Top 15 Mead Competition Takeaways - Tips on how to win and observations from judging 131 meads!

[@conradwheeler68]

From my FB group I'm going to say the the bulk of meads made by new makers are almost entirely fermented with 1118 or 1116. Each of those has their issues, but the reasons that are so popular, is down to the reliability of the yeast itself. They are oblivious to the mistreatment given by beginners. Temp, nutrition, pH, out of whack and it doesn't care.. Of course the down side of them, are that they tend to blow flavor out of the airlock. Once a mazer gets beyond those, the next hurdle is d47 with works fine to low ambient temps, for our Canadian friends, but the Southerners get a fusel laden batch that is only good for stripping paint. Once a mazer spends about a year of batches under their belt and have started making good mead and not prison hooch :D The ones that stick with it, start getting the hang of nutrition and honey and yeast selection, and the scary white powders aren't so scary any longer; is when their products will really start to improve. pH, tannins and balance is the next big hurdle for those mazers. The details of those trials are so much harder to manage with all the variability a batch could have and usually need manual adjustment and some people just don't have the palate to detect it well. Joining a local mead club with experienced mazers that could sample my product and point out my flaws was the best thing that happened to my meadmaking... Then came stabilization. After that it is all about gaining XP

[@DointheMost]

Pinning this. GREAT insight, man.

[@shasboom5807]

I get stuck on the temps...in summer my house is about 80. In winter my house can go from 50 to 75...the ec1118 definitely helps with the fluctuations and the hot summer.

[@kb2vca]

The other thing is that melomels & metheglins tend to mask (not remove but mask) faults that trads cannot and many novice (and seasoned) mead makers never learn how to make a stark naked trad that is fault free so their fruit and herb/spiced meads tend to be covered in flaws. Always the contrarian, I think we should all focus on trads until we can produce these fault-free and so any herbed, spiced, or fruited mead will be not just good but delightful.

[@kjdevault]

Is your fB group still active? I’m always looking for info and experiences to learn from!

[@txikitofandango]

I wish the judges of all competitions approach the job with as much care and respect as you guys seem to have

[@falconsfortressbrewworx5972]

Blunt feedback from friends is so important to me. I can not make better mead if I do not know what is wrong with it. I've only made 7 meads so far. I am biased about what I make because I made it. When you plan and create something you want it to be good. 'Rose colored glasses.' An unbiased honest opinion will help me more than any words to spare my feelings.

[@DointheMost]

I appreciate that perspective. Sometimes friends just really disagree on stuff I love, too, and it just is what it is! Different strokes. :)

[@falconsfortressbrewworx5972]

@@DointheMost Love the Smurf Glass! We have my wife's somewhere in a box.

[@tonyrivera2048]

Thanks for letting me be part of the judging panel. Super fun group of people and I learned so much. Looking forward to our cork discussion!

[@DointheMost]

We’ll definitely connect on that. Thanks Tony!

[@FaewoodMead]

I love this video! It's great to hear the major takeaways, and has made me start thinking of meads in other categories. Super excited to see my feedback!

[@DointheMost]

Glad it was helpful! And VERY glad I got to enjoy a glass of FaeWood Mead myself!

[@FaewoodMead]

@@DointheMost :-D

[@shasboom5807]

Definitely looking forward to the shipping demo.

[@DointheMost]

I’m working on the outline now!

[@dilldigger4797]

I'm pretty sure the good aroma one was mine. All three score sheets said killer aroma, no body, no honey taste...... yeah that was my first melomel and I used snow. I had no idea what wine tannins were, only used yuzu for acid then and never added honey in secondary. I learned alot from the feed back. Now it tastes as good as it smells. Waiting for the next competition. Happy brewing.

[@kb2vca]

Wow! This is such an important video. So many people think that their mead is great but when tested at competition it so often turns out that their mead is meh... and these 15 faults will help all of us make better mead.

[@DointheMost]

We learned a lot from this experience. I have a feeling it will inform quite a few of our videos going forward. :)

[@mkmead2006]

That's why I started doing comps.. blind feedback its very useful.. What you are telling yourself or your friends are telling you will have a lot of bias in it. It's hard not to take feedback personal, I have been there.. but the best thing you can do is research the faults and learn to correct them in future batches.

[@theweekendwarrior6355]

Thanks for the video. And if I made a bad mead, I'm happy to hear the hard truth and hopefully do better next time.

[@DointheMost]

Thank you for participating and happy brewing!

[@kawarus]

Thank you for expressing the elements that make an exceptional mead for competition and mead in general. Let us all remember to to give thanks to the bees 🐝 !

[@DointheMost]

Praise the bees!

[@mkmead2006]

Lots of great information in this video... a lot of things I have learned over doing competitions over the past 3 years.. I highly recommend listening and keeping a open mind. My competition experience has been: Be creative in using honey varietals, use enough fruit that the fruit flavors stand out and compliments your honey, plan your recipe to balance acid and tannins based on the type of fruits you're using. Certain fruits don't leave acid behind, bottled juices tend to be missing tannins, using frozen dethawed fruit is going to make a more complex mead, or your going to have to spend a lot of time adding acid and tannins to adjust it. Enzymes are your friend, its a small investment but they are worth adding on your fruit before you ferment. Yeast are important, sorry to say 1118 and 1116 are solid strains but they don't bring enough to the table, go hit up morewine and look at all your options before starting your mead, design your recipe with a complimentary yeast strain that works well and order it, properly rehydrate it, treat it well and pitch it properly. While fermenting, make sure to keep your temperatures in control and properly feed your mead. Once you get the basics down and get good scores even if your not winning don't give up, experiment, try different styles and have fun with it! I will add, I did create with a brewer friend my first Braggot last year and it was a big hit, won a few awards probably because there aren't many Braggots in competitions however it was a very delicious solid braggot. I want to tweak the recipe and recreate it as there isn't much left of that original batch. I want to put that new batch into some Belgian beer comps in the future.

[@dwadeweallin17]

Glad I stayed for the praise Rob tribute at the end! I sure know I will be a better mead maker after this comp. I submitted stuff that wasn’t safe for me that I knew needed some tweaking and I wanted to get feedback about them so I could learn more of what to tweak. Thank you!!

[@DointheMost]

Thank you for submitting to the comp! May we all improve together!

[@meadinamerica263]

Holy moly... did you run over your Pokémon hat with a truck???

[@wally6278]

Great video.. I'd love to enter this competition next time you have it..

[@Vykk_Draygo]

By the way, really grateful for the effort everyone put in. It was a lot of fun to enter, and the feedback is appreciated. Glad you got to try that weird banana bochet. And I'm definitely working on my braggot game (and other weird yeast experiments, like a long term multi-culture sour).

[@DointheMost]

Thanks again!

[@GreenWitch1]

Well, I’m interested in the feedback. I didn’t have anything ready as my brews are mostly high abv & take time to meld, but the one I sent was a big hit among my friends, so I hope it was decent to you guys as well. Thanks so much for the opportunity & all your hard work!!!

[@TheMorganw715]

Love it! Thanks for everything you've done for the competition and in your videos. I'm already planning what to make for next year!

[@DointheMost]

Awesome! Happy brewing!

[@3172bees]

Great video, I’m way up in northern Maine and have a few bee hives. I just finished a must bee mead kit I got on line. This video has convinced me to continue making mead. What I would like to know is a name or two of suppliers with good reputations. Thanks for the video!

[@briantammi142]

100% agree that braggots are completely under explored! I work at an apiary and make a new braggot every 2 weeks with honey that for one reason or another is not sellable. My brewing history is mostly beer so for me it was natural to adapt beer recipes, especially belgian styles to braggots. The possibilities are vast and unexplored.

[@HisVirusness]

I'm even happier that I didn't submit anything this year, because I'm nowhere close to ready to start submitting to competitions. But, thanks for the advice, and I'm glad to hear this was a success.

[@DointheMost]

It’s never a bad thing to submit purely for the feedback and with no intention to win!

[@superty6666]

@@DointheMost all feedback is good feedback even when it’s Hey your bottles suck

[@HisVirusness]

@@superty6666 I would very much believe that's valid feedback, especially if it turned out to be a gusher.

[@superty6666]

@@HisVirusness no i'm the one with the screw tops that led to spoilage, which its my very first time so i did learn something

[@hanginwithhodge]

Thanks - this is great info. I did not enter this year but want to in the future. Going to bookmark this video.

[@DointheMost]

I’d love to try one of your mead experiments or time tested recipes! Or both!

[@josechavez5467]

excellent video! if I can get bottles across the border I’ll send entries next year cant wait👍🏼

[@DointheMost]

Awesome! Please do!

[@timothyrichards5823]

Thanks for the advice, great video!

[@DointheMost]

Glad it was helpful! Happy brewing :)

[@johnburke8337]

Thanks for doin' your best! A few of my thoughts from your video 1 - I don't think you should feel too bad about blunt feedback. That direct critique is the biggest reason I got my act together and submitted something. Honestly, it was worth the experience even if I scored like crap, I learned a ton thanks to your call to action. 2 - You quickly mentioned oxymels at the end, and while it would definitely be fun to try it at least once, but my gut says historically they probably were not a drinking item. I'm from a Greek family, and before Tselemendes cuisine was a little different than today (sorry moussaka). Based on what I've read and experience recreating old styles and recipes, I think oxymel was probably more a thing geared towards preservation and cooking. If you get a shot, look up oinogaros; I think stocks and sauces made with garos and oxymel would be prime for foul and fish and lamb, so that's just my take messing around with this at home. I'm considering a YT channel where I experiment and present these kinds of things 3 - The Mazer's Doxology at the end is thoroughly appreciated. Again, thanks so much for doing the stampede! I'm earnestly hoping you guys can do another sometime in the future!

[@DointheMost]

Thank you for the thoughtful reply - I will look into oinogaros. I think oxymel could be a drinking category - like how people drink apple cider vinegar. But maybe I'm in the minority! haha

[@johnburke8337]

@@DointheMost Maybe something along the lines of a Sherry but as a mead? That could be fun if done right!

[@kjdevault]

I make shrubs. My grandson loves them. We either add them to other complimentary juices or to water for a splash of flavor. They can be pretty refreshing. I’ve thought along the same lines for an oxymel when I first learned of them.

[@xRASTAxXxLIONx]

I am new to mead making and I am currently experiencing #4! I am making a Strawberry Basil Melomel. At first my wife said it smells like a shoe store lol. Then we tasted it and it was very very pleasant.

[@DointheMost]

I think (hope?) that's the type of thing that ages out. Glad it's at least drinkable now! Happy brewing :)

[@trevorsocia2300]

Might I make a suggestion? What about doing a challenge like what Canadian Sasquatch used to do? Come up with something every mead needs to have in common then let the competitors put their own swing on things; an ingredient, a style, an ABV range. Would, to me, make it easier since they all have a common denominator. I signed up to be part of his last one in 2017 or 18 but he sadly had to cancel... could even keep this a DTM exclusive thing so everyone doesn't have to fly out there again. I believe he kept it to 20 or less, first signed up and paid = first in.

[@funtimes9196]

Bro I made some wine and it’s now my favourite thing to do in the world

[@chrisinestes]

2022... I'll have some to send in, for that one.

[@DointheMost]

Yesss!

[@lunarwhirlwind]

I admit I'd be really curious to see a breakdown of the averages for score just as a general curiosity.

[@Subbedhunter]

Kind of interesting. I won 2nd place in a category at another OK competition this year and I entered the same mead into Mead Stampede and got a score in the 20’s. Very interesting comparing the notes b/w the competitions.

[@DointheMost]

Which competition did you enter?

[@Subbedhunter]

@@DointheMost 8 seconds of Froth

[@grimmseti]

Which ones scored into the 40's? Just curious.

[@thurstonsmith279]

I love using distillers yeast for making a higher percentage ABV

[@ArrowtotheMead]

I actually thought about entering a braggot, but because they're more beer-like, I was worried it would underperform when being tasted at room temperature after being warm-shipped out of California in the summer😅

[@conradwheeler68]

Great video and well thought out points. My mead club meets every month and we all bring in samples of what we are working on and fruity meads are the most common. Tampa has to have the most meaderies per capita in the US and most of them are hip deep in fruity mead. I'm recalling what I sent in and they were also in those common categories... Then you mentioned tropical meads and my jaw sank, I'm about to bottle 6 gallons of a peach/pineapple/strawberry/mango/passionfruit mead (no water added) with lehua honey :D It very much tastes like a fruit punch that you might be able to taste an individual fruit, but they seem to have blended to the point that it has no distinguishing or dominant flavor. It is good though ;) One of the things that I've noticed in bringing mead to my local club is that many will try to put the best face on even a bad mead, which sometimes makes it hard to get a good, critical review... I'm trying to improve my product/process, not get an attaboy. Tell me about the acid balance dammit :D I've decided to start bringing smaller samples but A and B and C configurations with different sweetness or acid levels... make them taste my bench trials Great video, again. (liked, subscribed, commented, liked and shared :) Power to the analytics! )

[@DointheMost]

Thank you for the thoughtful reply! Don’t let my commentary on tropical meads dissuade you. Just one man’s opinion!

[@chrisjohnsharp]

Will you be running another one at some point I would consider entering

[@eriksunden4704]

Id like to add something here. Bigger comps like mazer cup have recognized that whats put on the entry sheet can bias judges pretty hard. Have you considered having two sheets next time like a presentation sheet with description and abv and then a process sheet to be viewed after scoring with more technical details useful for feedback like what fruits exactly were used at what rate, yeast choice, aging time and so on. Also have you considered having a award for shortest turnaround mead that was good? I suggewst this since this seems to be almost the most important part of going commercial, keeping those tanks moving fast

[@DointheMost]

Our judges didn’t read entry notes until judging was 99% complete, then if there were entry notes we discussed it in the final feedback section. That way our palates weren’t biased. I love that award idea. We’d have to collect more entry data to make that happen. Hmm.

[@antonioj.2147]

I'm wandering about all the leftover bottles, what happened to them?

[@DointheMost]

Some went home with judges, others went into the recycling bin. :)

[@greatwolftactical1793]

I just need to know when the next mead stampede is

[@benjamindaniels1273]

What was the varietal you had never heard of?

[@colinbrown4008]

Was this just USA only?

[@Vykk_Draygo]

I gotta admit, I was confused as to WHAT the categories were. I thought each sub-category WAS a category. I think that's partially due to how the forms were set-up, and I don't think it was explicitly communicated. Could be improved next time by having something like this; Judging Category: Mx, Subcategory: y. Not really a big deal (as I didn't expect to win anything), and it could have just been a me thing, but I thought it was worth mentioning!

[@DointheMost]

I wish that could be changed, but the categories come from the BJCP. If we are a sanctioned competition next year, that might be more confusing, too. Trust me when I say that we tried to simplify things. And our competition organizer emailed people whose meads did not fit within the category that they registered them in to clean up categories. But I don’t disagree that we could do better to set up an FAQ page that explains each category more explicitly.

[@Vykk_Draygo]

@@DointheMost Or maybe I am still misunderstanding? I'm confused. ;D I submitted a braggot, and an experimental mead. Are they both, for judging purposes, just counted as M4? And as such, considered a double entry for the M4 category?

[@DointheMost]

@@Vykk_Draygo You can enter multiple entries in a category as long as they fall in different subcategories. If our competition was much, much larger, we might be able to separate out subcategories to be judged on their own.

[@Vykk_Draygo]

​@@DointheMost That's what I thought at first, then I confused myself. Ok. We're good!

[@drbell26]

As a new brewer/meader great video. As a vid/sound guy the background music was a little distracting I.e. Prince.

[@canadamead5265]

Biggest problem with honey variety is that unless your in the US it's virtually impossible to find anything but Wildflower or clover unless you want to pay insane shipping costs.

[@lotrbuilders5041]

I can get quite a bit of (different types of) honey shipped here(Netherlands) for €6, so maybe just a Canada thing?

[@martharetallick204]

Me? I want to enter a mesquite hot pepper mead. Does that make me evil?

[@estebanwrapacki]

Would you please try making a mead with sherry yeast.

[@DointheMost]

I might look into that for a secondary fermentation. :)

[@pyxel]

What is an oxymead?

[@Mp-jw1qg]

can i send you a bottle of some local tart cherry melomel, giant blackberry melomel and a melomel i made with both so you can tell me how to improve it?

[@DointheMost]

We may do a small amateur feedback thing through our Discord server this fall. :)

[@Tarzisme]

Any idea if i could enter from canada?

[@DointheMost]

Short answer is yes. That said, figuring out shipping would be on you. :)

[@Tarzisme]

@@DointheMost i figured as much just was wondering about the legality of shipping alcohol across the border

[@DointheMost]

@@Tarzisme I understand it happens all the time for homebrew competitions but I can’t speak to the details as I’m not familiar with them.

[@Tarzisme]

@@DointheMost ok cool i shall have to look into it and start something special for it

[@bohica133jd]

Can we have a category where we dont pay and aren't included in getting a reward but just get fed back? Lol

[@DointheMost]

Unfortunately competitions are not cheap to run. Net this year was enough to just cover expenses!

[@bohica133jd]

@@DointheMost no worries I'm just super cheap lol I'll probably enter next year I just didn't find out about the one this year until late

[@refeicul]

now you got my brain on raspberry balsamic mead....i have 5 different meads going atm now plans for 2 more you are evil.