Maple syrup was tasted and judged, And the winner is - you'll find out tomorrow - first time ever for this Best in Show! The three class winners in syrup were all very good. I ended up judging maple products with Hugh Lund but then went to the syrup table for the best in show contest. This was a lot easier than last year when I judged the fancy - hit my limit on drinking syrup. I had a pretty clean pallet going into this and when the six judges all gave two votes to each of the three classes I cast the deciding vote: ________ ! It was an excellent example of this class - one of the best I've had.
8 comments:
I'd make some snarky comment about you being a "maple syrup taster", but as I'm a "certified beer judge", I'll keep my trap shut!
Hmmm Beer judge? Perhaps the Farm Show should have beer as a category next year...
Judging syrup is tough! There's seasonal changes and all sorts of off-flavors to watch out for - most of them quite nasty!
How can I get in on this beer thing?
The Green Mountain Mashers homebrew club, mostly folks in Chittenden County, have an annual competition in May....you could help out and taste things. But beware, syrup has no monopoly on off-flavors!
Please! - How bad can beer be? I tasted some pickles last night that not only won Worst in Show - but Worst In Show EVER! They tasted like they had pickled in battery acid with para-dichlorobenzene (mothballs) with a hint of burnt bi-phenol-A plastic resin. The duration of the after bite suggested Strontium-90 and Tritium. (They were canned in Brattleboro after all!)
Stop by the Agency booth at the Show (great place to bring Linnea)and I can let you try some!
Well, some of the favorite off-flavors are soggy cardboard (oxidation), and phenolic band-aid (bacterial infection). The worst I've had was a beautifully packaged blueberry mead which looked amazing, but caused immediate brain damage. It must have been 50% acetone. And you'll get the occasional celery beer which even if flawless is still a bad idea. We'll come check out the pickles Wed AM.
Hey Dave,
No sign of you at the beekeeper's meeting today... are you a honey judge too?
Nope, no clue about that.
It's a virtual Dave convention! That was Capital D Dave from eatbikenap asking about the bee meeting - which I skipped due to other work.
Judging honey isn't nearly as fun because there is too much variety and the honey MUST be filtered and probably heated and the same guy wins EVERY year in almost every category.
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