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Got my score card back

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Robusto

Worker Bee
Registered Member
Jun 12, 2011
234
1
18
NJ
So a got my score card back from the Mazers Cup and This being my first competition, i was pleasantly surprised. My tart cherry mead received scores of 37 and 36 with no flaws.

The one thing that I did find a little strange was that the comment boxes on one card were vastly different for some things. Like acidity- one marked L and the other H. A few other differences were honey and the legs.

I really appreciate the fact that one judge wrote a lot of great notes.
 
You should expect to get different comments and reactions back from judges, as their palates, experience, and other things go into how they sense and try to describe your mead. Hopefully it all helps give you useful information, though...
 
Robusto said:
So a got my score card back from the Mazers Cup and This being my first competition, i was pleasantly surprised. My tart cherry mead received scores of 37 and 36 with no flaws.

The one thing that I did find a little strange was that the comment boxes on one card were vastly different for some things. Like acidity- one marked L and the other H. A few other differences were honey and the legs.

I really appreciate the fact that one judge wrote a lot of great notes.
Click to expand...

I don't think it did too bad for a 7 month old mead. Maybe if I have any left over next year I'll submit it again and see if time improves it.

Ps- one judge marked that he would "drink a glass". So that was pretty cool!
 
Really? So what did Robusto learn about what to do with his acid levels? :):) I got my sheets back today and I thought they did a very good job of adding comments and taking their time thinking about each entry, it is not every comp where the judges add so much input, well done GM. WVMJ

skunkboy said:
You should expect to get different comments and reactions back from judges, as their palates, experience, and other things go into how they sense and try to describe your mead. Hopefully it all helps give you useful information, though...
Click to expand...
 
WVM-
I hope that my comment was not taken as criticism of the judges. I was just saying that I found it interesting that two very skilled judges could taste the same thing and be exactly the same on some points, but on some they differed.

I am very thankful for their info.

As far as my acid levels... I don't know. One said they were low and the other high... Maybe I just need to soften them a bit?
 
Robusto said:
WVM-
As far as my acid levels... I don't know. One said they were low and the other high... Maybe I just need to soften them a bit?
Click to expand...

I think it just goes to show a kind of real world touch in the judging, more a reminder: cant please everyone!
taste is pretty subjective, you can alter that stuff based on your instincts, but I'd focus on tightening the clearer points.

A lot of my friends love/hate different meads I've tested on them with wildly diverging comments.
 
Did you see the double smilies:):) The mead I entered had gotten a gold medal in another competition and it got an excellent for the Mazer so I of course thought they did a pretty good job:) If there is such a job as professional mead taster please let me know where I can send my application! If 2 judges said the exact same thing about any wine then you would have to think they were copying from each other or talking to much between themselves to come up with an independent judgement. But in this example I just thought it was funny because how can you take anything away when one says low acid and one says high acid, you just have to know your own mead and what you like and see how tahe notes can help you make a better mead. Of course the judges can be wrong, otherwise I would be drinking from a Mazer cup right now :) Another thing I liked about the Mazer is the judges put their name to their work, not just judge #4, plus some put their contact information down, I hope its so we can email them and talk about how to improve our meads. One suggestion for the Mazer is using 3 judges which seems to be the standard, so in the case we are talking about with the different opinions on the acid level you would probably get 2 on one side of the taste vs 1, or if all 3 were differnt something is not working out right.

WVMJ

Robusto said:
WVM-
I hope that my comment was not taken as criticism of the judges. I was just saying that I found it interesting that two very skilled judges could taste the same thing and be exactly the same on some points, but on some they differed.

I am very thankful for their info.

As far as my acid levels... I don't know. One said they were low and the other high... Maybe I just need to soften them a bit?
Click to expand...
 
3 judges would be nice, but with over 500 meads to judge, that would take a lot more judges, or a couple more days.

The question is less how much acid and more about balance. Did they agree on the balance? They don't always, but if they do, you have something to go on. For example, if it is a sac, then high acid may be appropriate to balance high sweet and high alcohol. So, the first judge may be saying he tastes a lot of acid and that is really ok. While the other judge may taste a high amount, but marked low because he wanted to see even more.

Some check boxes are what is there, be it the right thing it not. Others are for flaws. I think the acid box was for what is there. If there are no comments at the bottom saying needs more/less acid, then be it low or high, the judges agreed it was the right amount for the mead.
 
WVMJack said:
Really? So what did Robusto learn about what to do with his acid levels? :):) I got my sheets back today and I thought they did a very good job of adding comments and taking their time thinking about each entry, it is not every comp where the judges add so much input, well done GM. WVMJ
Click to expand...

He should 'learn' to balance it to his palate, cause judges are going to judge it vs theirs? :)
 
I just got my scores back. Speechless and shaken. Kicking myself for not sending enough mead. Only sent 2 bottles of each since I thought there is no way in hell I could ever place in the competition of this level.
My first ever competition entered. To be honest with you, my batches #4, 5 & 7 of my entire mead making career according to my log book. 3 out of 4 entries pushed to second round. No flaws marked on any of the sheets and only one suggestion on one to use more fruit. Lowest score 35/40 (25C), second lowest 37/38 (25D), followed by 42/45 (25D) and one entry managed to get 47/48 (26C) and offer from one of the judges to contact them and possibly make commercial run of this on their meadery as guest meadmaker.

How much one need to score to get medals?
 
paraordnance said:
I just got my scores back. Speechless and shaken. Kicking myself for not sending enough mead. Only sent 2 bottles of each since I thought there is no way in hell I could ever place in the competition of this level.
My first ever competition entered. To be honest with you, my batches #4, 5 & 7 of my entire mead making career according to my log book. 3 out of 4 entries pushed to second round. No flaws marked on any of the sheets and only one suggestion on one to use more fruit. Lowest score 35/40 (25C), second lowest 37/38 (25D), followed by 42/45 (25D) and one entry managed to get 47/48 (26C) and offer from one of the judges to contact them and possibly make commercial run of this on their meadery as guest meadmaker.

How much one need to score to get medals?
Click to expand...

You and I are in the same boat. New meaders, early batches... By some miracle I got silver in 26C, so I assume you got gold? Mine was a pineapple ginger. What was yours?
 
Altricious said:
You and I are in the same boat. New meaders, early batches... By some miracle I got silver in 26C, so I assume you got gold? Mine was a pineapple ginger. What was yours?
Click to expand...

What was your score on silver? I didn't get any medals. Either 47/48 is not high enough to place or they did not have enough mead in second round. I only sent 2 bottles of each and it said in rules that you must send 3 bottles to be judged for medals.
Clementine/Vanilla Oaked the one that scored 47/48. Funny that one score sheet on that one was: Aroma - 9, Appearance - 6, Flavor - 23, Overall - 9 = 47 but judge marked as 46 for Total. Oh well, this is quite impressive for start anyways.
 
paraordnance said:
What was your score on silver? I didn't get any medals. Either 47/48 is not high enough to place or they did not have enough mead in second round. I only sent 2 bottles of each and it said in rules that you must send 3 bottles to be judged for medals.
Clementine/Vanilla Oaked the one that scored 47/48. Funny that one score sheet on that one was: Aroma - 9, Appearance - 6, Flavor - 23, Overall - 9 = 47 but judge marked as 46 for Total. Oh well, this is quite impressive for start anyways.
Click to expand...

My scores were MUCH lower... 37/38. You really should have sent that extra bottle.
 
I think I've got four bottles of my first shandy sitting around somewhere...I wonder if I should send them in next year...:o This whole thread just has me thinking
 
The Winemakers Magazine Amateur contest, which also has several mead catagories, had over 4500 entries and uses 3 judges. I know that is a lot of work but getting ratings from 3 judges vs 2 evens out the overall impression so you dont have opposite and contradicting judgements like too much acid vs not enough in the same mead. Its costs more to enter, $25/bottle and is a points competition, overall points to reach a certain level of excellence gets a medal no matter how many people have reached that level of excellence.

WVMJ
 
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