Announcing
The 2026 Orpheus MeadFest
Mead is Sunshine in a Glass… the Nectar of the Gods!
The Orpheus MeadFest is comprised of both a unique public mead tasting and an international mead competition.
The 2026 Orpheus MeadFest Public Tasting and Awards Ceremony
Join us beneath the open skies (and some very earthly shade) for our annual Orpheus MeadFest Tasting—a truly spirited celebration of music, magic, and mead.
Taste! Savor! Buy! A stellar array of award-winning meads await! You can purchase your favorite meads directly from our acclaimed Colorado meaderies.
Members of the Orpheus HomeBrew Club can enter their private club area to sample the homebrew entries from the 2026 Orpheus MeadFest Competition.
Come judge for yourself! The finale of the event is the MeadFest awards ceremony where the winners of the MeadFest competition are announced!
Saturday, July 25, 2026, 2–5 PM
on the bucolic grounds of Jefferson Unitarian Church
14350 W 32nd Ave, Golden, CO
The 2026 Orpheus MeadFest Competition
One of the largest mead competitions in the US, the Orpheus MeadFest is gearing up for its 15th annual competition!
Your meads will be evaluated by our expert panel of judges, several of whom are BJCP Grand Masters and Mazer Cup judges and winners.
View the 2026 Orpheus MeadFest Competition Rules and Regulations.
The 2026 Orpheus MeadFest Public Tasting and Awards Ceremony
Saturday, July 25, 2026, 2–5 PM
Jefferson Unitarian Church
14350 W 32nd Ave
Golden, CO
Tickets:
$35 per person or $60 for two (online purchase only).
Orpheus Homebrew Club Membership:
Additional $5.
Note: This is a 21+ Only event.
2026 Orpheus MeadFest Calendar
Entry registration will open on Monday, May 4, 2026.
Entry acceptance begins Monday, May 25, 2026.
The deadline for registration and entry acceptance is Friday, June 5th. All entries must be registered, fees paid, and received by the end of business on June 5th. Late entries will be accepted at the discretion of the competition registrar.
The judging period is from June 21 – July 10.
The awards ceremony is at the Orpheus MeadFest Public Tasting on Saturday, July 25, 2026.
MeadFest Vendor Information
Come share your wares at the 16th Annual Orpheus MeadFest!
The Orpheus MeadFest is the only festival in Colorado exclusively dedicated to mead, anchored by Colorado’s international award-winning professional meaderies.
The Orpheus MeadFest draws over 200 people annually, with attendance growing each year. We seek bee/honey/mead/drink-related products like:
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- Pagan and bee-related jewelry and clothing (T-shirts, hats)
- Candles, especially beeswax
- Bee and beekeeping paraphernalia
- Honey
- Drinking horns, coasters, and other accessories
- Homebrew supplies
For vendor information, please fill out our Vendor Interest form.
With Special Thanks to Our Founding Meaderies
Explore our artisanal meads (honey wines) crafted with fresh mountain water, locally sourced honey, fresh & pressed local fruits, while adding our culinary knowledge to the mead making process for a unique & flavorful mead experience in Aurora, CO.
Join us in celebrating the art of mead-making.
Hunters Moon Meadery in Severance, Colorado has been in business almost 16 years! We make small batches of Mead and use some of our own honey in most batches. We have been awarded 64 International awards and 20+ National awards! We take pride in our Meads and only use real fruit and all natural ingredients. No artificial flavors EVER! We currently carry 20 Meads ranging from dry to sweet. Our Most awarded and best selling Mead is called EARL GREG, made with Earl Grey Tea and named after the Mead Maker, Greg (Gregory Earl)!
Redstone Meadery
All natural honey wine from
Boulder, CO
Visit Redstone Meadery and you can taste different styles of mead. For those that think mead is sweet and syrupy, you’ll be pleasantly surprised to discover styles that are very different.
Redstone Meadery is celebrating 25 years on the market. The Pioneer of Session mead Redstone specializes in medium to dry styles of mead with no sulfites added, only use real ingredients and are gluten free!
Previous MeadFest Tastings
