is a very different honey-led beer, but it makes a useful comparison for readers curious about how honey character shifts when the base drink changes.
Food pairings for Wolf Woods
Honey sweetness, juniper and hop bitterness give this mead a broad pairing range, but I would start with dishes that have salt, smoke or fat. A board with aged cheddar, walnuts, cured meat and a little dried fruit is an easy match: salt and fat soften the alcohol, while nutty cheese echoes the honey. A blue cheese can work if you like contrast, though the intensity may make the juniper seem more assertive.
Grilled pork, roast chicken, smoked sausage and barbecue are also good options. The honey rounds char and spice; the herbal edge offers a lift against richer meat. For a summer cookout, use Wolf Woods as a small after-dinner pour rather than a replacement for a light lager. Our beer and BBQ pairing guide has more ways to balance smoke, sweet sauces and char. For dessert, try an apple tart, honey cake or a simple shortbread. The slightly bitter botanical note should prevent the pairing from becoming all sugar.
Chocolate is possible, but I would choose dark chocolate over a very sweet milk bar. The cocoa bitterness can connect with hops while honey softens the edges. Our chocolate pairing guide focuses on beer, but the same sweet-bitter balance applies. If you are pairing it with dessert more generally, take a look at our dessert pairing advice and think in terms of matching sweetness rather than stacking it.
How Wolf Woods compares with other drinks
There is no close one-to-one beer substitute for a hopped juniper mead. If you like the pine and herbal direction, a West Coast IPA can echo the resinous side, but it will be drier, lighter in alcohol and built on malt rather than honey. If you want a honey-led comparison, Honey Bunches of Blonde takes the ingredient in a beer context. If you want fruit and tartness instead of botanicals, the Black Widow cider review is another nontraditional fermented pour, though its apple-and-berry character is a very different lane.
I would also distinguish Wolf Woods from a standard sweet mead. The classic honey-and-water base can be gentle and rounded; here the hops and juniper add a more structured, aromatic frame. That makes it a better choice for someone who wants to explore mead but is wary of a drink that tastes like liquid honey. On the other hand, a drinker who dislikes pine, herb or gin-like notes may find this one too woodland-forward. It is the unusual botanicals that define the bottle, and also the reason it will not be for everyone.
If you are curious about other unusual fermentations, the site has several paths into the topic. The AppleSaucy review explores a beer-and-cider collaboration, while Matanuska Blueberry Ale shows how fruit can change a beer’s center of gravity. None tastes like Wolf Woods, but each makes the same point: unusual ingredients work best when the base and the added flavor pull together rather than compete.
Where to find Wolf Woods, and five alternatives
Wolf Woods appears in Brimming Horn’s own online mead catalog and is listed as a 500 mL bottle. The meadery says it ships to many US states, but availability and shipping eligibility vary, so check the producer’s current listing for the latest details. I did not find a direct Saucey listing for Wolf Woods. The five cards below are alternatives, not the same product: I picked other available meads, prioritizing hops or a botanical/honey profile where possible.
The first four are the closest flavor-direction matches I found: dry hopped, hop-infused or explicitly hop-forward meads. The traditional honey mead is included for someone who wants to compare the base ingredient without juniper or hop emphasis. Saucey inventory and local availability can change by delivery area.
Is Wolf Woods worth trying?
At 3.91 out of 5, Wolf Woods has an appealingly specific point of view. I would recommend it to curious mead drinkers, fans of juniper and piney hops, and anyone looking for a strong after-dinner pour that is not another barrel-aged stout or sweet dessert wine. It is less suitable if you want a crisp, low-alcohol beer or a straightforward honey-sweet drink. The 11-14% label range also means pacing matters.
My bottom line: this is an intriguing metheglin whose recipe description makes me want to taste it slowly. Honey brings warmth, juniper brings the woods, and hops can keep the finish from becoming cloying. The exact hop variety and bitterness are not published, so the experience is best approached as a botanical honey wine rather than judged by IPA rules. Use a small glass, bring out a salty snack and let the aromas open up.
FAQs
What kind of drink is Wolf Woods?
Wolf Woods is a metheglin mead from The Brimming Horn Meadery. The producer describes it as honey, hops and juniper berries. It is honey wine, not a malt-based beer.
What is the ABV of Wolf Woods?
A published community beer-directory entry lists 12% ABV. The brewery menu and bottle materials show a wider 11-14% range, so 12% is best treated as a listed figure rather than a universal batch guarantee.
Does Wolf Woods have a published IBU?
No verified IBU figure was found. The maker describes hops as an ingredient, but does not publish hop varieties, hop additions or bitterness units.
What does Wolf Woods taste like?
The producer describes it as sweet, piney, citrusy and herbal. Honey, hops and juniper berries are the listed flavor cues. Expect a strong, botanical honey wine rather than an IPA.
How should I serve Wolf Woods?
Serve a small pour cool but not ice-cold in a tulip or wine glass. A salty cheese board, smoked meat or dark chocolate can balance the honey and alcohol.
How many calories are in Wolf Woods?
I could not find an official nutrition or calorie figure. Without a producer nutrition panel and serving-size details, a precise calorie number would be speculative.
