The 2027 Oxymel Challenge
In the past, you’ve tried to match our mead. This year… Make an Oxymel Mead!
Oxymel is an ancient honey-and-vinegar preparation dating back to the Greek and Roman world. The basic idea is simple: the sweetness of honey meets the acidity of vinegar. This year, we’re bringing that concept to Mead Stampede’s Cattle Battle.
Create a mead that includes a separate bottle of vinegar designed to be added at serving. Get creative! Your vinegar could be a custom cran-apple vinegar, balsamic, fruit-infused, herb-infused, spiced, or something completely unexpected.
The vinegar should transform the mead, creating a complex, balanced drink.
Your entry must include clear mixing instructions. For example:
- Blend 2 mL vinegar per 3 oz pour of mead
- Mix equal parts mead to vinegar
- Add the entire 50 mL bottle to one 12 oz bottle of mead
- etc.
Be sure to include plenty of vinegar in case your oxymel makes it to our Best of Show round! We’ll need enough to add to another bottle of your mead for BOS judging.
To be clear: you must ship three bottles of mead and at least one bottle of vinegar that is enough to dose at least two bottles of your mead.
Make it weird. Make it delicious. Make an Oxymel.
The best combination wins CATTLE BATTLE!