We are often asked many questions, so if there’s something you need to know about any of our Meads, ingredients or if you’re just curious, then please ask, we gladly share our knowledge and experience with other Mead lovers.

Why is your Mead expensive?

We produce a traditional product in the traditional manner and only use honey in our fermentation process – we DO NOT use base alcohol, white wine or sugar syrup and we do not back-sweeten (add sweetness at the end of the production process). Obviously, this impacts a lot on our costs (sugar is a lot cheaper, approx. 70% less than honey in general). However, we know producing mead this way results in a superior final product.

Why are delivery costs so high?

We only charge what our courier charges us, currently £10.99. We use APC who are the only courier company we have found that offers a fragile handling service. NONE of our orders are sorted via the automated system at the hub which means we can significantly reduce the number of breakages, thus helping us keep our costs down. Further, post code dependent, costs will be incurred for certain areas within the UK.  APC have a TWO ATTEMPT policy so please ensure you include all delivery requirements in the ‘notes’ section when placing your order.

If your order is £120 or more then delivery is FREE!

Can we buy direct from the meadery?

YES!  Now Coronavirus restrictions have been removed, we are open to the public for direct sales and order collections.  We are available Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.  We update our social media channels if these need to change so please check before setting off.

How long does Mead keep?

We can only give storage information for the meads we produce, using our production methods.  For storage purposes, treat our meads like a port or a sherry – keep sealed, in a cool, dark cupboard.  If you prefer you mead chilled then keep in the fridge, but it is not essential.  Our meads will keep forever, opened or unopened.  However, we recommend drinking Vikings’ Blood within 6 months of purchase to enjoy the fruitiness at it’s best.  As we do not use stabilisers, it is likely that some hazing and sedimentation will occur.  This is not harmful to product or consumer.  You can pour carefully – like a good red wine or bottle conditioned beer – or pass through a piece of muslin before drinking.

Do you do tours?

No.  The insurance JUST for brewery tours is twice the price of our current full business insurance. This means we are not able to accommodate tours.

Why do I have to register to place an order?

Alcohol is a restricted product. This means we have to operate under ‘due diligence’ rules to ensure we do not sell to anyone under 18. We have to record the information you give to us for legal purposes. We do not sell your information to anyone. Your payment details are stored securely by Worldpay or PayPal, not us.

Please read our Privacy Policy for further information on this.

How do I use e-gift vouchers?

Shop as usual on the website and then proceed to checkout. During checkout you’ll be asked to enter the code for each e-gift voucher you wish to spend.  For multiple e-gift vouchers, enter one e-gift voucher code at a time

After entering in the e-gift voucher code(s), your order will be automatically updated with credit to the value of the voucher(s). If there’s any balance to pay, you can use Paypal or a debit or credit card in the usual way.

E-gift vouchers expire 12 months from date of purchase.  E-gift vouchers can only be used once and are valid ONLINE ONLY at www.lancashiremeadcompany.co.uk.  E-gift vouchers cannot be used for ‘in-person’ purchases at the Meadery or an event we, The Lancashire Mead Company, are trading at.  E-gift vouchers must be redeemed directly with The Lancashire Mead Company (www.lancashiremeadcompany.co.uk) and cannot be used for purchases through our stockists.

Delivery

PLEASE NOTE WE ARE ONLY ABLE TO SHIP TO MAINLAND UK

We dispatch on a next working day basis, Monday (excluding Bank Holidays) to Friday with APC as long as you order BEFORE NOON. APC will deliver your parcel between 8am and 6pm, Monday to Saturday. When you order, you can add delivery instructions to leave your order in a safe place if you are not in. This is at your own risk! You can also have your order sent to an alternative address or direct to a gift recipient. We do not advertise on our packaging and we do not include an invoice.  APC have a TWO ATTEMPT policy so please ensure you include all delivery requirements in the ‘notes’ section when placing your order.

In the unlikely event you experience a problem with your delivery, please contact us IMMEDIATELY so we can liaise with our courier to rectify your issues. Any parcels returned to us due to non-delivery will not be re-dispatched without further payment of £25 which includes the cost of the return to us. Refunds, minus the postage costs, may be issued upon request.

Order process

Once you place your order and payment has been received, you will receive an email informing you of this.  As your order is packed, you will receive your consignment information from us.  Once your order is collected from us, you will receive your final email from us and your first from APC. When it is scanned into the APC depot, you will receive your tracking information from APC. You will get further email updates as it moves through their system and is finally delivered. Therefore, it is vital that your contact details are entered correctly and are kept up to date! If you have any problems with your delivery, please contact us immediately!

Do you deliver outside of the UK?

No. As alcohol is a restricted product requiring specific licences in each and every country, we are not able to ship to individuals outside of Mainland UK.  If you are/know a wine importer, please contact us for further information.

Do you supply to trade?

Yes. Please contact us for our trade price list or for information on white labelling/collaborations.

Do you do talks?

We do. We have delivered talks to a wide variety of groups in a wide variety of settings. We have had to restrict the number of talks we do, as the demand has been surprisingly great. Please contact us for our availability and fees.

Do you work with charities?

We do. For further information, check out our Corporate Social Responsibility page and see some of the events we have supported in the past.

Allergy information

All of our ingredients are listed in the description of each flavour. Our meads are ALL suitable for vegetarians and are egg, fish and wheat free. As we make mead with honey, our meads are NOT Vegan friendly. We are not able to make alcohol free mead.