LONGMONT, Colo. - s4story -- The S'mores the Merrier from Dragon's Lair Meadery in Lakewood, WA, took home Best of Show honors at the inaugural Mead Crafters Competition. An astounding 344 meads from throughout North America were submitted for the first-ever event hosted by the National Honey Board. Rounding out the Best of Show podium were Ancient Fire Mead & Cider's Sweet Burn Dude! and Lost Cause Meadery's Heavy Meadow.

The S'mores the Merrier advanced to the Best of Show round by winning the "Specialty – Sweet" category. The sweet mead's dynamic flavor profile is derived from the use of meadowfoam honey, which carries a flavor profile similar to roasted marshmallows. The mead also uses cocoa nibs, vanilla beans and a little brown sugar. Combined, these flavors deliver a s'mores-like flavor in an extremely drinkable mead.

The Mead Crafters Competition is BJCP-certified and open to commercial meaderies in the United States. The submitted meads were judged based on their aroma, appearance, flavor, mouthfeel and overall impression.

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"We are thrilled to see so much interest in the Mead Crafters Competition, and we're excited to see the growth of meaderies across North America," Catherine Barry, National Honey Board's director of marketing, says. "We're confident mead is on its way from a niche alcohol category to a mainstream beverage option for consumers. The mead industry is growing, and the National Honey Board is excited to recognize so many amazing meads and meaderies."

For a full list of winners, please visit http://meadcrafterscompetition.com/2019-winners/.

The National Honey Board (NHB) is an industry-funded agriculture promotion group that works to educate consumersabout the benefits and uses for honey and honey products through research, marketing and promotional programs.The Board's work, funded by an assessment on domestic and imported honey, is designed to increase the awarenessand usage of honey by consumers, the foodservice industry and food manufacturers. The ten-member-Board,appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, represents producers (beekeepers), packers, importers and amarketing cooperative.