On mead and "honey wine"/"honey beer"; If we take into account that a normal definition of beer is a drink made by fermentation of grains, and wine is a drink made by fermentation of grapes (or in a wider definition, any fruit or berry) I don't think mead can be classified as either. So whether you call it one or the other must be down to what the local variety resembles most.
I'd expect something made by fermenting honey to have very little of the "bread-like" character of something made from grains. In other words, I'd expect mead to have more in common with wine than with beer, taste-wise. But I'm sure there are varieties of all three that will go against any conventions and expectations. I have myself tasted beers that definitely had a wine-like character.
).
