Local and a couple out-of-town mead makers went toe-to-toe May 12 in the first Goblets of Gold competition sponsored by Homer's own Ring of Fire Meadery and the Q&Q Brewer's Guild, an American Homebrewer's Association registered brew club. More than 30 entries were evaluated by 12 judges specially trained for their role by Ring of Fire owner Laurence Livingston.
"I was extremely pleased with the high overall quality of our local homebrewed meads. There was a great mix of local berry meads, exotic flavored meads and traditional meads," Livingston said.
The contest was announced in January, giving brewers an opportunity to create an entry.
"Making mead is usually in between a beer and a wine schedule. It doesn't take as long as wine, years and years, but it's not a month or so like beer. Most are ready in a year," he said.
What were submitted for judging were samples as old as seven years and others that had been made within the last couple of months.
"Both were good," Livingston said.
Prizes for winning entries were donated by Ring of Fire Meadery, Ashore Water Taxi, The Brew Shop, Arctic Brewing Supply and Homer Brewing Company. Rising to the top with their mead-making talent were:
* Best of show: First place, Severine Abrahamson, sparkling red currant melomel; second place, John Trapp, sweet traditional mead; third place, Lasee Holmes and William Miller, dandelion metheglin
* Traditional mead: First place, John Trapp; second place, William Miller; third place, Lasse Holmes.
* Local fruit melomel: First place, Severine Abrahamson; second place, John Trapp; third place, Josh Onion.
* Other fruit melomel: First place, Sean Cullerton; second place, Alida Dunning; third place, Victor Evans and Sean Cullerton; honorable mention, Alida Dunning.
* Metheglin (spice and herb meads): first place, Lasse Holmes and William Miller; second place, Jonas Akers.
* Open category mead: First place, Victor Evans; second place, Harley-David Stephensen; third place, Jonas Akers.
The next event scheduled for Ring of Fire Meadery is "Meads, Cheeses and Films," 8:30 p.m. June 1. In addition to featuring high-end imported cheeses paired with two or three Ring of Fire meads, the evening also includes kayak films shown in the meadery's "Magma Chamber." It is part of the Kachemak Bay Sea Festival, two weeks of activities scheduled for May 25-June 3. For more information on Sea Festival, visit the Web at www.kbayseafest.org.
McKibben Jackinsky can be reached at mckibben.jackinsky@homernews.com.
