Calling all BJCP judges. How to prepare for tests?

[max384]

I've started studying for the BJCP online exam, and I was wondering what those of you who are already certified used to study for the exams.

I'm mostly interested in how you studied for the tasting exam. What resources did you use? Did you just buy a ton of commercial examples of the different beer styles?

I've actually never even sent in a beer for judging, nor have I been a part of a homebrew contest. I do plan to reach out to my local homebrew club (and join said club) in order to hopefully sit in on some judging and help out.

I'm mostly interested in doing this to broaden my own beer education and further my own brewing. However, I plan to also volunteer to judge contests once I get certified.

Thanks for any and all advice.

 

[kingmatt]

Check with your local hb club and/or your lhbs to see if they offer a bjcp training or study course.

A master level judge in my club holds an 8 week course every winter that preps you to take the tasting exam. He went over everything from ingredients, effects of different brewing techniques, bjcp styles to off flavors (he even spiked beers with various off flavors so we knew exactly what they tasted like).

Each week we all did a mock judging of a beer (we didn't know the style ahead of time) and he graded it. The top 15 or so scorers from all the quizzes got to sit for the tasting exam (as long as they also passed the online exam obviously).

He also brought in 4-5 commercial examples of classic styles each meeting that we tasted as a group and talked about what we tasted.

Best $200 I have spent regarding beer appreciation/brewing and I passed the tasting exam the first time with an 83.

I know there are many similar type classes held throughout the country and I couldn't recommend it more, even if you aren't planning on becoming a judge.

 

[Yooper]

I've started studying for the BJCP online exam, and I was wondering what those of you who are already certified used to study for the exams.

I'm mostly interested in how you studied for the tasting exam. What resources did you use? Did you just buy a ton of commercial examples of the different beer styles?

I've actually never even sent in a beer for judging, nor have I been a part of a homebrew contest. I do plan to reach out to my local homebrew club (and join said club) in order to hopefully sit in on some judging and help out.

I'm mostly interested in doing this to broaden my own beer education and further my own brewing. However, I plan to also volunteer to judge contests once I get certified.

Thanks for any and all advice.

I don't have a homebrew club nearby, and I found that it is harder to do on your own than with classes and things- but it's not impossible.

One thing that helped me was printing ALL the materials on the BJCP website, and practically memorizing them. I liked the study guide alot. I memorized the BJCP guidelines, but that's not even important. The test isn't meant to trip you up, it's meant to see how you are at judging. The tasting samples are given to you, with the entry type. You want to describe what you taste/smell/feel, and for that it helps to look at the scoresheet examples on the BJCP website.

I judged a number of competitions before taking the exam, and that helped me see how the judges worked and how they handled the scoring. If you can, steward or judge a competition ASAP and you will learn so much!

 

[kelitore]

For the online examination, do what Yooper said - print off all the BJCP Materials you can. Make sure you know all the terms (I.e. Diacetal, mash, phenolic, etc).
You also should sign up for a tasting exam as soon as you can. They fill up very quickly, and are sometimes difficult to find one near you.
Once you pass the online exam and our schedule for the tasting exam, learn to fill out score sheets. When I was studying for the exam, I would try to fill out 15+ score sheets per week.
And like Kingmatt said, try to find / join a homebrew club, or hang out with like minded people.
Certified (F0777)
Good luck

 

[kingmatt]

Also, when you do sit for the tasting exam FILL OUT THE ENTIRE SCORESHEET. Make sure you comment on every descriptor listed in the category (ie malts, hops and esters in the aroma category) even if it's just to say you didn't perceive any (ie 'no esters detected'). Every line should be filled, as should the side and bottom sections.

It sounds silly but a large portion of your grade is based on thoroughly completing the scoresheet in the time allotted.

That is why it is important to practice at home to get comfortable with filling out the sheet quickly...90 minutes may seem like a long time to judge 6 beers but it can quickly get away from you if you aren't prepared. Several people in my exam didn't even have time to judge their last beer...not good.

 

[Pappers_]

For the online entrance exam, two bits of advice: 1) read through the prep materials on the BJCP site that related to the BJCP itself - that is information you wouldn't know if you didn't read it and there will be some questions on that and 2) its an open book test, but because of the time constraint you don't have time to look things up - get familiar with the style guidelines and how to maneuver throught them quickly, have the guidelines open in another window and for any question that is precise about a style (OG range, for example) quickly look it up.

For the tasting exam, a friend and I were in a similar situation to you, not taking a class to prepare. We had both judged in a competition, though, paired with a National judge, so that was helpful. We practiced tasting and filling out scoresheets, on both homebrew and commercial beers, but we didn't have anyone critiquing what we were doing.

I think the best practice for you would be to see if you can judge in some competitions as a novice judge. Practice makes perfect, as they say.

 

[Braufessor]

Print off a bunch of score sheets, practice filling them out on commercial beers..... I found this helpful - I bought these beers, filled out a scoresheet on them, and then listened to these audios of Gordon Strong judging the same beers. I would do 1-2-3 per night.... Good way to kind of get immediate "feedback" on what you did. Also, good way to get specific descriptors.
http://www.bjcp.org/course/ClassicStyles.php

I never judged a competition before taking the exam.... but, I entered a lot, so I was familiar with the score sheet. I thought the easiest thing about the exam was the really good and really bad examples. The 28-34pt beers are the hard ones. I also found myself grasping a bit for quality adjectives and descriptors of what I was tasting.... I think the repetition and rehearsal of filling out score sheets really helps with that.

I also like having the "check box" score sheet on hand (it has lists of descriptors) while filling out the regular score sheets for practice - helps you get accustomed to accurate and specific adjectives.

 

[murphyslaw]

Print off a bunch of score sheets, practice filling them out on commercial beers..... I found this helpful - I bought these beers, filled out a scoresheet on them, and then listened to these audios of Gordon Strong judging the same beers. I would do 1-2-3 per night.... Good way to kind of get immediate "feedback" on what you did. Also, good way to get specific descriptors.
http://www.bjcp.org/course/ClassicStyles.php

I took a training class that was really helpful, but I also did this in my spare time. I found it extremely helpful because it got me to drink styles I was not familiar with and practice scoring them too.

Also, when you do sit for the tasting exam FILL OUT THE ENTIRE SCORESHEET.

This was the #1 point of emphasis from the judge who lead my class. Another was to shy away from extreme scores. You're graded in part by how close you are to the consensus score. The practical range of consensus scores is probably 20-40, which probably means you should try to keep your scores in the 24-38 range, unless the beer is really exceptional.

 

[NTexBrewer]

For the online portion, I downloaded the BJCP app. It has a great search feature so you can find information fast. You don't have time to look up all answer but for the few very specific questions it was useful.

 

[max384]

Thank you everyone for all of your advice! I'll be keeping it in mind as I prepare for my tests!