Mazer Cup International 2011

Allen Brown · Feb 25, 2011

If entering a Chocolate Mead...

Would it be in the traditional, or spiced category?

I would assume spiced, but I want to be sure.

Thanks!

wayneb · Feb 25, 2011

Definitely not traditional, as traditional is reserved for meads that are honey, water, yeast (and optional nutrients) ONLY. The only point of contention might be whether it goes into category 26A (Metheglin) or 26C (Open Category). If cacao/cocoa/chocolate is the only additional ingredient, then 26A would be appropriate. Although chocolate is not universally regarded as an herb or spice, there is precedent for considering it as such in a mead, since chocolate adjuncts in beer would generally place the beer in BJCP Category 21 (Spice, Herb, Vegetable Beer), and the full guideline description of 26A says that chocolate is permitted. If there are other ingredients (besides the chocolate and honey) that influence the flavor profile in a noticeable way, then Category 26C is the appropriate place.

Bottom line is that any "weirdomel" that doesn't seem to fit completely into one of the other mead categories, should go in the Open Mead category.

wildoates · Feb 25, 2011

wayneb said:
Glad you saw it before I did, Oskaar, or I might have had to disqualify myself from judging those categories.

Seriously, we take that kind of thing very seriously at the Mazer Cup event. In order to preserve absolute anonymity, once the meads arrive here at my place, I will unpack them, but other folks will sort and tag the bottles with random numbers, so that I can't see what numbers go with what meads. We have to preserve the integrity of our judge pool.

You ought to have someone like me judge, then...because no way would I even remember 30 seconds later.

??? Did I open that box? Whose entry was it? What's my name again?!

Heh

Dragonslayer · Feb 27, 2011

TheAlchemist said:
Brilliant!

I should try this...but I don't have any beer bottles...plus, how am I gonna cap 'em? I only have a corker.

I always set aside a case of 750's from every batch for competitions. If it is a small batch (less than 10 gallons) I bottle the remainder in hoch splits. I have a bad habit of being very generous with family and friends. My best critics.

Last year I did a collaboration braggot with some beer making friends. We bottled it in 22 oz brown bottles. We will be shipping a few samples in the next week.

AToE · Mar 7, 2011

I have 2 questions, one I feel dumb asking, the other I don't.

Feel dumb asking: are the paired tasting tickets mailed out or is my name just on a list? I half remember it was supposed to be mailed, but I can't find any info for or against that idea on the Mazer Cup site, and I ordered mine a month ago. As long as there's a list somewhere with my name on it I'm not concerned though.

Don't feel so dumb asking: Are volunteer confirmations supposed to have been sent out already or is this still in the works? I don't mean to be annoying about this, I just want to make sure I wasn't missed somehow! Don't want to show up there and not have tasks to do.

wayneb · Mar 7, 2011

Paired Tasting tix are will-call, to be picked up at the door. That way you don't have to worry about losing them! All you'll need is an ID with your picture on it to pick them up.

As far as volunteer notifications, they went out earlier today. I don't see your name on the list of volunteers - did you fill out the volunteer online form? If not, no worries, we still have openings so you can do it now.

AToE · Mar 7, 2011

Ha, guess I had good timing on that question then. I definitely did fill out the online form, but if something went wrong I can do it again right now.

AToE · Mar 7, 2011

Ok, I resent the form. I think what might have happened last time is that I didn't fill out the experience box (because I don't have any special experience) and I probably didn't realize it was asking me to go back and fill that out.

akueck · Mar 8, 2011

Sweet, three more weeks to mead. I should figure out what bottles I am bringing.

AToE · Mar 8, 2011

Me too, I also have to figure out how best to pack it for my checked baggage.

danidiver · Mar 8, 2011

Twelve bottle wine shipping boxes (the ones with the syrofoam inserts) can be checked as baggage. They protect the bottles from the baggage apes AND keep the contents at a fairly stable temperature.

This is how my husband and I have traveled with wine/beer/mead for the last 8 years. In the US TSA will look inside and leave you a nice love note but we've never lost a bottle of commercial or homebrew (fingers crossed).

Cheers!

Dani

AToE · Mar 9, 2011

Thanks! I've never seen those, I might have to ask around at the liqour stores.

wayneb · Mar 9, 2011

I personally like these: http://www.uline.com/Product/Detail/S-6518/Wine-Shippers/Wine-Bottle-Shippers-12-Bottle-Pack

I don't know if ULINE has a Canadian distribution point, though. Something similar, if you can find it locally, will work fine.

AToE · Mar 9, 2011

Nice. I might only bring a few 750ml's and a couple beer bottles worth though, so I'm considering just finding a rigid case that will fit into my luggage that I can fill with soft packing material (ie: my clothes, 2 birds, 1 stone!).

We'll see. I might also declare it as fragile, then it'll be handled a little better and they at least won't be as surprised when they see bottles in it on the x-ray.

Chevette Girl · Mar 9, 2011

Wayne, thanks for the link, uline does have a Canadian distribution setup. That'll be good info for the chocolate group brew!

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Mazer Cup International 2011

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