Just saw this article that talks about Andrew Van Til, the first person to ever become a "certified master cicerone" (the beer equivalent to a wine sommelier), a program directed by Ray Daniels. The most interesting bits are towards the end of the article when it goes over the requirements and gives some sample questions. 12 hours worth of testing!
http://www.mlive.com/kalamabrew/index.ssf/2009/12/kalamazoos_andrew_van_til_is_t.html
By Josh Smith | KalamaBrew
December 11, 2009, 8:00AM
KALAMAZOO — Andrew Van Til has achieved something that no one else has before.
Van Til, an account manager for CKL Corp., which includes Imperial Beverage and Elite Brands, has been certified a master cicerone by the Cicerone Certification Program, based in Chicago.
A cicerone is the beer equivalent to a wine sommelier.
The program has given more than 1,000 exams across the three levels of the program. About 800 people have earned the first-level title, certified beer server, and 75 have achieved the title certified cicerone.
“The Master Cicerone exam is designed to assess the full depth and breadth of professional beer knowledge and skill — from the making of malt to the matching of beer with food,” Ray Daniels, director of the certification program, said in a press release.
Van Til was one of seven beer-industry professionals who took the master exam in the course of two days in early November and the only one who passed.
“It’s really humbling," said Van Til, who said he was surprised to be the only one who passed. “It was the most mentally taxing two days of my life.”
“This forces you to be well-rounded in beer knowledge,” he said. “The level of detail is pretty high.”
“Professionally, it gives me credibility to help myself and my company,” he said. Van Til also said his increased knowledge of craft beer will benefit his customers as well.
How it works
The syllabus to become a master cicerone covers five areas:
Keeping and serving beer.
Beer styles.
Beer flavor and evaluation.
Beer ingredients and brewing processes.
Pairing beer with food.
The exam is divided into written, oral and tasting sections. To pass, a candidate needs an average score of 85 percent across all three. The test lasts 12 hours.
In addition to essay questions, the written exam also included:
Preparation of a five-course food and beer pairing dinner from specified menus.
Calculation of draft system specifications for various retail situations including both straight carbon dioxide and mixed-gas dispense.
Other requirements
Candidates must also demonstrate that they have at least two years experience in beer sales or service.
Sample questions
1. What is a “beer clean” glass and what is required to achieve it? How can you tell if a glass is beer clean before putting beer in it? Once a beer has been poured into a glass what signs would indicate that the glass had not been beer clean to start with?
2. Discuss the making of smoked beer including production of any special raw ingredients that might be needed. Where relevant, discuss differences between the production approaches used in various parts of the world and the differences in flavor that may result. Give commercial examples.
3. Discuss the basic structure and operation of a hop back, telling when it would be used in the brewing process, what ingredients or supplies would be needed and how it affects the flavor of the finished beer.
4. Compare and contrast the Flanders Red and Flanders Brown (Oud Bruin) beer styles with regard to ingredients and finished beer character including flavor, mouth feel and appearance. Provide quantitative measures and commercial examples for each style.
5. Compare and contrast the Bock and Maibock styles with regard to ingredients and finished beer character including flavor, mouth feel and appearance. Provide quantitative measures and commercial examples for each style.
6. Select a small brewery from Japan, Italy, The Netherlands, Denmark, Norway or Sweden whose products you have tasted and identify three beers they make, giving the name and style classification and discussing the flavor attributes of each one. (If the beer is not marketed under a style name, state what style you believe the beer to be.)
Sounds difficult!
The first ever certified master cicerone
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