Mead I have Known: Golden Delicious

One of my favorite meads to drink is batch 3-004: Golden Delicious. This cyser embodies Autumn for me and is smooth, sweet without being cloying, and oh so tasty with a lovely touch of cinnamon.

In addition, this cyser won silver at the 2010 Cactus Challenge and took less than four months from brew (6.16.07) to bottle (10.6.07)! The only downside to this cyser is that I am almost out and I need to hoard the few remaining bottles in my cellar. Perhaps I need to start a new batch--soon. Here is the recipe; please let me know if you start a batch of your own.

3-004

• 1 gal clover honey
• Apple juice to 5 gal
• 1 lb dark brown sugar
• 1.12 oz apple pie spice
• 1 vanilla bean (secondary)
• 3 tsp yeast nutrient
• 1 pk K1V-1116
• OG: 1.138
• FG: 1.014
• ABV: 17.1%

Wassail!

-Safari Bob

2011 Cactus Challenge Results

The results are in! I did not do as well as I hoped, but at least I won a ribbon:

MEADS
2nd ROBERT SCHAFER
ALE-IAN SOCIETY
LITTLE JOE'S CREAM SODA MEAD

Here is the recipe!
Wassail!

2011 Cactus Challenge

Oh yes! It is time for the 2011 Cactus Challenge where legends are made and dreams are crushed. Hopefully, my dream of a ribbon will not be crushed this year but I have had terrible results overall this competition season. Only the Little Joe's received anything (an Honorable Mention). I really have to step up my game.

This year I am entering 5 meads:

• Black Stone: Dry Mead (24A)


• Autumn Harvest: Cyser (25A)


• Mango Chili: Other Fruit Melomel (25C)


• Yuletide: Metheglin (26A)


• Little Joe's Cream Mead: Open Category Mead (26C)

I'm dipping into the cellar on a couple of these. The Yuletide is the second batch I ever made while the Autumn Harvest is the fourth. Hopefully the aging will help with complexity and bring home some bling!

-Safari Bob

13th Hoppy Halloween Challenge

There is a new (to me) homebrew competition coming up in North Dakota this Halloween: The 13th Hoppy Halloween Challenge!! I have not before entered this competition but it is one of the few that openly encourages mead and cider entries. In addition, they only require two bottles per entry. Also, they award sweet medals!

I think I will enter the prickly pear cyser into The Hoppy Halloween Challenge and see how it does there. I was fortunate to do so well in The Cactus Challenge 2010 and I am curious how the cactus flavored mead will do in the north! Of course I now have to peel off the labels and hope that the glue is not too bad.

This competition is unique in that they have a special Halloween-centric category. I would love to go to see that but I don't think I will enter anything for this. It does look fun, however.

Wassail!

-Safari Bob

Cactus Challenge 2010 Results

Tonight the award winners from the 2010 Cactus Challenge were announced during the award ceremony. Earlier in the day I went to help judge a couple of beer styles and met in person a few of the people from Ale-ian Society (the host of the Cactus Challenge) that I only know from the forum. It is sad, really, as I do live in the same town as these folks. I helped judge the Brown Ales and Fruit Beers entries.

Although I had to leave the judging around 1pm, Nancy and I did make it back for the dinner and awards ceremony and we had a great time. The folks at theAle-ian Society are all good people. We sat with a couple from Plainview, TX and laughed so hard we were crying. They shared with us a wonderful, tasty Jalapeno Ale that they entered (it won 2nd in the Spice/Herb & Vegetable Beers category). Also, we bought 6 raffle tickets for $5 and Nancy won a t-shirt and a $10 gift certificate to a brew shop. Good times.

You may recall that I entered meads into three categories: cyser, traditional, and other. Unfortunately, they did not have enough mead entries to judge in separate categories so they combined all the mead entries into one category. Here are the results:

• First Place: Safari Bob, Mockingbird Alley aka Prickly Pecker (Southwestern Cyser--prickly pear)


• Second Place: Safari Bob, Golden Delicious (Cyser)


• Third Place: Safari Bob, Desert Goat (Traditional)

I was shocked! Of course I thought that maybe I was the only one to enter meads but there were three others submitted (LOL!). So out of 6, I had the best three. Not exactly a big deal but I'll take it!

I was told that the prickly pear made it to the last 7 (of 35) in the Best of Show, however. I suppose they could be pulling my leg; those guys are ornery and the kegs were getting low!

View Cactus Challenge 2010 results here.

Wassail!

-Safari Bob

Cactus Challenge 2010

I have been remiss in not promoting the upcoming Cactus Challenge 2010 that is a homebrew competition conducted by the local brew club Ale-ian Society. This competition is focused on beer but they do have several categories of mead that are judged each year. The best of show wins a belt buckle (YEE-haw! Welcome to Texas!) but I don't think a mead has ever won. In any event, I entered three meads to be judged. This is only the second competition I have entered but I am hoping for at least one ribbon.

First, I entered the southwestern cyser (batch 5-001; OG: 1.170; FG: 1.012; ABV: 21.1%) under the name "Mockingbird Alley" although I have since changed the name. I just recently bottled it so I am curious as to how it will do in that it is still young. Still, it is one of the more unique meads I have made.

I also entered one of my favorite cysers, "Golden Delicious" (batch 3-004; OG: 1.138; FG: 1.014; ABV: 17.1%), that was bottled in October 2007. Frankly, I love this mead and I was loath to part with 36 oz. regardless of any chance to win.

Finally, I entered a dry, spicy hydromel named "Desert Goat" (batch 3-005; OG: 1.060; FG: .992; ABV: 9.2%) that was bottled in September 2007. I enjoy the crisp mouth of this mead and I hope that it may appeal to the beer-quaffers judging pallet!

I would also like to thank Sograte BBQ and Brew, the local homebrew supply store, for lending me the beer top crimper so I could enter. Because of rules for homebrew beer entries, I had to put a gold crimp top which is common for beer but rare for mead (most mazers use a cork). In fact, this is why I have not entered this competition in past years.

Wassail!

-Safari Bob