From the Beer Writer: West Coaster is all about San Diego beer. As such, I’ve been reluctant to delve too deeply into local businesses producing other fermented beverages, such as cider, mead and sake. (Feel free to check out our affiliate publication San Diego Beverage Times for info on those adult potables.) But sometimes a beverage is of such quality that it merits crossover coverage. This is certainly the case with Devilish Grin, a stellar new-wave mead from Miralani District newcomers Lost Cause Meadery that recently earned a silver medal at the Mazer Cup International Mead Competition. To put this in perspective for ale enthusiasts, in the mead world, the Mazer Cup competition is the equivalent of the brewing industry’s Olympics, the World Beer Cup. In short, this is a big deal, especially for a business that soft opened in November. For many, tackling a new beverage is an iffy proposition. With so many variations out there, where does one begin? It helps to know there is one that’s proven to be a cut above, a major-award-winner like Devilish Grin. Coming in at 12% alcohol-by-volume, it’s perfect for sniffing, sipping and contemplating. Big aromas of cherry candy and spring flower fields segue nicely to a luxuriously coating texture with tea-like earthiness, floral honey and Luxardo cherry notes plus a touch of pepper and exotic spice reminiscent of cocktail bitters. There’s a lot going on in this crimson concoction, enough to deviate from beer (but only for a week).
From the Mead Maker: “Devilish Grin, our mead made with buckwheat blossom honey, tart cherries and black pepper, earned the silver medal in the specialty/open category at the 2018 Mazer Cup International, the largest and most respected mead competition in the world. We’re just over five months old, and very humbled and excited to have even competed among the world’s best meaderies, let alone be the first meadery in Southern California to take home a Mazer Cup medal. We had won several Mazer Cup awards as home mead makers over the last couple years, so to be able to transition that to a commercial medal has just been awesome.”—Suzanna Beltz, Co-Founder & Queen Bee, Lost Cause Meadery