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Back in 2006, the Minnesota Home Brewers Association requested the privilege to host the next American Homebrewers Association Club-Only competition for Mead. AHA Coordinator Janis Gross agreed, and we were slated to host the competition in August of 2008. The first Saturday of August coincidentally is the AHA's National "Mead Day", and our club has always celebrated that in a big way. These two events also very neatly coinicided with the Beer Judge Certification Program's announcement that they were initiating a new Mead Judge Certification Exam in the fall of 2008, and our club requested of the BJCP that we be the pilot location for the first such test, and they agreed.
With three such prestigious mead events - we formed a committee and decided to host "MEAD WEEK", and to help us celebrate it to bring in national mead luminaries such as BJCP President and sole Grand Master V judge Gordon Strong, Meadmaker extraordinaire and author of "The Compleat Meadmaker" Ken Schramm, Meadmaker of Iron River, Wisconsin's White Winter Winery Jon Hamilton, and Master Chef of the Happy Gnome Restaurant Matthew Hinman. These, in addition to our own local mead stars 2008 AHA Meadmaker of the Year Steve Piatz, 2007 Meadmaker of the Year Steve Fletty, and 2005 Meadmaker of the Year Curt Stock. Below is our Mead Week agenda. Click on the links to relive some of the glory! This project was also aided financially by a grant from the BJCP. It is hoped that the scoresheets and recipes found within, as well as the descriptions of some of these tastings and events will help you and your local beer/mead club in planning your own events, as well as help in preparation for the BJCP Mead Judge Certification Exam. Enjoy! |
| Tue, July 29 |
MhBA Club Mead Champion Selection Eric and Alyssa Biermann’s home Golden Valley, MN |
| Thu, July 31 |
Six-Course White Winter Mead Pairing Dinner The Happy Gnome St. Paul, MN, 6pm-10pm Special Guests: Matthew Hinman, Chef - Happy Gnome Jon Hamilton, Meadmaker - White Winter Winery Ken Schramm, Author – The Compleat Meadmaker |
| Fri, August 1 |
National Mead Club-Only Competition American Homebrewer’s Association CSPS Hall St. Paul, MN, 5pm-9pm |
| Sat, August 2 |
White Winter Commercial Mead Tasting The Four Firkins St. Louis Park, MN, 10am - Noon Special Guests: Jason Alvey, Owner - The Four Firkins Jon Hamilton, Meadmaker - White Winter Winery Ken Schramm, Author – The Compleat Meadmaker Steve Piatz, 2008 AHA Meadmaker of the Year Steve Fletty, 2007 AHA Meadmaker of the Year Curt Stock, 2005 AHA Meadmaker of the Year |
| Sat, August 2 |
MhBA Mead Day Paul and Betsy Dienhart’s home Minnetonka, MN, 1:30-4:30pm |
| Sun, August 3 |
BJCP Mead Judge Certification Test (first ever!) CSPS Hall St. Paul, MN, 9am-Noon |
| Sun, August 3 |
BJCP Mead Judge Certification Class CSPS Hall St.Paul, MN, 1-3pm Instructors: Gordon Strong, President - BJCP Kris England, Continuing Education Director - BJCP |