Longmont, Colorado — The S’mores the Merrier from Dragon’s Lair Meadery in Lakewood, WA, took home Best of Show honors at the inaugural Mead Crafters Competition. An astounding 344 meads from throughout North America were submitted for the first-ever event hosted by the National Honey Board. Rounding out the Best of Show podium were Ancient Fire Mead & Cider’s Sweet Burn Dude! and Lost Cause Meadery’s Heavy Meadow.

The S’mores the Merrier advanced to the Best of Show round by winning the “Specialty – Sweet” category. The sweet mead’s dynamic flavor profile is derived from the use of meadowfoam honey, which carries a flavor profile similar to roasted marshmallows. The mead also uses cocoa nibs, vanilla beans and a little brown sugar. Combined, these flavors deliver a s’mores-like flavor in an extremely drinkable mead.

The Mead Crafters Competition is BJCP-certified and open to commercial meaderies in the United States. The submitted meads were judged based on their aroma, appearance, flavor, mouthfeel and overall impression.

“We are thrilled to see so much interest in the Mead Crafters Competition, and we’re excited to see the growth of meaderies across North America,” Catherine Barry, National Honey Board’s director of marketing, says. “We’re confident mead is on its way from a niche alcohol category to a mainstream beverage option for consumers. The mead industry is growing, and the National Honey Board is excited to recognize so many amazing meads and meaderies.”

Winners of the 2019 Mead Crafters Competition per category:

Brackets / Braggots:
Heaven and Heathen — Guadalupe Brewery in collaboration with Mjodhall Meadery, Valley Center, CA
Cyser: Dakota Apple — Prairie Rose Meadery, Fargo, ND
Dessert Semi-Sweet: Bourbon Stag — Haymaker Meadery, Montgomeryville, PA
Dessert Sweet: Sky River Solas Honey Wine — Sky River Mead, Redmond, WA
Fruit/Vegetable Melomel Dry: Embrace — Moonlight Meadery, Londonderry, NH
Fruit/Vegetable Melomel Semi-Sweet: Red Dress — Moonlight Meadery, Londonderry, NH
Fruit/Vegetable Melomel Sweet: Heavy Meadow — Lost Cause Meadery, San Diego, CA
Metheglin Dry: Lipgloss & Gunpowder — Unpossible Mead, Dwight, IL
Metheglin Semi-Sweet: Zydeco Buzz — Lost Cause Meadery, San Diego, CA
Metheglin Sweet: Sweet Burn Dude! — Ancient Fire Mead & Cider, Manchester, NH
Pyment Dry: Melissa — Meridian Hive Meadery, Austin, TX

Pyment Semi-Sweet: Zen Orange Blossom — Feisty Brood Meadery,
Pyment Sweet:
Sky River Pyment — Sky River Mead, Northfield, OH
Session Dry:
Standard Ile — Philadelphia Mead Well, Philadelphia, PA
Session Semi-Sweet:
Pollen-Nation — Crafted Artisan Meadery, Mogadore, OH
Session Sweet:
Apple Crumble — Crafted Artisan Meadery, Mogadore, OH
Specialty Dry:
Hawaiian Lehua Blossom Naturally Sparkling Dry Mead — Heidrun Meadery, Point Reyes Station, CA
Specialty Semi-Sweet:
Collaboration Peach Methomel — Space Time Mead & Cider Works, Dunmore, PA
Specialty Sweet:
The S’mores the Merrier — Dragon’S Lair Meadery, Lakewood, WA
Traditional Dry:
Brother Adam — The Mead Werks at Wilderbee Farm, Port Townsend, WA
Traditional Semi-Sweet:
Orange Blossom Mead — Martin Brothers Winery, Hermann, MO
Traditional Sweet:
Boudica’s Uprising — Honey Grail, Leesburg, VA
Varietal Dry:
2018 All-Wise Rhodomel — All-Wise Meadery, Brooklyn, NY
Varietal Semi-Sweet:
Buckwheat Mead — Feisty Brood Meadery, Northfield, OH
Varietal Sweet:
Oak Meadowfoam — Garagiste Meadery, Tampa, FL


For a full list of winners, more information and pictures, please visit http://meadcrafterscompetition.com/2019-winners/.

The National Honey Board (NHB) is an industry-funded agriculture promotion group that works to educate consumersabout the benefits and uses for honey and honey products through research, marketing and promotional programs.The Board’s work, funded by an assessment on domestic and imported honey, is designed to increase the awarenessand usage of honey by consumers, the foodservice industry and food manufacturers. The ten-member-Board,appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, represents producers (beekeepers), packers, importers and amarketing cooperative.

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