BJCP Certification Exam Thread

[Gonzoillini1]

Searched around on the forum this morning, and was surprised that I couldn't find a dedicated BJCP exam thread.

Going to be starting with the study sessions for the exam in June 2017 tonight with a great teacher in the Chicagoland area (Steve McKenna) and a few folks from local homebrew clubs. I've been judging homebrew competitions without certification for about 5 years now, but considering I'm the club president of our local hombrew club and we run a BJCP / AHA sponsored competition, I figured it was about time I get the paper that shows I have some formal training.

Thoughts from folks who've taken the exam? Tips? Things to study over others?

I'll post thoughts throughout the next few months, but wanted to kickstart the conversation as it's on my mind this morning.

Cheers!

 

[Phischy1]

In addition to understanding styles, nuances between similar sub cats (and differences) focus on the mechanics of the exam. You should be finish grading a beer in about 12 minutes, as you'll have an average of 15 mins per beer. if you're 3/4 of the way though a beer and the next one is being poured you're already behind. Rushing cases lapses and can cause lost points.

To that end http://bjcp.org/examcenter.php read Exam Scoring Guide to understand how points are awarded. Be complete, for every hint per section, address it. Finish/Aftertaste are 2 seperate points to address.

Lastly, work on vocabulary. understand how to describe beer to be quick and efficient. Plus understanding all off flavors, suggestions how to correct them etc....

Recognized and Certified aren't too difficult to hit, National is top 10% of judges and Master is top 1 or 2%.

 

[Phischy1]

I received my latest tasting score back for an exam I took without prep. They were 1 person below the 6 minium threshold else it'd be cancelled, so I jumped in and wow...got 80+. So now I'm prepping for the written exam that I last took in '08.

I don't have the nose for Master rank so at long last I'm finally done with the tasting exam. Hallelujah.

And on Sunday I'm starting a prep class for others for an upcoming exam.

 

[BadJustin]

Cicerone Homies.



LYMI Gonzoillini

 

[Lutter]

Cicerone Homies.



LYMI Gonzoillini

BJCP is actually useful, however, lol. Been thinking about getting mine for a while now as I've been invited several times to judge things and, without your BJCP you're basically stuck at "volunteer" status at most AHA competitions (pour beer, setup, etc...) out here.

 

[Gonzoillini1]

I'll have some more information to post in here from the first few classes I've taken along with some picture in the coming day or two.

 

[BadJustin]

BJCP is actually useful, however, lol. Been thinking about getting mine for a while now as I've been invited several times to judge things and, without your BJCP you're basically stuck at "volunteer" status at most AHA competitions (pour beer, setup, etc...) out here.

I'm just breaking em on Gonzo.

 

[runlikealope]

Not to hijack this but somewhat related. Anyone here taken the advanced cicerone? I know you guys love the program SO much!

 

[Phischy1]

I'll have some more information to post in here from the first few classes I've taken along with some picture in the coming day or two.

I'd be very interested to know what sub cats (beyond sour/wood) you guys aren't covering. 2015 guidelines have so many new ones that trying to run a class on everything is rediculus.

 

[Phischy1]

Not to hijack this but somewhat related. Anyone here taken the advanced cicerone? I know you guys love the program SO much!

I'm a certified Cicerone Beer Server. And I know which beers pare best with girlscout cookies.

 

[quinnsi]

Not to hijack this but somewhat related. Anyone here taken the advanced cicerone? I know you guys love the program SO much!

What are you looking to figure out about it?

 

[axeman91821]

Starting my class for the exam next week. Runs every Tuesday besides the Tuesday of our monthly club meeting until sometime in July.

 

[runlikealope]

What are you looking to figure out about it?

I was just seeing what others experiences were like since not a ton of people have done it yet. I took it yesterday. God. *******. Damn. That **** was brutal. 9 hours of awesome. super heavy on the technical stuff. Got in a bunch of beers at dovetail and half acre though. Now to wait 8 weeks for results.....

 

[runlikealope]

Axeman9182 that's why my box has been delayed BTW.

 

[Gonzoillini1]

Alright time for some recap after the first 3 classes we've done.

The classes I'm in are structured in a 3 part format with the first part of class dealing with off flavors, ingredients, and some BJCP online and tasting exam tips and tricks. The second part of class dives into specific styles and after the education aspect we jump into tastings with both spiked American Light Lager for off flavor examples and then style specific examples. The third part of class is judging homebrews with an emphasis on the BJCP scoring sheet and examples of beer styles we've covered in class.

Class #1 was a recap about BJCP, the online exam, the tasting exam, ales vs. lagers concepts, and a flavor discussion regarding esters and alcohols. Unfortunately I got there a bit later and missed a bit of the beginning, and forgot to take any pictures.

Class #2 was education about hops and their flavor profiles with an emphasis on what hops are traditionally represented from what countries and styles, diacetyl vs. acetaldehyde and oxidized flavor profiles, and a comparison / education on British and Scottish ale styles.

Class #2 was held at Sawa's Old Warsaw which is an old Polish / Bohemian restaurant in Broadview, IL and the location worked really well (we were in the banquet room / basement of the place) for the class.

Class #3 was an education on yeast cycle, fermentation, fermentation problems, yeast and bacteria species, Acid vs. Ester flavors with a bit on autolysis, and a breakdown of Belgian styles.

Class #3 was held at Imperial Oak Brewing in Willow Springs, IL in the new expansion area which is separated from the main bar and you can turn on the bright lights for a classroom like setting.

 

[Phischy1]

How many classes are you going through and how long is each class?

 

[Gonzoillini1]

How many classes are you going through and how long is each class?

I believe we are doing 8 classes in total and they are about 3 hours long per class which includes the structured topics, off flavor and style tastings, and homebrew judging.

 

[Gonzoillini1]

I missed class #4, but the topics started off with a discussion about grain and it's material composition (husk, starch, proteins), the malting process, mashing, and using adjuncts. A discussion of phenols and tannins followed, with an off flavor discussion on DMS. They then moved into German beers styles with a focus on Wheat beers (Berliner Weiss, Weissbier, Dunkle Weissbier, and Weizenbock), Altbier and Kolsch for the Ales and Pale Lagers (Munich Helles, Leichtbier, Exportbier, Festbier and Kellerbier), Pilsners (German, Czech and Czech Pale Lager), Bocks (Helles Bock, Dunkles Bock, Doppelbock and Eisbock).

Class #5 started with a discussion between Caramelization vs Maillard reactions, sources in malting and brewing, lighstruck, metallic off flavors and a breakdown of Amber Brown Dark but not roasty styles including Amber Lagers (Vienna, Marzen, Rauchbier, Kellerbier, Altbier, Czech Amber Lager, International Amber Lager), Amber Ales (American Amber, California Common and Irish Red Ale), Dark Lagers (Munich Dunkel, Scwartzbier, Czech Dark Lager, International Dark Lager), Brown Ales (Dark Mild, British Brown Ale, American Brown Ale) and Bocks (Dunkles Bock and Doppelbock).

Class #6 included a discussion on water chemistry, famous brewing water profiles, minerals and ways to modify water, then jumped into roasted malt styles including Porter (American Porter, English Porter, and Baltic Porter), Stout (Irish Stout, Extra Stout, Foreign Extra Stout, Sweet Stout, Tropical Stout, Oatmeal Stout, American Stout, Imperial Stout), Dark Lagers (Schwartzbier, Czech Dark Lager, and International Dark Lager) and American Ale Styles (Cream Ale, American Wheat Beer, Blonde Ale, American Pale Ale, American IPA, Double IPA, American Strong Ale, American Barleywine, and Wheatwine)

Will be taking my online exam shortly which I'll be embarrassed if I don't pass on the first attempt, then we jump into a lot more judging before our exam in June.

Cheers!

 

[Phischy1]

I wrapped up my classes. Geared toward tasting exam and not online test. Lots of cross over but the online exam was not the focus.

 

[runlikealope]

Passed the Advanced exam. Awaiting my permanent ban from the site now.

 

[Phischy1]

Passed the Advanced exam. Awaiting my permanent ban from the site now.

What's the advanced exam? They change the names again?

 

[runlikealope]

Chicharrone

 

[Gonzoillini1]

In case anyone is curious, you can take a free 20 question / 6 minute exam on the BJCP website located here

https://bjcp.coursewebs.com/cart/pageCatalog.aspx

I scored an 18/20 and only missed the following questions

17.
Roast barley is an acceptable ingredient for a Scottish Heavy.
True
False
Points earned: 0
Points worth: 1

18.
Check all that apply. What technological advances have contributed to the decline of decoction mashing?
A) Glass bottles
B) Thermometers
C) Hop pellets
D) Advanced malting techniques
E) Nuclear fusion
Points earned: 0
Points worth: 1

Took my online exam on Saturday morning, and passed on my first attempt. Per the review information, the sections I needed to work on were the following

You scored below passing in the following categories:
Beer Styles - Multiple Answer
Belgian Ales - True/False
Dark Ale Comparison - True/False
Style Comparison - Multiple Choice
Technical Brewing Questions - Multiple Answer

The multiple answer questions are by far the ones that took the longest time for me to answer as I'm sure I was overthinking many of them, and I'm generally a pretty good test taker.

Have 2 more classes that will be entirely built around judging beers before our tasting exam on June 3rd. Looking forward to getting that over with and thinking that my biggest issue will be my ****** handwriting.

 

[evilc]

The answer is ALWAYS E) Nuclear fusion

 

[Phischy1]

My class took the exam last Sunday. They all seem worried but from what they told me I'm sure they'll all hit at least 60. If they all pass my club will double the number of judges we have. Our next exam is Sept and I'll be running another tasting class. My goal is to get 6 newbies on that exam.

I've got to start studying for the written exam. I fully expect to not pass it on the first go and plan to take it again mid summer.

 

[More Betterness]

I got a 16/20, what does that mean for my beer smartz?

 

[evilc]

I got a 16/20, what does that mean for my beer smartz?

Nuclear Fusion.

 

[axeman91821]

Just realized I won't be around for the exam at the end of all the classes I've been going to, since it's the same day as the Pils Festival up at Oxbow. Going to keep going to the classes anyway though, they're a pretty good time and it gets me drinking beers/styles I probably wouldn't otherwise.

 

[Gonzoillini1]

Had our final class on Wednesday for the tasting exam on June 3rd, and instead of a technical topic / styles / etc... we did a dry run of the exam.

6 beers, 15 minutes per beer without the style guidelines using the exam scoresheets. We had one obviously misclassified beer (declared as a British Brown Ale, was actually an American Porter), and a nice selection of other styles (American Pale Ale, Ordinary Bitter, Weizenbock, Belgian Tripel, Altbier).

Our exam instructor didn't grade these scoresheets, but did walk around and look at them for completeness, scores, and general comments. As long as my handwriting isn't too ****** I'm feel pretty confident about scoring at the National level, but we shall see.

 

[Der Fuchs]

Had our final class on Wednesday for the tasting exam on June 3rd, and instead of a technical topic / styles / etc... we did a dry run of the exam.

6 beers, 15 minutes per beer without the style guidelines using the exam scoresheets. We had one obviously misclassified beer (declared as a British Brown Ale, was actually an American Porter), and a nice selection of other styles (American Pale Ale, Ordinary Bitter, Weizenbock, Belgian Tripel, Altbier).

Our exam instructor didn't grade these scoresheets, but did walk around and look at them for completeness, scores, and general comments. As long as my handwriting isn't too ****** I'm feel pretty confident about scoring at the National level, but we shall see.

Get used to writing a lot would be my best advice. The tasting part is easy, but the 12ish pages of hand written essay question answers made my ******* hand cramp up. I hadn't hand written that much since college.