Review: Torque Stoffel Mead


Ah.. something I've been waiting a good amount of time to try! Sometime before COVID I was at Torque Brewing in Winnipeg, Torque's President, John was telling me about how they're making a mead and it should be out soon. Well, fast forward who knows how long later and it's out. I was able to pick it up at my local LC which surprised me as I really, really didn't expect it to ever make its way to Brandon, I expected it to be a brewery-only release like most of their other bottle-only releases I've ever tried. There was a time when only Killarney's Rigby Orchards was making mead, but we've seen many Manitoban breweries and beverage companies come out with meads since then - and it's made me giddy as eff as Manitoba honey is some of the best in the world, we definitely have to show it off whenever we can!

From the label: This sweet Mead is a great addition to anything you're doing. You know who doesn't give a f••ck about the 4000 year history of mead? A certain honey badger named Stoffel. He's audacious, determined and clever to a fault. Be more like Stoffel. Search Stoffel online to see his antics. 8.0% ABV

Glass: Wine Glass
Pairing: Whatever You Want

Appearance: Cloudy with a pear juice-like yellowish appearance to it. Light amount of carbonation in the body and a sprinkling of fairly large bubbles on top.

Aroma: Sweet as heck, yep, this is going to be a Mead! It has a bit of a floral presence to it, notes of well.. honey, and finally a bit of a White Wine profile at the end. 

Taste: Very sweet Mead that's full on liquid honey in a glass. I haven't had too many Meads in my life but this is one of the sweeter ones but my palate is definitely enjoying it. It's a tad floral, very syrupy yet a tad dry. There's a bit of a White Wine-like presence to it but can't really describe it. Sweet and slightly pear-like aftertaste at the end. Very sweet.

Overall Thoughts: Pairing with Whatever you want is 100% on point, for me - I'm pairing it with being grouchy and worrying too much, so this has calmed me down a tad. It's only 8.0% ABV but the booze creeps up on you quickly. I feel like I should've reviewed this a few weeks ago when I first picked this up, it would've been perfect for Xmas dessert but also glad I waited until now. Syrupy, sweet and dessert in a bottle. One of the few Manitoban brewery Meads that isn't currently barrel aged, I'm all for barrel aged everything but sometimes you shouldn't overpower some of the best honey on the planet. 

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