Yep, I'm doing it again, and if you're local enough, you're invited (copied right out of Facebook 
):
If you're a wine lover who has heard of mead but never tried it, now's the time to see what this ancient and elusive beverage has to offer. We'll get together in the early afternoon, sample (and judge) mead throughout the day, and eat a potluck dinner in the evening.
Here's what you need to bring: An appetizer for us to nibble between tastings. A dish for the potluck dinner. And most importantly, a bottle of mead for us to sample and judge.
I suppose you could just go over to Bevmo and pick up a bottle of Chaucers, but I'd much rather you patronize one of the many small meaderies we have in this country. We have two here in Northern California (that I know of) that offer outstanding meads:
Heidrun Meadery: We had a bottle of their sparkling mead over Christmas and it puts the best champagne I've ever had to shame.
Rabbit's Foot Meadery: Not too far from here in Sunnyvale, friendly folks, outstanding mead.
And not so local but still good:
http://www.bnektar.com/r: hailing from Michigan, they have just released a Bourbon Barrel mead that sounds interesting (and lots of other stuff as well!)
Fox Hill: we had a bottle of their buckwheat, and if you like that strong smell and flavor, they do a very good job with it. I'd like to try some of their other meads, too
Redstone Meadery: I love their bottles. If anyone brings this to share, I get to keep the bottle! I haven't tried any of Redstone's mead, but I've heard they're very nice.
There are many other meaderies that you can find with a simple internet search, please feel free to add them in the comments, and thank you for patronizing American craftsmen/women. Or, if you make your own mead, bring some of yours, and the American craftsman/woman we support will be you!
Whatever mead you choose, please give it the hobo treatment, that is, completely cover the entire bottle with a paper bag so we can't tell what is inside the bottle. Tape up the top of the bag around the top of the bottle, leaving only enough room to pull the cork and pour. When you arrive, we'll number the bottles so we can have a more or less random, blind tasting. We'll have score sheets, and everyone will rate the meads just like they do at the Mazer Cup...okay, maybe not JUST like it, as most of us aren't experienced judges. But we'll pretend we are, and score every mead with this scoring sheet. We'll add up all the points and see which mead is the best--hopefully there'll be prizes, if we get our butts in gear to assemble some.
Around 6 PM or so, we'll lay out the potluck and give our livers the chance to metabolize the alcohol in the mead over good food and good talk.
NOTE about the whole drinking and driving thing: we'll be sampling alcohol all afternoon, and we expect that each of you will be smart about not driving if you've had too much. If necessary you can crash on our floor (bring your camping gear!) or we'll be glad to shuttle you to and from one of two hotels that are nearby (Holiday Inn Express or Hilton Garden Inn, links below).
In the comments, please let us know a) what your appetizer will be, b) what your potluck dish will be, c) any other meadery links, d) if you'll want to crash at our place, or e) if you'll want us to shuttle you from one of the hotels (reservations are on you!). Also, if you have any questions, put them in the comments--I can't be expected to think of EVERYTHING!
Another note on Who I Invited: I am inviting those who have either expressed an interest in my mead or those that I know especially enjoy wine. If you know of someone that would also like to enjoy a mead tasting, by all means invite them--I'm not trying to leave anyone out.
Holiday Inn Express Elk Grove
Hilton Garden Inn
):If you're a wine lover who has heard of mead but never tried it, now's the time to see what this ancient and elusive beverage has to offer. We'll get together in the early afternoon, sample (and judge) mead throughout the day, and eat a potluck dinner in the evening.
Here's what you need to bring: An appetizer for us to nibble between tastings. A dish for the potluck dinner. And most importantly, a bottle of mead for us to sample and judge.
I suppose you could just go over to Bevmo and pick up a bottle of Chaucers, but I'd much rather you patronize one of the many small meaderies we have in this country. We have two here in Northern California (that I know of) that offer outstanding meads:
Heidrun Meadery: We had a bottle of their sparkling mead over Christmas and it puts the best champagne I've ever had to shame.
Rabbit's Foot Meadery: Not too far from here in Sunnyvale, friendly folks, outstanding mead.
And not so local but still good:
http://www.bnektar.com/r: hailing from Michigan, they have just released a Bourbon Barrel mead that sounds interesting (and lots of other stuff as well!)
Fox Hill: we had a bottle of their buckwheat, and if you like that strong smell and flavor, they do a very good job with it. I'd like to try some of their other meads, too
Redstone Meadery: I love their bottles. If anyone brings this to share, I get to keep the bottle! I haven't tried any of Redstone's mead, but I've heard they're very nice.
There are many other meaderies that you can find with a simple internet search, please feel free to add them in the comments, and thank you for patronizing American craftsmen/women. Or, if you make your own mead, bring some of yours, and the American craftsman/woman we support will be you!
Whatever mead you choose, please give it the hobo treatment, that is, completely cover the entire bottle with a paper bag so we can't tell what is inside the bottle. Tape up the top of the bag around the top of the bottle, leaving only enough room to pull the cork and pour. When you arrive, we'll number the bottles so we can have a more or less random, blind tasting. We'll have score sheets, and everyone will rate the meads just like they do at the Mazer Cup...okay, maybe not JUST like it, as most of us aren't experienced judges. But we'll pretend we are, and score every mead with this scoring sheet. We'll add up all the points and see which mead is the best--hopefully there'll be prizes, if we get our butts in gear to assemble some.
Around 6 PM or so, we'll lay out the potluck and give our livers the chance to metabolize the alcohol in the mead over good food and good talk.
NOTE about the whole drinking and driving thing: we'll be sampling alcohol all afternoon, and we expect that each of you will be smart about not driving if you've had too much. If necessary you can crash on our floor (bring your camping gear!) or we'll be glad to shuttle you to and from one of two hotels that are nearby (Holiday Inn Express or Hilton Garden Inn, links below).
In the comments, please let us know a) what your appetizer will be, b) what your potluck dish will be, c) any other meadery links, d) if you'll want to crash at our place, or e) if you'll want us to shuttle you from one of the hotels (reservations are on you!). Also, if you have any questions, put them in the comments--I can't be expected to think of EVERYTHING!
Another note on Who I Invited: I am inviting those who have either expressed an interest in my mead or those that I know especially enjoy wine. If you know of someone that would also like to enjoy a mead tasting, by all means invite them--I'm not trying to leave anyone out.
Holiday Inn Express Elk Grove
Hilton Garden Inn
Seriously, it sounds great. Kudos to you for going thru all the trouble to host it. I hope it is a smashing success.
