The Mead Crafters Competition is hosted by the National Honey Board to recognize the best meads in the country and will take place in St. Louis, Missouri over two days in 2023. The judging will be closed to the public.

The National Honey Board believes in having qualified judges of all entries for our competitions. Each flight will have at least one judge trained in mead judging. Awards for the Mead Competition will be awarded on a merit basis by a majority vote. Judges are asked to evaluate the mead in silence until everyone on the panel has finished their evaluation. A moderator records the judges’ votes.

Meads are presented to judges in a blind tasting format. Judging is absolutely anonymous; no mead bottles or cans are visible to the judges at any time until the competition is over. No judge may evaluate a product in which he/she has a stake or ownership. Judging is not based on personal preference, but by product quality.

The judges’ decision is final and awards will not be changed after the judging is finished.