Working.
Please stand by. Press Esc to hide.

For an optimal experience and so that all features and functions execute properly, please enable JavaScript to continue using this site. Otherwise, unexpected behavior will occur.

Account Registration

Registration is closed.

Entry Registration

Entry registration is closed.

Top

Rules

This competition is open to all amateur mead makers. If you are a commercial meadmaker, you must enter the commercial competition (https://commercial.valkyrieshorn.com/).

Commercial is defined as anyone that has worked in any production capacity at a commercial meadery (servers and back office employees are excluded) within the past two years prior to the start of judging. Further, anyone that has applied for commercial licensing or rented space for a planned meadery is excluded. Anyone selling or trading "amateur" mead on public or clandestine websites is defined as a commercial maker.

Amateur mead makers must make their mead outside of a commercial setting, and this includes brew-on-premise sites, commercial collaborations, and "wort share" scenarios.

An entrant is one or more people submitting an entry. Entrant(s) of a mead must have actively contributed to mixing, fermenting, and bottling of an entry. If multiple people contributed to the making of a mead only ONE of those individuals may enter that mead. For instance Tom made a mead with co-entrant Bob and entered an Orange Blossom traditional semi sweet. Bob may not enter the same mead as the lead with Tom as a co-entrant. Coordinate your entries so you are not disqualified!

Every entrant must be at least 21 years of age.

THREE bottles are recommended. Please see Entry page for further details (THIS IS IMPORTANT).

There is a limit of 10 entries an entrant may submit.

Entrants, either as primary or as a co-entrant, may submit multiple entries per category, no limit as long as each entry is distinctly different - note co-entrant restrictions above.

To elaborate further:

You may NOT enter the same Riesling Pyment as a dry, and as a semi-sweet mead in the Pyment sub-category (both in the same sub-category).
You MAY enter the same Fireweed Traditional as a dry, and as a semi-sweet mead (different sub-categories).
You MAY enter the Fruit and Spice mead category with a Stinging Nettle and Orange mead and a Stinging Nettle and Pear mead. You probably shouldn't make a mead like that, but nothing's stopping you ;-).

Categories will not be combined (i.e. Braggot and Historical will not be smashed together).
Very large categories may be split by declared sweetness (i.e. Berry or Melomel or Fruit and Spice).

All entries become the property of the Valkyries Horn Mead Competition and will not be returned under any circumstances. Any questions or disputes will be settled by the competition organizers, and all decisions are final.

All mailed entries must be received at the mailing location by the shipping deadline - please allow for shipping time. Package your entries well. Don't be the person that causes a shipper to reject all packages going to the shipping location.

All entries will be picked up from drop-off locations the day of the drop-off deadline.

The official style guidelines for this competition are the 2021 Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) Style Guidelines for Mead, Revision 2021. 

Every entry must be assigned a particular category and sub-category by the entrant, and according to these guidelines.

Competition staff are not permitted to categorize entries that arrive unlabeled, illegible or otherwise indiscernible as to the entry category.

Competition staff (including judges) are not permitted to re-classify or re-categorize incorrectly entered mead.

Please print the label with a laser printer (NOT inkjet). Enclose the label in a ziplock bag, and use a rubber band to attach the label to the barrel of the bottle. You may use clear packing tape or rubber bands to secure the lable to the barrel of the bottle (NOT the neck). The printed label instructions will tell you to tape them to the barrel. Either method is acceptable.

Entries in category M1 (Traditional Mead), M2 (Fruit Mead), M3 (Spiced Mead), and M4 (Specialty Mead), must specify carbonation level.

Entries in sub-category M2 (Other Fruit Melomel), must specify the varieties of fruit used.

Entries in sub-category M3 (Spiced Mead), must specify the types of spices used.

Entries in sub-category M4B (Specialty Mead – Historical) and M4C (Specialty Mead – Experimental), must describe the special nature of the mead, whether it is a combination of existing styles, an experimental mead, a historical mead, etc.

Just because it's something you've never done before does not make a mead experimental. It must be something that can't fit in any of the other categories to be experimental. If you have questions about this, please contact the organizer for clarification at [email protected].

SPECIAL CATEGORY:

Our special category for 2022 is Foraged Ingredients!


Make a mead with ingredients you’ve gathered from the wild. Ingredients must be gathered by you or a co-meadmaker. Commercial purchases and home grown ingredients are not permitted (honey/yeast are the exceptions). NO Mushrooms. No Federally illegal or restricted substances. No harmful ingredients.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Online registration eliminates the need to submit a paper entry form and will automatically generate bottle identification labels. Paper entries will not be accepted. All entries must be entered via the online entry system, and entries are not guaranteed until they are paid for.

The Competition Entry fee is $10.00 per entry. Payment by PayPal is REQUIRED when entering online.

NO REFUNDS FOR ANY REASON.

Your entries are not guaranteed until payment is made.

Any entries not paid when the entry cap is reached will be disqualified.

NOTE: We strongly recommend the use of placeholder entries followed immediately by payment to secure your spot in the competition. If the paid entry cap (350) is reached before your payment is completed, your entries will not be in the competition. You can make changes to the entry information, categories, etc. until the entry deadline is reached.

Mead produced on commercial equipment is not permitted, and any such entries will be disqualified. If you have questions please email us at [email protected].

If you are entering as a home mead maker, you must produce the mead you enter on home mead making equipment in your home, and you may not derive any income in any fashion (including public and clandestine trading sites) from the mead you are making at home.

Winners will be announced at 7pm on Saturday, September 10th live and in-person at the awards ceremony. Volunteers and entrants are welcome to attend IF they are fully vaccinated. Competition results and scoresheets will probably be available by 9am on Sunday September 11th through the internet (although this is not guaranteed). They MIGHT be available shortly after the awards ceremony. Scoresheets will ONLY be available through the competition via download.

Top

BJCP 2021 Judging Styles

If a style's name is hyperlinked, it has specific entry requirements. Select or tap on the name to view the subcategory's requirements.

35A Foraged Ingredients (Custom Style) 36A TEST STYLE FOR MOVING DATA (Custom Style) 37A Berry: Sweet (Custom Style)
38A Melomel: Sweet (Custom Style) 39A Fruit and Spice: Sweet (Custom Style) 40A SHV: Sweet (Custom Style)
41A Experimental: Definitely Sweet (Custom Style) M1A Dry Mead M1B Semi-Sweet Mead
M1C Sweet Mead M2A Cyser M2B Pyment
M2C Berry Mead M2D Stone Fruit Mead M2E Melomel
M3A Fruit and Spice Mead M3B Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Mead M4A Braggot
M4B Historical Mead M4C Experimental Mead  

Top

Number of Bottles Required Per Entry: 3

Judging Sessions and Dates

Prejudging in-person 09/04 (if needed)
Sunday 4 September, 2022 2:00 PM, CDT

Amateur Mead judging NB Headquarters Friday 09/09 3pm
Friday 9 September, 2022 3:00 PM, CDT

Amateur mead judging (NB Headquarters) 9/9 6:00pm
Friday 9 September, 2022 6:00 PM, CDT

Amateur mead judging (NB Headquarters) 9/10 4:30pm
Saturday 10 September, 2022 4:30 AM, CDT

Amateur mead judging (NB Headquarters) 9/10 2:30pm
Saturday 10 September, 2022 7:30 AM, CDT

Amateur mead judging (NB Headquarters) 9/10 12:30pm
Saturday 10 September, 2022 9:00 AM, CDT

Amateur mead judging (NB Headquarters) 9/10 9:30am
Saturday 10 September, 2022 9:30 AM, CDT

Top

Best of Show

Best of Show will receive the Valkyries Horn!

This is a drinking horn with the competition logo, Best Of Show, and year engraved into the surface, along with a horn stand for display.

The Best Of Show winner will be decided by a panel of very experienced judges.

Good Luck!

Top

Awards

INFORMATION FOR AWARDS ATTENDEES AND VOLUNTEERS:

We will be at the Northern Brewer Headquarters in Roseville on Saturday September 10th:

7pm awards

Volunteers and Entrants are encouraged to attend the awards ceremony.

CDC and local government guidelines will apply to in-person attendance at the time of the awards ceremony.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Places will be awarded to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in each category/table, metal medallions and ribbons will be awarded to all placements.

The 1st place entry in each category will advance to the Best of Show (BOS) round with a single, overall Best of Show mead selected.

Additional prizes may be awarded to those winners present at the awards ceremony at the discretion of the competition organizers.

Score sheets should be available for download after the Best of Show and awards announcements by 9 am on Sunday morning but this is NOT guaranteed. They MIGHT be available earlier. Awards will be mailed to winning participants. Scoresheets will ONLY be available on-line through the competition download feature.


Top

Awards Ceremony

Northern Brewer Warehouse
2221 Highway 36 West, Roseville, MN 55113
Saturday 10 September, 2022 7:00 PM, CDT

Top

Circuit Qualification

This competition is part of the American Mead Makers Association - Mead Maker Of The Year.

It is your responsibility to read and agree to the rules for the MMOTY circuit if you choose to enter. Information can be found here:

https://mead-makers.org/national-mead-maker-of-the-year/

Top