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www.ClassicCityBrew.com Blind Tasting: MEADS 24 August 2005 |
 Patrick McDonald (left) is president of the Athens chapter of the American Wine Society. John Gayer (right) is a beer manager at Wild Wing Cafe in Athens. |
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www.ClassicCityBrew.com Blind Tasting: MEADS 24 August 2005 |
Patrick McDonald (left) is president of the Athens chapter of the American Wine Society. John Gayer (right) is a beer manager at Wild Wing Cafe in Athens. |
 L-R: Thel Melton, Mark Pfeiffer and Jeff Rapp. |
Owen
Ogletree (director of Brewtopia Events LLC) gathered together a 12
person tasting panel made up of beer judges, a wine writer, bar owners,
wine enthusiasts, and wine merchants. The tasting was held upstairs at Wild Wing Cafe in downtown
Athens, Georgia where we sampled and commented on 20 different meads
from around the world.
This sampling was done as a "best of show" blind tasting where no one
was aware of the brands that were being served. Products were
informally
commented upon and ranked according to Beer
Judge Certification Program (BJCP) mead guidelines. First,
second,
third places, and honorable mention were awarded to the products we
felt
represented
their individual styles in extraordinary fashion. Owen filled out
one BJCP mead score sheet for each mead based on everyone's combined
comments (these comments are summarized below). Drop Owen an email to share your
comments and
opinions.
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Medovina Zpodhradi Karamelova Svil - Primda, Czech Republic Metheglin with Butterscotch and Caramel HONORABLE MENTION Aroma: Tobacco-like with notes of cedar. Honey is very subdued. Vanilla, spiced baked pears, leather, brandy and coconut aromas are powerful. Appearance: Light amber and clear with heavy "legs" of glycerin. Flavor: Coconut, nuts, almonds and caramel. This has a huge mouthfeel and is very cordial-like. Sweet and viscous with beautiful woody, cedar notes. A powerful sipping mead for winter. Dessert-like - would be nice with a fine cigar. Honeywood
Oregon Mead Redstone
Traditional Mountain Honey Wine
Sky
River Semi-Sweet Mead
Orange
Blossom Honey Wine Sky River Sweet Mead Sky River Meadery - Sultan, WA, USA Traditional Mead - Sweet Aroma: Citrusy, musty, ammonia-like. Very mild aromas of mold and cheese. Mild honey is in the background. Appearance: Clear with a small hint of carbonation. Flavor: Citrus, honey, cane sugar with some thin vanilla/oak notes in the finish. Also a bit earthy, tart, cellar-like. Could have some wild yeast that contributed these flavors to the fermentation process. A very drinkable mead that is reminiscent of rock candy flavors with a touch of tartness. Chouchen Warenghem - Brittany, France Traditional Mead Aroma: Prunes, paint, solvent, raisins, run, plastic, sherry. Appearance: Dark gold, clear - very pleasing to the eye. Flavor: Alcohol notes with a hint of phenolic, oxidized flavors. Tastes a bit like dark, aged fruit. Not very drinkable - heavy in plastic, spicy, phenolic flavors and a bit medicinal. Chaucers Mead Chaucer's Cellars - Soquel, CA, USA Traditional Mead - Sweet Aroma: Honey-like with some notes of corn and lactic acid. A bit cereal-like in aroma with earthy, sweaty, yeasty hints. Appearance: Medium gold - clear - pleasing. Flavor: Corn and green apples with notes of butter. A bit sweet with an abundance of fruity esters. Some yeast (autolysis) notes are possible. A very complex mead with many layers of flavors and sweet honey. Peach Mead Mountain Meadows Mead - Westwood, CA, USA Melomel Aroma: Cider, earthy, sweaty notes. Salty aromas with notes of musk and peach. Some phenolic (plastic, clove) hints. Appearance: Golden, clear and attractive. Flavor: Tart and a bit phenolic with acetic and lactic notes. Very subtle peach character. Dry and light - should be a bit more clean with more honey and peach flavors and aromas. Peach/Apricot Mead Long Island Meadery - Holbrook, NY, USA Melomel Aroma: Fruity, mild peach and apricot. Hints of green apple with some musty, almondy aromas. Very mild aromas. Appearance: Clear and light gold in color. Flavor: A bit bitter and astringent with very little honey character. Could be more balanced. Vegetal notes. This is an interesting mead with some Chablis-like wine notes. Red Raspberry Mead Long Island Meadery - Holbrook, NY, USA Melomel Aroma: Bready and yeasty with some raspberry notes. Appearance: Light pink in color. Clarity is good. Flavor: Flowers, fruit, honey, herbs, raspberry seeds. Flavors are subtle, but the fruit does come through. This mead has a good balance. Clean, dry and quaffable. Acid level is good. Finish is dry. Pirtle Raspberry Mead Weston Vineyards - Weston, MO, USA Melomel Aroma: Raspberry extract, candy, light honey. Appearance: Deep rich red and clear. Ruby-like color is very eye-catching. Flavor: A bit vegetal with candy-like fruit notes. Nice honey character is too far in the background. Sweet, corn syrup notes are present. Needs more honey and natural fruit flavors and aromas. Hromcikova Skoricova Medovina Elisa Dalibor Hromcik - Czech Republic Metheglin with Cinnamon and Herbs Aroma: Pinesol, cola, caramel, citrus. Appearance: Dark amber with ruby highlights. Some sediment is present. Flavor: Tannic, floor cleaner astringency. Very perfumy, piney and resiny with lots of medicinal, chemical notes. Not a pleasant mead - too harsh and astringent. Chouchen Oak Aged Warenghem - Brittany, France Traditional Mead aged in oak for two years Aroma: Mint, vanilla, raw oak, tannins and phenols. No honey in aroma. Appearance: Light gold and clear. Flavor: Honey with minty, green wood, turpentine hints. Mild complexity - sweet with much warmth from alcohol. A drinkable mead, but could use less hot alcohol and more honey and mild oak character and balance. A bit harsh.
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© 2005 Brewtopia Events LLC
