|
Post by 58limited on Sept 25, 2014 19:05:55 GMT -5
Well, the 3rd Annual Meadfest was this past weekend. I entered 12 meads and won 4 gold medals, 1 silver medal, and 2 bronze medals as well as Best Of Show. There were 82 entries and 12 judging categories (I didn't enter each category). Meadfest was a lot of fun and the commercial meaderies were there with samples of their wares.
|
|
|
Post by cinnabar on Sept 25, 2014 19:50:07 GMT -5
Wow!, that is great. I'll be everyone there learns so much from each other and the kinds of mead, that your head is buzzing for days. Not to mention the tastings. Congrats you efforts are paying off. cinnabar
|
|
|
Post by Chuckie on Sept 25, 2014 21:14:16 GMT -5
Well, the 3rd Annual Meadfest was this past weekend. I entered 12 meads and won 4 gold medals, 1 silver medal, and 2 bronze medals as well as Best Of Show. There were 82 entries and 12 judging categories (I didn't enter each category). Meadfest was a lot of fun and the commercial meaderies were there with samples of their wares. 58Limited: Congrats, fine sir, on a job WELL DONE!!! Actually, VERY well done--given all the entries!!! Glad to know the Chambers folks are so well versed/rounded in their activities. Now hustle yo'self on up to 'Prison City' and bring me a taste!! CHEERS! Chuckie
|
|
|
Post by karitx on Sept 26, 2014 8:47:04 GMT -5
Congrats! That is quite a feat!
I'm going to have to find some mead to try. It's been a few months since I asked at the foofoo grocery store and they said they were "working on it". Maybe it's time to ask again.
|
|
|
Post by chipperhiker on Sept 29, 2014 0:40:50 GMT -5
Wow! You entered 12 different meads, 58limited? That's a lot of honey! Congratulations on your success.
Where do you source your honey, and how do you know if a particular honey will make a good mead?
|
|
|
Post by 58limited on Sept 29, 2014 21:20:33 GMT -5
Thanks everyone. Wow! You entered 12 different meads, 58limited? That's a lot of honey! Congratulations on your success. Where do you source your honey, and how do you know if a particular honey will make a good mead? I buy honey online from all over the country, though not much lately: prices have skyrocketed and you have to remember that a gallon will cost about $20.00 to ship. As far as what honey makes a good mead - trial and error. This is where small 1-2 gallon batches come in handy - you only use 1 or 2 quarts of honey. You don't waste $60-$100 by using an entire gallon (which makes 4 to 5 gallons of mead). Some of the meads I entered are two to three years old. The Tupelo won best of show, it didn't even place last year. Amazing what one year can do.
|
|
|
Post by chipperhiker on Sept 30, 2014 9:47:34 GMT -5
Aging like a fine…mead! Thanks for the info.
|
|
|
Post by Chuckie on Sept 30, 2014 10:38:47 GMT -5
Thanks everyone. Wow! You entered 12 different meads, 58limited? That's a lot of honey! Congratulations on your success. Where do you source your honey, and how do you know if a particular honey will make a good mead? I buy honey online from all over the country, though not much lately: prices have skyrocketed and you have to remember that a gallon will cost about $20.00 to ship. Monkey used to use local honey as the 'sugar' when she made breads to sell @ Leavenworth Farmer's Market. There was an outfit there that sold honey--Hillside Honey--and I don't remember them being that expensive. Here's a link to their website: www.hillsidehoney.com/products.htmlOh--now that I LOOK again--I thought she was giving $20 for a GALLON. Looks like that was for like five POUNDS instead, so maybe NOT so 'cheap' after all... CHEERS! Chuckie
|
|
|
Post by 58limited on Oct 2, 2014 18:41:44 GMT -5
Chuckie, they are slightly cheaper than most places online or near me. A gallon is about 12 lbs. You can get 13 lbs from Hillside for $54.00 while most places start at $60.00 now. I can still get local honey by the gallon for $34.00 at the local grocery. And I NEVER comment to them "WOW! Your honey is way cheaper than everyone else's!"
I've used this honey for several of my meads. But, the unique characteristics of the various regional "varietal" honeys has won me the most awards. These honeys are predominantly one type of flower nectar as opposed to regular wildflower that is possibly dozens of different flower nectars. My Best of Show was made with tupelo honey. I also won with goldenrod honey, Indian Blanket (Firewheel or Gallardia) honey, purple star thistle honey, and cotton blossom honey. I used wildflower honey from East Texas for my Cherry Russian mead which won a gold. The honey came from the Nacogdoches area, 150 miles north of me.
|
|
|
Post by Chuckie on Oct 2, 2014 23:19:14 GMT -5
Chuckie, they are slightly cheaper than most places online or near me. A gallon is about 12 lbs. You can get 13 lbs from Hillside for $54.00 while most places start at $60.00 now. I can still get local honey by the gallon for $34.00 at the local grocery. And I NEVER comment to them "WOW! Your honey is way cheaper than everyone else's!" I've used this honey for several of my meads. But, the unique characteristics of the various regional "varietal" honeys has won me the most awards. These honeys are predominantly one type of flower nectar as opposed to regular wildflower that is possibly dozens of different flower nectars. My Best of Show was made with tupelo honey. I also won with goldenrod honey, Indian Blanket (Firewheel or Gallardia) honey, purple star thistle honey, and cotton blossom honey. I used wildflower honey from East Texas for my Cherry Russian mead which won a gold. The honey came from the Nacogdoches area, 150 miles north of me. I dunno if they STILL 'do it', but back in the days, the beekeepers down in the Ozarks would "block" the hives, until such-and-such came in bloom. USUALLY it was the Dogwood trees down there. Then they would 'unleash' the bees, to ensure THAT particular bloom was the flavor... CHEERS! Chuckie
|
|
|
Post by sporko on Dec 6, 2014 19:41:37 GMT -5
Hey 58limited...
We've been wanting to try a mead... and I had to drive 100 miles away before stores actually had them. ...and they had an almighty 5 of them.
The one I picked was way sweet. Do you have any recommendations for a dry mead? I suspect I could buy one online if I had a good starting point.
Long term, we'd like to try to make our own... but we're also planning on eventually setting up a bee hive, so it will probably be after that.
|
|
|
Post by 58limited on Dec 10, 2014 3:15:55 GMT -5
Most of the meads I drink are semi-sweet. For a dry mead, Texas Meadworks makes a decent traditional dry mead. Most meaderies make both sweet and dry traditionals. Other than that, you have to hope the label tells whether the mead is sweet or dry. You can look on the maker's websites too, they usually include a description of each mead on their site.
Google these Texas meaderies: Texas Meadworks, Meridian Hive Meadery, Dancing Bee Meadery, Rohan Meadery, and Enchanted Manor Winery.
This weekend me and my BIL are going to Meridian Hive Meadery to work for a day or two. They invited us and we will exchange a little labor for a look at how a commercial meadery works. We plan to have an annoyingly long list of questions for them regarding regulatory issues, equipment needs and costs, etc. We are seriously considering going commercial in the next 5-10 years and will probably try to use Kickstarter for some or all funding.
|
|