Mead Maker of the Year:

Besides ULTIMATE bragging rights for the year, the winner of the MMOTY award wins a glorious trophy worthy of displaying. Prizes for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place will be determined by the end of the calendar year.

Points will be awarded as follows:

Gold medals awarded 6 points
Silver medals awarded 4 points
Bronze medals awarded 2 points
BOS awarded 4 points (only first place)

In the event of a tie, we will use the total amount of 1st place medals.

*Entrants must be an active AMMA member at the completion of each competition in order for those points to qualify towards the MMOTY award.

Trophies are awarded to all 3 mead makers.

The 2025 Mead Maker of the Year (Top 3):

Bill Boyer (76 points)
Nathan Steigman (56 points)
Allen Martin (42 points)

The 2024 Mead Maker of the Year (Top 3):

Steve Fletty (96 points)
Kyle Ducharme (90 points)
Michael Harper (78 points)

Entrants get 6 points for 1st, 4 for 2nd, 2 for 3rd, and 4 for a BOS in each participating competition.

Michael	Harper	18
Richard	Furlong	14
Sergio	Quevedo	10
Eric	Martin	10
Bill	Boyer	8
Robert	Critten	6
Daniel	Kukuk	6
Kevin	Meintsma	6
Amy	Olsen	6
Kevin	Rocktaschel	6
Ryan	Vigne	6

2026 Circuit Competitions will be (TBD – invitations are out to the comp organizers):

Domras Cup – February 7, 2026. Completed.
Valkyries Horn – March 20/21, 2026.
Mead Me In Saint Louis – September TBD.
Michigan Mead Cup – Date TBD.
California Homebrew Competition – Date TBD

Get your fermenters ready! Do you have what it takes to win the race?

AMMA Mead Maker Of the Year Circuit

The program will be operated as follows:

All included competitions will be expected to meet the standards and requirements listed below.
The three largest domestic mead only competitions meeting all requirements will be offered a spot on the circuit.
Up to two “wild card” competitions will be offered spots on a rotating basis each year to promote regional diversity.

Standards and requirements:

To be included for consideration, the competition must be established for a minimum of one year before the start of the new circuit calendar year.
If an established competition on the circuit fails to meet the standards and requirements, or is cancelled for any reason, it will be placed on probationary status for a minimum of one additional year. It will be considered for inclusion when it demonstrates it can meet the expected requirements.
Must offer a Best Of Show for mead or publish the top mead in the competition when it’s a combined competition (i.e. Beer + Mead + Cider).
Each flight should include at least one BJCP endorsed mead judge, or other qualified mead industry judge.
The BOS panel must include at least one BJCP endorsed mead judge.
Participation in the competition must be open to all AMMA amateur members without any additional requirements.
Competitions must follow BJCP guidelines and be sanctioned by the BJCP organization.
ALL medals must be awarded for any declared categories/sub-categories unless scores are 29 or below (BJCP “good” standard) and the evaluation must reflect the problematic nature of the mead.
Special categories that restrict participation or include other barriers to participation will not be included in the points count for the MMOTY circuit.

Differentiating factors:

Quality of judging.
Quality of organization (timeliness, communication, awards, etc.).
Location (regional diversity, quality and experience of the judging pool).
Size (total entries, number of sub-categories, ability to retain all defined sub-categories without combining).
Rotating BOS judges (3 or more) to avoid predictable bias.

Organizing Recommendations:

If possible, subcategories with 8 or more entries should be kept intact for medals.
Large subcategories – When a subcategory has many entries, increasing granularity based on sweetness levels before delivery dates start improves tactical decision making for circuit participants.
- For example; Stone Fruit – 24 entries total. 16 Sweet, 4 Semi-Sweet, 4 Dry.
  - Create “Sweet Stone Fruit” as one medal category, and “Semi-Sweet/Dry Stone Fruit” as another.

If for some reason, an eligible competition is not able to be part of the circuit, the team will offer the open slot to another competition that is capable of meeting the standards and requirements defined above. This may include a competition that combines mead with other beverages.

Decisions will be evaluated annually by the Home Governing Committee to determine if there are beneficial changes needed for the program.

Amateur Mead Maker Definition:

Note: This applies solely to accumulation of points toward the AMMA Mead Maker of the Year award, and does not restrict participation with individual competitions.

An amateur mead maker is defined as an individual who:

Creates mead competition entries outside of a commercial setting, which may include but is not limited to equipment used in a commercial setting and/or brew-on-premise facilities.
Does not engage in marketing, advertising, promotion, sales, bartering, or raffling of mead that they made.
Produces mead solely for personal enjoyment, experimentation, or hobbyist purposes.
Does not repackage commercial products as self-produced items.
Is not employed, or was not employed, in any role directly related to the production of alcoholic beverages, including brewing, fermentation management, yeast handling, etc., at a commercial brewery, cidery, winery, distillery, or meadery*.
You are not an amateur if you have applied for or been granted a TTB license to produce alcoholic beverages.

*Note: Individuals working in non-production roles at an alcoholic beverage facility (e.g., packaging, serving, kitchen, janitorial, marketing, sales, etc.) are generally permitted to enter competitions as amateur mead makers.

FAQ:

For the purposes of the AMMA Amateur Mead Maker of the Year (MMOTY) Circuit:

Q: If I was a professional meadmaker, brewer, cider maker (etc.) can I compete as an amateur?
A: No. Once a professional, always a professional.

Q: Can I pour at a fund raising event?
A: You may pour as a homebrewer. Once you have met any of the criteria detailed above, you have lost your amateur status.

Q: Can I give my mead away?
A: Yes, if you receive no compensation of any kind (see #2 for some examples).

Q: Can I participate in a Pro-Am or Commercial Collaboration without losing amateur status?
A: Yes, if you are not receiving monetary compensation, and it is under your personal name (i.e. not as a business or in-planning).

Q: What If a circuit competition allows participants that fall outside of the AMMA amateur definition?
A: The AMMA HGC as an organization does not manage any of the circuit competitions. You must follow the participation rules established for each individual competition. But points accrued toward the AMMA MMOTY will only be awarded if you meet the criteria established by the AMMA.

Q: Can I “CosPlay” my “brand”?
A: Yes, if you meet the criteria above.

Q: What about the Brewtubers?
A: Producing content, providing education about mead or mead making does not remove amateur status subject to the criteria above.

Q: What if I’m dreaming of owning a meadery and I register the name to protect it?
A: You do not lose amateur status if you meet the criteria above.

Follow on Instagram