The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of hydrocolloids on the kinetics of ethanol fermentation in high-sugar mead worts. High osmotic pressure, inhibitors and other factors frequently cause sluggish or stuck mead fermentation. In the experiments, natural hydrocolloids – gum arabic, ghatti, karaya, xanthan gum or carob bean gum – were added in an amount of 0.5 g/L to mead worts. During fermentation, the mass of evolved CO2 was controlled. Anionic hydrocolloids significantly affected the kinetics of mead wort fermentation, significantly accelerating fermentation and causing higher production of ethanol and reduced volatile acidity and acetic acid synthesis by Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Supplementation with gum karaya allowed an increase of ethanol concentration by about 30% compared to control samples. Application of anionic hydrocolloids resulted in significant reduction of amounts of the cations Ca2+ and Mg2+ in the solutions, and increased the clarity of young mead.