BJCP 2015 Style Guidelines are up!

[valverij]

The updated 2015 BJCP style guidelines are up. I'm not sure how soon they will be adopted by competitions, but they include a lot of changes for mead:

Style Center: http://www.bjcp.org/stylecenter.php
Direct link to mead guidelines: http://www.bjcp.org/docs/2015_Guidelines_Mead.pdf

There's a lot of shifting categories around, but my favorite change is actually in the introduction:

Under 1. Important Attributes

Special Ingredients. Different styles may include fruit, spice, malt, etc. Judges need to understand the ingredients that provide a unique character in order to properly evaluate the mead. Oak additions do not have to be specified (but may be at the entrant’s discretion); oaking is acceptable in every mead style. Excessive oaking is a fault, just as in wine; any use of oak should be balanced and complimentary. A declared use of oak should not be interpreted as requiring the oak to be a primary flavor.

And under 2. Standard Description for Mead

Ingredients: Mead is made primarily from honey, water and yeast. Some minor adjustments in acidity and tannin can be made with citrus fruits, tea, or chemicals; however, these additives should not be readily discernable in flavor or aroma. Yeast nutrients may be used but should not be detected. Oak aging is allowable in any category as a subtle to noticeable enhancement without causing the mead to be an Experimental Mead; excessive oak is a fault

If I remember correctly, noticeable oaking previously forced it into the "Open Category"

From the 2008 BJCP Guidelines - 2. Common Mead Characteristics

Ingredients: Mead is made primarily from honey, water and yeast. Some minor adjustments in acidity and tannin can be made with citrus fruits, tea, chemicals, or the use of oak aging; however, these additives should not be readily discernable in flavor or aroma. Yeast nutrients may be used but should not be detected. If citrus, tea, or oak additives result in flavor components above a low, background, balance-adjusting level, the resulting mead should be entered appropriately (e.g., as a metheglin or open category mead, not a traditional)