On the one hand, fermentation is fermentation. There’s no magic in it. Take a sugary liquid, add yeast, and voilà, an alcoholic beverage. Grain, grapes, honey, rice—whatever the source, the principle is more or less the same.
On the other hand, though, undeniable distinctions and subtleties make each beverage unique. Brewers already have an intuitive sense of how to ferment basically anything. What we lack is that key information about how to ferment it well.
What follows is a rundown of what you, as a brewer, already know about meadmaking, what you know but probably don’t need to know, and, finally, what you probably should pay more attention to. Homemade mead is something you’ll probably enjoy for all the same reasons you enjoy homebrewed beer. The good news is that you’re already most of the way to making it—and making it well.