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===Spontaneous===
[[File:Microbes Found in Honey; Snowden 1996.JPG|thumb|600px|[https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0168160596009701?via%3Dihub Microbes reportedly found in honey. Source: "Microorganisms in honey". Snowden and Cliver. International Journal of Food Microbiology. 1996.]]]
Just about anything can be spontaneously fermented, which of course includes Mead. For the most part, it's very similar to spontaneous beers as far as capturing ambient microbes, the big difference is the controlling of microbes by types of carbon sources as well as acid contributions from hops. Hopping can be used of course but is not used in most Meads. Also unlike spontaneous beers, you normally wouldn't be heating must (unfermented mead) up to a boiling temperature so the cooling process is a bit different. It has been demonstrated that while honey is antimicrobial due to its high sugar concentration and low water concentration, which inhibits the growth of microbes, honey is not inherently pasteurized or sanitary (see [[Mold#Mold_Growth_in_Wild_Mead|the Mold page for details]]). To add a bit of control you could add things like maltodextrin or fruits/vegetables with complex sugars.