Your Home Governing Committee is here to help!
As the elected members of the home mead making committee of the AMMA, we’d like to take a moment to remind our membership that there are a number of ways to use the people on this committee.
Educational Services. Many of the members of the committee have much experience educating and running classes on mead making, mead education, and judge training. Homebrew shops, mead retailers, and commercial meaderies looking to host or hold events can contact us to set up a class or series of classes to hold at your facility.
Event Promotion. Hosting an event and looking to spread the word? Reach out to the committee members and we can help promote your event.
Mead Competitions. We are committed to helping mead competitions. Personally reaching out to find judges, stewards, and other volunteers is just one of the ways we can help your competition. The home governing committee wants to help grow the size of mead competitions globally and assist in maintaining quality judging.
Festivals. As home mead makers we have much experience serving meads at festivals to the public. Looking to expand the mead presence at a given festival and need knowledgeable pourers? Our board members could help serve mead at your festival and help organize other volunteers.
The Home Governing Committee By-laws can be found here: Link
Kevin Meintsma
I started making mead in 2017 with the exception of one Eastern Buckwheat methyglin that was “drinkable” but not good. My mead making has been focused on process and technique more than ingredients or yeast. Almost all of the medals and best of shows I’ve received have used “generic” ingredients and very prosaic yeast choices. Process and Technique continue to be major focus areas for me as I now shift toward the use of varietal honey and more exotic ingredients. My interest area and emphasis for the AMMA is to explore techniques and provide education that can be easily referenced and used by members.
Thirty five years in Information Technology from programmer to systems architect and project manager. Former owner of two small businesses.
Bill Boyer
Back in 2010, Bill started brewing with a Mr. Beer Kit and rapidly upgraded to doing all grain brewing. Knowing his wife was not a fan of hops but loved sweet ciders, he started exploring meads & ciders. In 2020, he started expanding his meads & ciders, not only because the shelf life was longer but also because no one was around to drink his beer (Damn COVID). With an abundance of mead & ciders cluttering up his basement, he’s branched out from the local homebrew competitions and started submitting to nationwide ones, having won more than 400 awards since 2021. Bill is active member of the North Georgia Malt Monkeys, Marietta Association of Schoolhouse Homebrewers (MASH), Organizer of the North Georgia Homebrew Competition and runs the Mead & Cider Makers & Tasters group in the Atlanta Area.
Chris Zust
My brewing and fermentation journey first started with fruit wines, but due to the influence of some friends, I started brewing mead about 5 years ago. Since then, it has blossomed into a significant hobby and I have enjoyed crafting a variety of mead styles (as well as tasting other people’s creations!). I have enjoyed being a part of the American Mead Maker’s Association for several years, and have greatly appreciated getting to meet other like-minded people at the East Coast Mead Conference which has inspired me to branch out even further in my own brewing journey. I would welcome the opportunity to help support other home brewers in this small (but growing!) hobby/obsession by helping with the Home Governing Committee (HGC), and continue to meet other people with enthusiasm for this hobby while supporting other home brewers and spreading the knowledge and passion of mead making. I have enjoyed attending the mead matters programs and have felt them to be valuable, and would appreciate the opportunity to assist with these programs put forth by the HGC.
I am a neurologist by occupation, and currently live with my wife (also a neurologist) and four (yes, four!) cats in Florence, South Carolina. When I am not brewing, I am a big lover of the outdoors and enjoy hiking and other outdoor activities.
I have typically focused on traditional and fruited meads, but after being exposed to a variety of styles in this hobby, I have since broadened to a variety of other styles.
Kyle Ducharme
My name is Kyle Ducharme from Vermont. I have been making mead since 2019 and have been active in the competitive mead making scene. I became a certified BJCP mead and beer judge to sharpen my skills and help the community. I try to judge in my northeast region as often as possible. I also travel out of the region at least once a year to broaden my horizons in the mead world. My most recent mead challenge is to educate those in my local homebrew club and to come up with better ways to share the appreciation and crafting of mead.
My mead making largely focuses around foraging and working with local farmers to harvest the freshest and best fruit I can for mead making. I also like exploring honey varietals as well.
Jonathan Zybala
I am a family man and a Geologist who enjoys people, nature, art, science, philosophy, and anything that pertains to fermentation – process & products with all the associated textures, colors, aromas & flavors. I made my first Mead in 2018 and have been smitten ever since. Mead is by far my favorite of all fermented beverages for its sugar source (bees!), history, versatility & nuances. Mead is one of the easiest, most flexible, rewarding, and fun of all the fermented foods I have experienced making at home and enjoy sharing with my friends and family. My passion for making and enjoying Mead brought me to the AMMA and I am grateful to be able to serve on the Home Governing Committee.
Amy Olsen
My name is Amy Olsen. I’m a Chef/Teacher by day & a mead maker by night. I’ve been making mead for about 6 years. During that time, I have tried to learn as much as I can and improve my skills. I’ve attended 2 UC Davis courses, numerous workshops and dove into the competition circuit, where I have been pretty successful. In my limited experience, I have won 3 BOS, 1 ProAm, 3 AHA 1 st round ribbons, over 50 assorted medals and 7 Mazer Cups. I have also become a BJCP Mead judge and judge as often as possible. I try hard to take advice from those much more experienced than myself and putting their wisdom into practice has yielded some wonderful results. I’m eager to continue learning and share my knowledge with others.
Arthur Franke
Arthur Franke is a home mead maker from northern New Jersey, where he is a member of the Bergen County Brew Crew and Northern NJ Mead Makers homebrew clubs. He has been brewing since 2011 and making mead since 2013. His brews have medaled in the NJ State Fair, NYC’s Homebrew Alley, and other regional competitions. He is passionate about exploring mead terroir, novel mead flavor profiles, and open recipe sharing.
Tim Leber
I have been making mead, cider, wine, and beer since 1991, but consider myself a mead maker first. I am very passionate to learn about the hobby and share what I know with other mead makers. I have made several appearances on Basic Brewing Radio over years discussing various mead making experiments to share my knowledge of mead making. I am a BJPC National Beer Judge, a Mead Judge, and a Cider judge. I also proctor BJCP exams and work as a grader. I have organized many homebrew competitions over the years and was the Judge Coordinator for the Seattle NHC Round 1 for over five years.
I have experience running volunteer organizations. I have been an officer of homebrew clubs and other service organizations. I was president of my homeowner’s association for several years and restructured our budget to provide more services and create a cash reserve without increasing the assessment. I have a strong background in planning and data analysis. Skills that I feel would be very useful as the AMMA grows into a larger organization.
Jason Elder
“I have been homebrewing in Kansas City since 2010 and started making Mead and Cider in 2016. I wanted to broaden my brewing experience and found that my love for making mead was higher than for making beer and have won awards at several competitions such as NHC and Mazer Cup. I’m considered the “Honey person” for Kansas City as I have over a 2000lbs of honey in storage and about 110 different varieties. I love talking and drinking anything mead and enjoy mentoring people that are new to mead and are interested in making it for themselves. I am a BJCP Judge in Beer, Mead and Cider and am also a proctor for Cider exams.
I was President of the Kansas City Bier Meisters for 2 years as well as an officer on their board for 2 years before that. I have also been the First Round site organizer here in Kansas City for the past 5 years as well as part of the Mazer Cup staff for the past 2 years. I believe that I bring a unique perspective from my experience and knowledge along with a flair from the Plains!”