The Best Meads in the United States Recognized

Mead’s rich history, as well as its current relevance, was on full display at the second annual Mead Crafters Competition, conducted by the National Honey Board. Mead, a honey wine, is believed to be the oldest alcoholic beverage ever produced and has been gaining in popularity as consumers seek alternatives to beer and spirits.

After panels of expert judges evaluated 305 entries, A mead inspired by Japanese plum wine was named Best in Show. Zen Bee Meadery of Columbus, Ohio, took home Best in Show honors for Mara Ume, a session, semi-sweet mead made with plum juices and maraschino cherries. A session mead is carbonated and lower in alcohol than a traditional mead, which has a similar alcohol level as wine.

The judges of the competition were impressed with Mara Ume’s ability to balance the two fruit flavors while still showcasing the essence of honey in the mead. In total, 23 gold medals were awarded at the Mead Crafters Competition in categories ranging from session meads to traditional meads to melomels.

Rounding out the podium for Best in Show was Heidrun Meadery’s Hawaiian Lehua Blossom and Second City Meadery’s Existence is Pain. A design/packaging gold medal also was given to Baltimore’s Charm CIty Meadworks for its Sweet Blossom Mead.

The mead category continues to gain popularity from beer, spirits and wine drinkers looking for something different, and the National Honey Board is proud to host this competition and recognize some of the best in the industry.

The Gold Medal winners of the 2020 Mead Crafters Competition:

2020 Best in Show Winners

Gold Medal: Mara Ume — Zen Bee Meadery, Dublin, Ohio

Silver Medal: Hawaiian Lehua Blossom — Heidrun Meadery, Point Reyes Station, California

Bronze Medal: Existence Is Pain — Second City Meadery, Chicago, Illinois

2020 Gold Medal Recipients

Bracket/Braggot: 10 Penny Lane — GoodRoad CiderWorks, Charlotte, North Carolina

Cyser: Honey de los Muertos — McGee’s Mead LLC, St. Helena, California

Dessert: Blueberry NBCC — Melovino, Vauxhall, New Jersey

Fruit Vegetable Melomel – Dry: Crosswalk — GoodRoad CiderWorks, Charlotte, North Carolina

Fruit Vegetable Melomel – Semi-Sweet: Desire — Moonlight Meadery LLC, Londonderry, New Hampshire

Fruit Vegetable Melomel – Sweet: Peach Mead — Wyldewood Cellars Illinois, St. Joseph, Illinois

Metheglin – Dry: Stigmata — Monks Meadery, Atlanta, Georgia

Metheglin – Semi-Sweet: Mead with Coffee Beans — Bee-Town Mead & Cider, Bluffton, South Carolina

Metheglin – Sweet: Madagascar — Moonlight Meadery LLC, Londonderry, New Hampshire

Pyment: Honey River Pyment — Healthberry Farm, Dry Fork, West Virginia

Session – Dry: Weekend Water — Haymaker Meadery, Perkasie, Pennsylvania

Session – Semi-Sweet: Mara Ume — Zen Bee Meadery, Dublin, Ohio

Session – Sweet: Honey Kwench — White Winter Meadery, Iron River, Wisconsin

Specialty – Dry: Rockin Rye — Haymaker Meadery, Perkasie, Pennsylvania

Specialty – Semi-Sweet: Seven In Dog Years — Black Labs Craft Meadery, Olathe, Kansas

Specialty – Sweet: Existence Is Pain — Second City Meadery, Chicago, Illinois

Traditional – Dry: Sol — Oran Mor Artisan Mead, LLC, Roseburg, Oregon

Traditional – Semi-Sweet: CHAUCER’S Mead — Bargetto Santa Cruz Winery, Soquel, California

Traditional – Sweet: Traditional Mead — Prairie Rose Meadery, Fargo, North Dakota

Varietal – Dry: Hawaiian Lehua Blossom — Point Reyes Station, California

Varietal – Semi-Sweet: Lucerne Blossom — Martin Brothers Winery, Hermann, Missouri

Varietal – Sweet: Red Bamboo — Honeybound Meadery, Tyngsboro, Massachusetts

Design: Sweet Blossom — Charm City Meadworks, Baltimore, Maryland