Honey Show | BCHPA Conference

Honey, Wax & Mead Competition

The BCHPA is proud to offer its annual Honey, Wax and Mead Competition at its 2024 Annual General Meeting.

In addition to our scheduled classes listed below, we also will have our ever-popular People’s Choice Award for Honey.

Ribbons and Prizes will be awarded! All entrants MUST be attending or volunteering at the 2024 BCHPA AGM. There is no charge for entering. The deadline for contest entries is 12:00 pm on Saturday, October 26, 2024. Winners announced at the Banquet dinner event on Saturday, October 26, 2024.

These are the following categories:

Liquid White
Liquid Golden
Liquid Amber/Dark
Creamed Honey
Frames of Honey Beeswax
Block Beeswax
Mead - Non-Carbonated (Dry)
Mead - Non-Carbonated (Sweet)
Mead - Metheglins, Melomels and Cysers (Spiced, Fruit and Apple Meads)

General Rules for Honey Competition:

Judges will score using the National Scale of Points for Judging Honey.
The prestigious aggregate Best Honey Award called the Premiere Honey Exhibit
The award will be presented to the Exhibitor who has the highest aggregate score in three categories, having exhibited a minimum of three distinct honey products.
Exhibitors may enter in two or more liquid honey or mead classes, however, the
highest score of one class will be considered toward the aggregate Best Honey Award.
On Saturday evening prior to the banquet, you can taste-test the liquid honey entries and vote for your honey of choice! The exhibitor with the most votes will win the coveted “People’s Choice Award” for their honey and gain bragging rights.
Labels or any distinctive design that could identify the exhibitor are not allowed on the entries until judging is complete. Each exhibitor may only enter one item per Class Category.
For the liquid and creamed honey classes, entries shall comprise of THREE identical jars, either 1 lb or 500g, all without labels or identifying markings.
Beeswax blocks – there must be either 2x 500g blocks or 2x 1lb blocks. They can be square, rectangle or round blocks, but must be free of identifying marks.
Mead entries consist of THREE corked or capped bottles, without maker’s labels. A tag identifying the type and flavour of the mead is acceptable.
Entrants must be attending the 2024 BCHPA AGM.
All entries must be received by 12:00 pm on Saturday, October 26, 2024.
An exhibitor may not enter more than one exhibit in any one class. The exhibitor must colour grade their entry prior to registration (or major points will be deducted).
All honey and wax entries must be the product of the exhibitor’s own apiary from the current year (2024) and prepared by the exhibitor. Mead may be matured from the previous year.
The standard for honey colour will be based on the Canada Honey Classifier. Honey with moisture of more than 18.6 per cent will receive 0 points for moisture content.
Ribbons (and some prizes) will be awarded for first, second, and third in each category
Please consider donating a jar of your award-winning honey to the silent auction, and all exhibitors are encouraged to contribute one jar of their exhibit for the People’s Choice Award at the banquet

Judging Tips:

You can use a honey colour grader to determine whether your honey fits into the white, golden or amber categories. Some colours, such as super light or dark, are obvious. But using a grader, such as a Jacks’ Grader, will remove all doubt.
For the Creamed Honey class, your entry should be smooth and free of crystals or granularity. The honey should be soft-set and not rock-hard. Taste, fill, uniformity and cleanliness are the same as for liquid classes.
Make sure your entry, regardless of class, is free of air bubbles, minute particles and wax.
Air bubbles in honey are not as serious as foreign material but detract from the appearance. Try to avoid their creation by careful handling of the honey. Warming the honey will help bring bubbles and wax particles to the surface. Remove foam or froth with a teaspoon or a coffee stir stick.
Honey in all jars should have the same density, flavour, colour, and appearance. Level of fill is critical; all three jars should have a uniform fill line just above the shoulder of the jar, with no air showing once lid is applied.
Brightness - Bubbles, granulation, and dingy glass give an exhibit a dull appearance. Jars may be given a sparkle by dipping in a hot water-vinegar solution and drying them on a lint-free towel for polishing with a glass polish. They should be wrapped in paper napkins after polishing. Do not use newspaper or aluminium foil. Honey sometimes looks dull and loses points because it contains colloidal material over which the beekeeper has no control.
Flavour and Aroma - Since people differ in their senses of taste and smell, emphasis should be placed on flavour and aroma. Therefore, points are lost if the honey has a disagreeable or foreign flavour.
Moisture content must be 17 per cent or less. Entries are marked down 1 point for each one-tenth of 1 per cent moisture in excess of 17 per cent. A refractometer is required to determine such degrees of moisture. Moisture content of 18.6 or higher will be disqualified.

Frame of Honey Class:

Exhibits call for a frame of honey or combs of honey removed from the hive. This is one of the easiest exhibits to prepare. You can submit either a full brood frame or a shallow frame. Judges preferentially mark higher for frames made with wax foundation, but plastic foundation is also acceptable.
Choose a comb completely filled and capped. Be careful not to damage the cappings with a stray hive tool.
The cappings should have an even surface and be white. Brood-rearing darkens combs, and the best comb for exhibition is one that has been constructed, filled and capped during a strong flow of light-coloured honey.
Let the frame hang free in a wooden box, such as an apple box, with cleats to prevent it from moving once it is in place. Scrape the wooden frame free of propolis and then wrap the comb in cellophane or Saran Wrap to protect it from flies.
Suitability of Wooden Frame – the frame should be properly nailed with all corners at right angles and opposite sides parallel. There can be at least two horizontal supporting wires for wax foundation, but this is not a judging point. The frame should be free of knots and splits that would weaken the frame.
Cleanliness of Wooden Frame – The frame should be clean, white wood, scraped free of debris. Take time to remove all traces of propolis and burr wax.
Completeness of Fill – The comb should completely fill the frame, and all cells should be filled with honey. The difference between first and third place can be as simple as a few uncapped cells.
Cleanliness and Appearance of Cappings – Cappings should be white without excessive travel stain and without mechanical damage, dust, or dirt. Cappings should present a level, even surface over the entire comb.
Quality and Flavour – The comb should be free of any brood or pollen. There should not be any noticeable difference in the honey in different parts of the comb. There should be no undesirable flavour to the honey. Honey in comb should be liquid, not granulated.

Beeswax Classes:

Colour – The ideal colour for beeswax is described as straw-coloured, primrose, or canary yellow. This colour should be clear, not cloudy.
Cleanliness – Beeswax should be free from honey, propolis, bee parts or other impurities.
If any specks are apparent on the bottom of the cake, they should be scraped away and the wax cake re-melted. No film of a mold release agent should be detectable. Avoid wrapping the wax in materials that will leave lint on the surface.
Uniformity of Appearance – Blocks should be the same size, shape, and colour, Select 15 to 20 pounds (6.75-9 kg) of white raw wax cappings and process the entire lot at one time if possible. In this manner, you should avoid the variations in colour, size of cake and cleanliness that may occur if each cake is processed at a different time. Pour multiple blocks. The surface can be polished with a nylon stocking to remove bloom and bring out the shine.
Freedom from Cracking – Beeswax shrinks in cooling. If cooled too quickly, it will often show cracks in the upper surface. Reduce the potential for cracking by covering the mold with a board and allowing it to cool at room temperature.
Candles should be equal in size, colour and cleanliness. As with blocks, they can be shined or cleaned of blemishes with a nylon.

Mead Classes:

Three clear – not frosted - 750ml bottles must be submitted for judging.
All meads should have been made by the competitor by the process of fermentation and must come with a card identifying the ingredients.
Entries must not have any identifying labels/markings on the bottle. Mead bottles should be filled so that when the cork is pushed right home, the air space is between 3/4" & 1" in depth.
Entries are judged on clarity, taste, freedom of precipitates, and trueness to their stated flavour.

Transporting:

Exhibits must often be transported hundreds of miles. If care is not taken in packing, the exhibit may become damaged and present a very poor appearance on the show- table.
Liquid or Granulated Exhibits – The tops of the jars should be screwed on tight, and each jar wrapped or separated by the jar box filler, and each jar placed in its own compartment. “Fragile” and “Glass” stickers should be placed on the top and side of the carton. Care should be taken not to lean or tip the jars to avoid getting honey on the lid, or fresh clean lids can be brought and placed on the jars once they have arrived at the show.
Pro Tip: bring extra clean lids to change out just as you submit your entries.
Bees Wax - Each cake of beeswax should be separated from the next. Care should be taken that none of the surfaces become marked.

Winning Entries:

We request that the winning entries, (one bottle of honey or mead), be donated to our auction as a fundraising opportunity. Please indicate whether or not this is agreeable at the entry table.