Anyone do the BJCP exams?

[Hawkbox]

I got talked into doing the certification because there aren't enough of us in Edmonton and I'm the local clubs head steward so I got bored and did the online exam today. Woo Passed! The tasting exam is in May I believe. Has anyone else done this, have any advice?

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

I got talked into doing the certification because there aren't enough of us in Edmonton and I'm the local clubs head steward so I got bored and did the online exam today. Woo Passed! The tasting exam is in May I believe. Has anyone else done this, have any advice?
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not bjcp but took a collage class on the chemistry of brewing at OU

 

[Hawkbox]

Nice. I wish I had been in a position to take the brewing program at Olds before it shut down but I wasn't taking months off work to take a 60% pay cut.

 

[Craigerrr]

Good luck with it!

 

[dmtaylor]

Advice for the tasting exam: Practice practice practice! You need to be able to write fast AND legibly for a very long time -- it will hurt your hand muscles. Judge a lot of beers and practice filling out scoresheets a lot. Try really hard to fill out every line on the form. The only one I really struggle with is mouthfeel since... I don't really care about mouthfeel most of the time, it's not an actual flavor... maybe that's just me. I think it's kind of normal to leave one line blank on that one. But for the others, practice so that you can fill out every line on every beer in normal size lettering (don't just write really big to avoid having to write much). Describe what you smell and see and taste in a level of detail similar to what you see on the BJCP guidelines. You don't need to agree with everything in the guidelines, you just need to be able to speak in a similar manner as the guidelines, and describe what you taste in a similar manner. Make sure most scores are in the 30s, saving 40s for world-class beers and 20s for not great beers, and never score a beer less than like 13 or so even if it tastes like complete trash. Practice a lot. Then you'll be just fine for the tasting portion of the exam.

Cheers and good luck.

Dave Taylor
BJCP Certified #A0511

 

[Hawkbox]

Thanks Dave, I've done a "decent" amount of judging as a being one of the people who has to be there and getting voluntold. It's interesting to watch different people and I've seen enough judging I felt was mean or cruel that I don't want to be that guy.

 

[Brew Cat]

the more I practice the more my judgment suffers
maybe I'm doing it wrong

 

[Hawkbox]

Must be, cause the more I practice the smarter I am.

 

[Bigbre04]

iv done the beer server test a whole bunch of times...

 

[Yooper]

I’ve been a BJCP judge since 2012. The key is knowing your styles, and commenting on any missing links.

For example, our tasting exam had an old stout presented as something else (forgot what). I commented that while XXX was present, the style requires XXX and so this was out of style, etc. Fill out the score sheets with correct information, and ensure the feedback is helpful. It’s a tough exam in some ways, but truly they WANT you to pass so if you know your style guidelines and can describe the beer and it’s faults and it’s good points, that will go a long way.

 

[Mike at Bay]

I’ve been a BJCP judge since 2012. The key is knowing your styles, and commenting on any missing links.

For example, our tasting exam had an old stout presented as something else (forgot what). I commented that while XXX was present, the style requires XXX and so this was out of style, etc. Fill out the score sheets with correct information, and ensure the feedback is helpful. It’s a tough exam in some ways, but truly they WANT you to pass so if you know your style guidelines and can describe the beer and it’s faults and it’s good points, that will go a long way.

all way over my head right now and at 64 I may just go with the "il like it, I drink it" approach. That said, I applaud you guys for making our craft better. I love great beers.

 

[Bigbre04]

Yall know how I feel about this lol.

Got crushed at work today or I would have responded more in depth. 2 10 hr days back to back...got more beer in the tanks!(hit 91% eff today...overshot my target by .9p)

I would like to do another sensory course, but that probably wont happen. It would be fun to do some judging. I have never done formal judging, but I know most styles and go to a shocking amount of breweries.

Nice. I wish I had been in a position to take the brewing program at Olds before it shut down but I wasn't taking months off work to take a 60% pay cut.

Living that life. You probably made the right choice. Brewing is fun its just the rest of it that is a drag. Spent 5 hours washing kegs yesturday.

 

[dmtaylor]

Thanks Dave, I've done a "decent" amount of judging as a being one of the people who has to be there and getting voluntold. It's interesting to watch different people and I've seen enough judging I felt was mean or cruel that I don't want to be that guy.

Oh... I'm the cruel one, when the beer deserves it. We are judging for a reason. Honesty is best policy IMO. Every beer can't be in the 30s. Sometimes it's right to pull punches... and sometimes it isn't. Just be descriptive. If the beer smells and tastes, presumably, like a dirty diaper, go ahead and say it. Happened to me at least twice. FORTUNATELY, brewers are much better in general today than they were 15 years ago when I started judging, so you might only get one or zero stinkers in a couple flights.

 

[Hawkbox]

It's not even the work I grew up a farm kid. I just want to get paid for it and the pay sucks.

 

[Hawkbox]

Oh... I'm the cruel one, when the beer deserves it. We are judging for a reason. Honesty is best policy IMO. Every beer can't be in the 30s. Sometimes it's right to pull punches... and sometimes it isn't. Just be descriptive. If the beer smells and tastes, presumably, like a dirty diaper, go ahead and say it. Happened to me at least twice. FORTUNATELY, brewers are much better in general today than they were 15 years ago when I started judging, so you might only get one or zero stinkers in a couple flights.

I stopped competing in 2018 because the judges were just sanctimonious assholes. I entered the same beer bottled at the same time in 3 competitions and got a gold, silver, and torn to shreds. It just confirmed to me how subjective the whole thing is and anyone pretending otherwise is a clown. I want to help people get better now, not tear them down.

 

[Craigerrr]

I remain my harshest judge

 

[Sunfire96]

I passed the Cicerone level 1 test, and took a BJCP course that was various tasting sessions to get exposed to the whole book of styles, but never did anything else about it. Good luck @Hawkbox ! Sounds like you've been exposed to a lot of judging and competition and I'm sure that helps!

 

[Brew Cat]

I passed the Cicerone level 1 test, and took a BJCP course that was various tasting sessions to get exposed to the whole book of styles, but never did anything else about it. Good luck @Hawkbox ! Sounds like you've been exposed to a lot of judging and competition and I'm sure that helps!

that to me makes sense

 

[Dave Y]

Oh... I'm the cruel one, when the beer deserves it. We are judging for a reason. Honesty is best policy IMO. Every beer can't be in the 30s. Sometimes it's right to pull punches... and sometimes it isn't. Just be descriptive. If the beer smells and tastes, presumably, like a dirty diaper, go ahead and say it. Happened to me at least twice. FORTUNATELY, brewers are much better in general today than they were 15 years ago when I started judging, so you might only get one or zero stinkers in a couple flights.

I stopped competing in 2018 because the judges were just sanctimonious assholes. I entered the same beer bottled at the same time in 3 competitions and got a gold, silver, and torn to shreds. It just confirmed to me how subjective the whole thing is and anyone pretending otherwise is a clown. I want to help people get better now, not tear them down.

I agree, someone has to tell a brewer when they did it wrong or they will do it wrong again the same way. OTOH, that same brewer shouldn't be entering something that has a finish akin to sanitizer in any competition. I've tasted a lot of these and brew exchange meetings, etc. That's a good venue for it because you're among locals, club members, perhaps friends who can not only critique, but provide guidance on how to correct the error(s). I wish I'd done something like that with my first extract kits, it would have sped me along a little quicker.

It is possible to constructively criticize respectfully. But yeah, the subjectivity aspect is the elephant in the room.

Hey, doesn't @Bigbre04 like to check the reviews in Untapp'd?

 

[Brew Cat]

well anyone selling beer for a living should check untapped
whether the reviews are accurate is irrelevant
its a peek into what's popular