Mead Judging – 2023 Nat’l Honey Show @ Sydney Royal Easter Show
Did you know that Australia has eleven internationally accredited judges of Mead? But wait – did you know that two of those judges are Stone Dog Meadery’s own Steve Kirby and Lavender Kirby? Awesome, innit?
Steve and Lavender have been judging the Mead entries of the National Honey show, (which is held within the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW’s Sydney Royal Easter Show since 2018…we think…feels longer but…2018 to be safe LOL
The judging for this year was held April 3rd 2023, and we were happy to again have the assistance of D. Barlin, a good mate and also another of the Aussie Eleven! “Barls” has an amazing palate, and not just for mead, his expertise includes beer and wine. Plus, he’s a top bloke!
2023 saw fewer entries this year than previous years, but, as Varroa Mite has managed to land here, a large number of Beekeepers and Beekeeping mead makers have been completely wiped out of their production and livelihood…more on this elsewhere …but please remember to support your local beekeepers however you can.
Steve and Lavender decided to open Stone Dog Meadery after winning Gold at the Australian Amateur Brewing Competition AABC in 2014, judged and awarded at ANHC . Once we decided to “Go Pro”, we felt that we should stop entering amateur/beginner competitions, in order to allow others to try their luck on a more even playing field and allow us to focus on developing Australia’s interest in Mead – more as it happens!
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
Alex Harsas
Good afternoon Stone Dog Meadery team,
I just wanted to reach out in hope that you can shed some light into how Mead is judged at the Easter Show, my father and I have submitted our traditional Honey mead into class 32 however we have only started brewing in the last few months and are unsure of what we should be looking for in a good mead.
Any insight into what a good mead should be would be much appreciated as the judging criteria appears very vague and regardless of the result this year we hope to improve for next year.
Thanks
Alex
Lavender
Hi Alex! Lavender here – Thanks for getting in touch, and welcome to the wonderful world of Mead making.
First, yes, the criteria for Mead in this show is vague, and I think that is because it is run as part of the National Honey Show, which runs within the Royal Easter Show and includes honey and other related products like wax, candles and so much more.
However, as we are BJCP accredited judges, we use the BJCP Mead Style Guidelines, and this link – and Im sorry – there is ALOT of info there for you to peruse – but I hope it will more than clarify what we Judges are looking for.
The most important thing when brewing – mead, wine, beer – is that YOU enjoy it. And the best thing about Mead is, if you don’t like it now, put it away for awhile – it gets better!
You might want to look into local home brew clubs in your area. Most likely they will participate in state level competitions, which may use different criteria – in Australia you might expect the AABC criteria.
If you win a State competition, you may qualify for entry into the Nationals, known as ANHC (Australian National Homebrew Conference) which will run again in November 2024.
Another great source of info and inspiration for Mead making would be the Facebook group “Australian Mead Makers”, so do search on Facebook for them, Mead is definitely making a comeback!
In my original reply I also stated for the sake of clarity – that entries to any show would be seen by the judges without anything which could identify the Entrant – and so although we wish you the best for your entries – we wont know whose was whose – but that is as it should be hey?
Cheers!