American Mead Makers Association

[AToE]

I do agree, as much as I might join something like this, it would basically just be a donation to what I consider a good cause, Gotmead pretty much has home meadmakers covered in all reality, events. Maybe once you're at a size where you could actually really offer something to local meadmakers all across the country year round you could bring them in, but it seems like out the gate there just simply wouldn't be anything for them - all the things you (Dragonslayer) mentioned would be good ideas, but they all require funding above and beyond the funding needed to even get the thing running, above and beyond the main purposes (in my opinion) of such an organization...

I don't think it's a bad idea to bring in hobby meadmakers, I just don't think it'll happen out the gate.

 

[brian92fs]

I agree that you need to have a clear focus (mission statement) to guide you. This is what you “sell” to potential members when the question is asked, “What’s in it for me”. On that note, It's my feeling that this should be geared toward commercial producers. If there's benefit to the home mead maker, that should be incidental. I say this for two reasons; 1) you can only accomplish so much by yourself and 2) GotMead already provides quite a bit to the home mead maker.

Some suggestions for the purpose of the AMMA, in order of priority

1) Impact federal regulations (in the USA): We've already covered this pretty well with the previous posts.

2) Consumer education: This is something I believe any meadery would agree is needed. The AMMA could be an organization to help educate the consumer on what mead is. How you accomplish this is still a question. To help define you value proposition, you’d probably need as least a few specific plans here.

3) Research: This is where the organization can provide benefits to the home mead maker in addition to the commercial maker. Specifically, an organization can sponsor and promote research done at professional level. Plenty of tests are shared at GotMead, but we have to be honest with ourselves. For the most part, we are amateurs, not professional researchers. A lot has been learned from the home mead maker in the last 20 years or so. What we’ve really learned is that mead behaves different that beer or wine. We can use research done for wines and beer, but it has to be tweaked for use in mead making. It would be great to see a body of professional research developed specifically for mead. This is probably not something you can make much traction on initially. But this could be a long-term goal.

That’s my 2 cents.

 

[Dan McFeeley]

I do agree, as much as I might join something like this, it would basically just be a donation to what I consider a good cause, Gotmead pretty much has home meadmakers covered in all reality, events. Maybe once you're at a size where you could actually really offer something to local meadmakers all across the country year round you could bring them in, but it seems like out the gate there just simply wouldn't be anything for them - all the things you (Dragonslayer) mentioned would be good ideas, but they all require funding above and beyond the funding needed to even get the thing running, above and beyond the main purposes (in my opinion) of such an organization...

I don't think it's a bad idea to bring in hobby meadmakers, I just don't think it'll happen out the gate.

I think it would be a mistake to leave out the home meadmakers. So much of what mead has become in this country was built on the shoulders of home meadmakers. Think of well known names -- Ken Schramm, home meadmaker. Dick Dunn, home meadmaker. Vickie Rowe, home meadmaker. Oskaar, home meadmaker. And more. Our more vocal commercial meadmakers, they started out at home.

Even the late Roger Morse -- he was a home meadmaker, looking for ways to expand the commercial uses for honey.

--

 

[brian92fs]

I think it would be a mistake to leave out the home meadmakers.
--

Do you mean the organization should have a portion of it focused on the home maker and home production? If so, what benefit can it provide that is not already provided by GotMead?

In my comments at least, I am just suggesting to focus on the commercial maker or more specifically commercial production. This does not necessarily exclude the home maker, it just focuses on commercial production. As a home maker, I would still be interested in an organization like this to understand what the industry best practices are.

 

[Dan McFeeley]

Hello brian92fs -- I looked at the times of our postings, you were just a few minutes ahead of me, looks like you were typing and thinking faster than me. I didn't see your post until just now.

I'm not thinking so much of sections or divisions, just a general field of view that includes both commercial production and folk on the home front. You can do both, without drawing lines.

I think my point is still valid -- so much of what is going on in mead today would not have happened without the efforts of the home meadmakers, people who gave their time outside of commitments to job and family, to indulge their passion for meadmaking, making it better, and sharing that with other people. To leave the home front out would be more than a disservice to these people, it would leave a gaping hole in accounts of the progress of mead, and its continuing progress.

Back when were were talking about the International Mead Association, and putting out a newsletter, I took it on and made a first draft. I had an idea that the IMA wasn't going to last, so I named the newsletter "Meod," giving it a name that would carry on past the organization rather than something like "International Mead Association Newsletter".

I still have that first draft, about 30 mb in pdf format, with four articles by Oskaar, Miriam Kresh, and myself. A shame we couldn't have taken it further.

--

 

[Dragonslayer]

I think you're targeting to high, I think you should focus on pros, that's the easy way.

Thanks for the input. All great advice. Just to be clear my primary focus IS on the pros and everything that everyone has suggested in that regard. However, I envision an organization that is open to anyone who chooses to join. I know it seems like I am focusing a great deal on the homebrewers, but only because they are the only ones on this thread engaging in the discussion.

I have also been working on a mass email and snail mail to go out to all the commercial mead makers to solicit their interest. I am already talking with a couple of meaderies about getting this going.

 

[Lyrical Purpose]

Mead: Top 10 Food Trends by Forbes...

Mead: Top 10 Food Trends by Forbes: http://ht.ly/77Hf3 would suggest we really need to move on a Professional Mead Making Association.

It seems that from TTB concerns to consumer education/marketing/creating a lifestyle around mead to technical/research related to production and market there are shared goals and a hot iron.... This will in the long run benefit all those who love mead...

Like the idea of a non-profit structure who could seek grant funding, as well as membership fees, do fundraising, etc... to grow the mead industry on a professional level.

If we could acquire the rights to a former legally organized non-profit and activate it, that would be preferable both in terms of timeline, effort/cost, and potential history of the organization that could be re-tooled/purposed?

Perhaps we could get together a conference call between interested professionals? Or what might be good next steps?

 

[Dragonslayer]

Mead: Top 10 Food Trends by Forbes: http://ht.ly/77Hf3 would suggest we really need to move on a Professional Mead Making Association.

It seems that from TTB concerns to consumer education/marketing/creating a lifestyle around mead to technical/research related to production and market there are shared goals and a hot iron.... This will in the long run benefit all those who love mead...

Like the idea of a non-profit structure who could seek grant funding, as well as membership fees, do fundraising, etc... to grow the mead industry on a professional level.

If we could acquire the rights to a former legally organized non-profit and activate it, that would be preferable both in terms of timeline, effort/cost, and potential history of the organization that could be re-tooled/purposed?

Perhaps we could get together a conference call between interested professionals? Or what might be good next steps?

Thanks for the input. Great idea. My wife and I had the same idea when we "reactivated" the Washington State Cemetery Association. Like the former AMA the old WSCA dissolved when its main driving personality passed away.

Turns out you can't just revive an old organization. The process is exactly the same as creating a new one. The only problem was that after Andy passed all her records were given to the Archives at the U of Washington. This was fine because we had full access to use them but UW retained ownership.

Fortunately in the case of the AMA it is my understanding that all the past records are in the possession of a living person and all the newsletters are posted on this very forum, plus many of the old members are still around so that institutional knowledge is also available.

There are several steps that need to occur next, which I think can be done simultaneously. A conference call is a good idea, but who to invite? Brad Dalhofer has suggested we create a Google Groups site, which is open to anyone who wants to participate. I think this is a great idea. It will have a perpetual existence which a conference call doesn't, plus it allows multiple dialog and it is real time unlike this forum.

The other thing that needs to happen, sooner rather than later is incorporation. I already have the paperwork for that and nonprofit status. Just waiting for 4 or five Corporate Memberships to make that happen.

We also need to start getting the word out. Since not every mead maker is a member of this forum I have compiled a list of email addresses for all known mead maker and drafted a letter of introduction and invitation for membership, which I hope to get out in the next day or two. I have also done a second email that is aimed at all the companies that support the industry such as apiaries.

We don't have to do everything all at once, but the journey of a thousands miles begins with but a single step. I am excited to see so many who are ready to join me on this journey.

 

[cayo hueso]

While I am very new to this forum I have read this thread with great interest and would like to just make a couple of points. I also agree that a national unified front is a very logical and necessary step in the promotion of a mead industry in this country. I think that it should be inclusive of both home mead makers, but spearheaded by professionals whose livelihood depends on the advancement of the cause.

Some people have asked on this thread "what's in it for me". I think this can be a very difficult question to answer. At the end of the day, some people are 'joiners' and others aren't. As a person who got started in the home brewing world I find the AHA and zymurgy magazine both a great source of knowledge. Furthermore when you look at what the AHA has done for the craft beer industry it is impossible to deny that even the most casual home brewer has benefited greatly from its existence. Do I get a ton out of being a member of that organization? Maybe not on a day to day basis, but I take pride in being a member of a group that has done so much for the hobby I love.

I think that promoting awareness is one of the most vital and pressing issues for the mead industry today. Beyond labeling or anything else. One of the biggest reasons distributors are hesitant to take on mead is because of the lack of knowledge in the general drinking public. They are cautious people thinking about the bottom line, and they can't afford to have pallets of mead sitting in their warehouse because bars/stores/whatever are hesitant to stock it.

I am a professional alpaca shearer by trade, a niche industry if their ever was one. Several years ago the Alpaca Owners and Breeders Association (AOBA) had a national promotional campaign. That campaign did more for the industry than anything in 25 years and as a result the industry exploded. Once their was more owners and a more powerful lobbying group, the organization then successfully lobbied to have alpacas legally classified as livestock and for farms to benefit from the tax advantages that come with that. Change followed growth. If you want to grow a market, then people have to know a market exists.

Of course a national campaign would be extremely ambitious for a start up organization, but I feel making inroads towards raising consumer awareness should be THE top priority of this organization

 

[Smarrikåka]

Regarding lobbying for the braggot issue:
Last weekend Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences winner Thomas J. Sargent tried our braggot, and he loved it a greatly. I told him briefly about the issue with braggots in the US. Maybe he can be convinced to model the economic implications of legislation benefiting braggots? Since that's the kind of thing he won an award for.

 

[Dragonslayer]

Regarding lobbying for the braggot issue:
Last weekend Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences winner Thomas J. Sargent tried our braggot, and he loved it a greatly. I told him briefly about the issue with braggots in the US. Maybe he can be convinced to model the economic implications of legislation benefiting braggots? Since that's the kind of thing he won an award for.

Great endorsement! I am never one to turn down an opportunity. How do we contact him?

On a different but related issue, I have done some work on the temporary webpage. Added a set of Bylaws for folks to consider and an interactive list of all the US Meadmakers I could identify. Feedback is appreciated. This is a new domain in case anyone has saved the old one. http://knightbachelor.net/meadmakersassn.htm

 

[ken_schramm]

I think the people who are asking "what's in it for me?" would be well served to have a look at the Brewers Association and what it has done for the state of beer in this country, and then ask themselves if they want a similar future for mead. Everyone who likes craft beer has collected dividends from the existence of that association.

The AHA and the BA have created a community. The chance to gather together non-virtually creates a palpable body of goodwill and a huge impetus for the expansion of knowledge and experience. The meadmakers who have benefited from my book have already collected on the "what's in it for me" question by taking advantage of the association's ability to marshal a publishing arm. I, for one, love the chance to meet up with the AHA members and the organization staff who attend the conference each year. We all learn something at the conference every time we attend, and that goes for the most experienced brewers and mead makers, and the least. The challenge of presenting at the conference has driven me to perform research the results of which are posted here.

That community has grown very powerful, and has devoted adherents whose expertise and influence are felt in Washington and in state capitols across the country. There are lawyers in the AHA who are giants in the field, and some of them helped build that influence in the AHA's early years. Ask not what your Association can do for you, ask what you can do for your Association, to paraphrase a smart guy, and the chain reaction will take care of making your life as a meadmaker better. Imagine the power of an association as successful as the Brewers Association unleashed on the challenges we face as a fledgling hobby and industry. Merely the existence of an organization with X-many thousand members commands some gravitas when you walk into an office in DC.

Communities like that create critical mass and momentum for things like mead making. Just the database of mead lovers would be a hugely valuable tool to the hobby.

My two cents.

 

[TheAlchemist]

You tell 'em, Ken!
I had hoped to glean some of the benefits of which you speak at Mazer's Cup, but I'm not sure it's shaping up to be much of a community builder this year...

 

[ken_schramm]

You tell 'em, Ken!
I had hoped to glean some of the benefits of which you speak at Mazer's Cup, but I'm not sure it's shaping up to be much of a community builder this year...

How so? It sounds like there will be a pretty big collection of folks whose elbows you can rub and whose brains you can pick. Community is what you make of it. Speaking for myself, a huge part of mead is getting to break bread and have a drink with people I know and love, or want to get to know. I get far too few chances to have a drink with Vicki, Pete, Wayne...

 

[Penguinetti]

Not so sure, from the Rio Grande to the south, with no ofense, you're known as Greengos

I was going to correct this, then I realized you would know better. I killed the joke for myself

mi espanola no es muy buena
puedo especie de que hablar

Actually, your instinct was right, I just wrote in that way because of the word Gringo origin. You all know that we call you Gringos. Well this word didn't exist 200 years ago. But when Texas became part of of the US started a war between the US and Mexico, and mexicans shouted:

Green Go Home and a little bit later in that same war just Green Go

Why green? Because the uniform that the US troops wore was green. And that's the origin of the word "Gringo - Green Go". Right now we use gringo as a kindly reference of US citizens.

It's no the same with the word "Yankee" ... oh yes ... it isn't a kindly reference.

Saludos,

I know in Spain they call English speakers "ghiris" {Ghee-Rhees} And people from Central/South America "Champis". But those are basically still derogatory, I think. Or, at least, from they way it sounded.

You tell 'em, Ken!
I had hoped to glean some of the benefits of which you speak at Mazer's Cup, but I'm not sure it's shaping up to be much of a community builder this year...

Also, in terms of the Mazers Cup, where/when/what is it?

 

[Chevette Girl]

Also, in terms of the Mazers Cup, where/when/what is it?

Oskaar put up all the info here yesterday

 

[Penguinetti]

Oskaar put up all the info here yesterday

:blush:

yea, I noticed that just before i read this.



...sorry.

 

[TheAlchemist]

How so? It sounds like there will be a pretty big collection of folks whose elbows you can rub and whose brains you can pick. Community is what you make of it. Speaking for myself, a huge part of mead is getting to break bread and have a drink with people I know and love, or want to get to know. I get far too few chances to have a drink with Vicki, Pete, Wayne...

I was disappointed to learn that there will not be a public dinner this year. I've never been to the MC so I guess I just don't know what to expect, but I had thought that the public dinner is where all the raising of cups and rubbing of elbows goes on...Is the event itself open to the public? I am planning to come this year if there is room for me as a volunteer...

 

[skunkboy]

I was disappointed to learn that there will not be a public dinner this year. I've never been to the MC so I guess I just don't know what to expect, but I had thought that the public dinner is where all the raising of cups and rubbing of elbows goes on...Is the event itself open to the public? I am planning to come this year if there is room for me as a volunteer...

You should check the mazer cup website, there is a form to fill out if you want to volunteer.

 

[TheAlchemist]

You should check the mazer cup website, there is a form to fill out if you want to volunteer.

Done. Haven't heard back yet, though.