In one of Thomas Hardy’s short stories, he mentions a country party where the host serves his (home made) mead.
I gather that mead was a the dominant drink (in rural England), along with ale-wine was scarce and expensive, since the English climate wasn’t suited to grapes.
I have made mead at home-it generally turns out like a very dry white wine-not much honey flavor at all.
So do you (country) Brits still make the stuff?
Wrong yeast and not enough honey then. Use a sherry yeast and double the amount of honey, then ferment with about 3 lbs. of chopped raisins added to the must. It takes forever to ferment out, but it ages amazingly and is the drink of at least a few gods.
At least a few of my British friends still brew mead. My guess is the percentage is about the same as it is for home brewers in the US.