The best thing you can do when you encounter good or bad mead ANYWHERE is to point it out to whoever is selling it. Then make a note of the meadery name and tell them, then post it up here in the Commercial Mead Review section.
That being said, I don't mean for you to be a$$h0l3$ about it if it's bad, or overly generous if its good, but it needs to be pointed out in a concise, specific, accurate and non-offensive manner.
The format is pretty simple:
Appearance - color, clarity, etc
Aroma - honey, floral, alcohol, acid, etc
Flavor - sweet, honey, apple, peach, citrus, oaked, oxidized, etc
Mouthfeel - body, fullness, viscosity, finish, crisp, hot, furry, young, old, etc
Overall impression - how it all came together, or didn't, and the shades of gray in between, was it worth the price, would you buy another, would you drink a whole bottle, etc.
I get a lot of people that say "Well, I don't know how to write these things and describe them." I say neither did I when I started, but I did it anyway because someone needed to say something. Worse comes to worse, post up the review and ask for help in descriptors. There are plenty of folks here who can help including me. I'm kind of shy about expressing my opinion but if you ask nicely I will probably help!
The other thing that is VERY important is to be sure to include the name and location of the meadery, the name and location of where you tasted it, and as much other demographic, company and venue information as you can get.
It's been my experience that there are a metric f#ck-load of people who are willing to complain about commercial mead, but when it comes right down to it most are unwilling to put in a little effort to get the ball rolling and nudge the ones who produce low-quality mead into producing better. The other part of this is when you get a resource like Got Mead constructively and consistently calling out producers who are peddling low-quality mead, the rest of the industry and the buying public stand up and take notice.
Again, this must be done in an organized, honest and un-offensive manner. The first review I see that is just hurling insults will earn the poster some time in the penalty box.
Cheers,
Oskaar
