Honey wine, also called mead, sits at the intersection of beekeeping, fermentation, and wine regulation. The available figures span two different periods: USDA measurements of U.S. honey production in 2024 and 2025, and an older American Mead Makers Association (AMMA) survey describing U.S. meaderies in 2014. Federal rules add precise thresholds for alcohol, carbonation, labeling, and import permits.
Contents
- Regulatory thresholds
- U.S. honey production in 2025
- Honey prices, colonies, and related income
- State honey production
- Meadery styles and local sourcing
- Meadery size, employment, and sales
Regulatory thresholds
The TTB Alcohol FAQs allow either “honey wine” or “mead” as the designation for compliant honey wine. That naming flexibility does not remove the need to follow the applicable labeling rules. A honey wine containing less than 7% alcohol by volume does not require a TTB COLA, although it still must meet FDA food-labeling rules. Any alcohol beverage containing 0.5% alcohol by volume or more must carry the federal health warning statement.
The federal rules also distinguish among types of effervescence. For a sparkling honey wine, carbonation from secondary fermentation must exceed 0.392 grams of carbon dioxide per 100 milliliters. When honey wine is made effervescent by another method, the label must describe it as carbonated rather than sparkling. These are labeling distinctions tied to a measured carbonation threshold, not simply stylistic descriptions.
Under the TTB Mead/Honey Wine Resources, standard honey wine under the Internal Revenue Code may not contain more than 14% alcohol by volume. It may not include coloring or flavoring materials other than hops. These limits are separate from the lower threshold used in the CBMA definition of mead.
The TTB Tax Rates material defines CBMA mead as containing no more than 0.64 grams of carbon dioxide per 100 milliliters. It must be derived solely from honey and water, with no fruit product or fruit flavoring, and must contain less than 8.5% alcohol by volume.
Import rules use another 7% threshold. Honey wine imports containing 7% alcohol by volume or more must obtain an importer’s basic permit. At that same alcohol level, they are treated as wine for TTB labeling purposes. Together, these figures show why “mead” is not a single regulatory category in every context.
U.S. honey production in 2025
The USDA Honey report dated March 13, 2026 recorded 116 million pounds of U.S. honey production in 2025. That total was down 14% from 2024. The number of colonies producing honey was 2.41 million, down 7% from the previous year, while average yield per colony was 48.0 pounds, also down 7%.
Producer stocks provide another measure of supply. On December 15, 2025, U.S. producer honey stocks were 34.8 million pounds, 15% below the level one year earlier. For honey wine producers, these figures describe the agricultural input behind the beverage rather than the volume of mead itself: the USDA data measure honey production and inventories, not fermented honey wine output.
The 2025 USDA figures can be summarized alongside their reported year-over-year changes:
| Measure | 2025 figure | Reported change or date |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. honey production | 116 million pounds | Down 14% from 2024 |
| Colonies producing honey | 2.41 million | Down 7% from 2024 |
| Average yield per colony | 48.0 pounds | Down 7% from 2024 |
| Producer honey stocks | 34.8 million pounds | Measured December 15, 2025; down 15% year over year |
| Average honey price | $3.05 per pound | Up 27% from 2024 |
The combination of lower production and a higher average price is notable for anyone following honey-based beverages. It indicates that the 2025 honey market had less reported output while the average price paid for honey increased.
Honey prices, colonies, and related income
The USDA reported an average U.S. honey price of $3.05 per pound in 2025, up 27% from 2024. The same report listed three average prices for honey-bee stock: $22 for a queen, $110 for a package, and $130 for a nuc. These are beekeeping purchase prices, not prices for bottles of honey wine or finished mead.
Honey bees also generated income beyond the sale of harvested honey. Pollination income in 2025 was $225 million, while other income from honey bees was $48.0 million. Those two measurements describe the broader economic activity associated with honey bees and should not be read as meadery revenue.
The supply picture is therefore broader than a single production number. In 2025, the USDA recorded 2.41 million producing colonies, a 48.0-pound average yield, 34.8 million pounds of producer stocks on December 15, and a $3.05-per-pound average honey price. The same reporting period included $225 million in pollination income and $48.0 million in other bee income.
State honey production
USDA state figures show that production was concentrated unevenly across the reporting states. North Dakota was the largest listed producer in both years, with 36.260 million pounds in 2024 and 30.820 million pounds in 2025. South Dakota reported 13.250 million pounds in 2024 and 8.200 million pounds in 2025. California reported 13.330 million pounds in 2024 and 11.025 million pounds in 2025.
The following comparison keeps the measurement years explicit and uses the USDA values in millions of pounds.
| State | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| California | 13.330 million lb | 11.025 million lb |
| Florida | 4.092 million lb | 3.616 million lb |
| Georgia | 1.856 million lb | 2.144 million lb |
| Idaho | 2.508 million lb | 3.016 million lb |
| Iowa | 2.747 million lb | 2.108 million lb |
| Louisiana | 3.400 million lb | 3.286 million lb |
| Michigan | 5.002 million lb | 3.738 million lb |
| Minnesota | 6.858 million lb | 5.650 million lb |
| Mississippi | 2.320 million lb | 2.225 million lb |
| Montana | 10.082 million lb | 10.455 million lb |
| New York | 2.756 million lb | 2.912 million lb |
| North Carolina | 0.600 million lb | 0.672 million lb |
| North Dakota | 36.260 million lb | 30.820 million lb |
| Ohio | 1.254 million lb | 0.765 million lb |
| Oregon | 2.856 million lb | 2.349 million lb |
| Pennsylvania | 1.196 million lb | 1.425 million lb |
| South Dakota | 13.250 million lb | 8.200 million lb |
| Texas | 4.094 million lb | 2.160 million lb |
| Washington | 2.160 million lb | 2.046 million lb |
| Wisconsin | 2.508 million lb | 1.500 million lb |
Among these state figures, Montana was the listed state with a higher 2025 figure than its 2024 figure, rising from 10.082 million pounds to 10.455 million pounds. Georgia, Idaho, New York, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania also had higher reported 2025 production than in 2024. The other listed states had lower 2025 figures.
Meadery styles and local sourcing
The AMMA American Mead Maker survey, identified as a 2015 publication describing 2014 activity, had 52 respondents. Its results are historical survey findings and are not presented here as independently verified current industry measurements.
The survey found that 29% of surveyed mead makers had been open for one year or less. The most established meadery in the survey had been open for 25 years, and 7 meaderies had been open for 10 years or more. These figures describe the age distribution of the participating businesses at the time of the survey.
Style preferences were also reported. Melomel was the best-selling style for 29% of respondents, while traditional mead was the best-selling style for 23%. The survey reported that 38% of the most popular mead styles sold in America were made with honey and fruit. It also found that the average U.S. meadery produced 10 unique meads in 2014, up from 7.3 in 2013.
Local sourcing was common among the respondents: 62% of mead makers reported using local honey. That percentage applies to the survey group and its stated period, not to all U.S. meaderies today.
Meadery size, employment, and sales
The historical AMMA survey reported an average of 3.4 employees per meadery in 2014. Across the 52 participating meaderies, it counted 179 total workers. The average therefore describes small operating teams within the surveyed group, while the total worker figure is the survey’s direct count.
Reported sales were $6.5 million in total U.S. mead sales in 2014, with average sales per meadery of $210,000. The survey reported that U.S. mead sales grew 42% from 2013 to 2014 and 84% from 2012 to 2014. These are historical AMMA survey figures, not a current national sales forecast or a measurement of the entire modern honey wine market.
Taken together, the AMMA figures portray an emerging, small-team category in the period covered: 52 respondents, 179 workers, 3.4 employees per meadery on average, 10 unique meads produced by the average meadery in 2014, and $6.5 million in reported total U.S. mead sales. The USDA figures, by contrast, measure the upstream honey supply in 2024 and 2025, while the TTB figures define regulatory thresholds that apply to particular honey wine products and transactions.