BJCP Study Materials

[_d_]

I'm going to begin studying for the BJCP exam.
I was looking into some study materials, and could use some direction.

I was thinking of Purchasing Michael Jacksons Beer Companion, the first edition is 80$ cheaper and I was wondering if it was essential I buy the 2nd revised edition.

More importantly, what references would you recommend and why?

 

[Lennie]

A lot of what you need is found on the BJCP website.

Once you are familiar with the various styles it helps to try a commercial example of as many of them as you can.

Have you been brewing long? Entered any homebrew contests? If you can volunteer to judge or steward at a comp before you take the test that would be a big help.

I haven't read Jackson's Beer Companion, I'm sure either edition would be helpful. I think brewing books like Designing Great Beers, How To Brew, and Brewing Classic Styles are helpful. The latter has a concise description of each style, plus brewing info and a recipe.

Good luck, I'm taking the test again in January to try and get my rank up to certified. Its a lot of writing, you need to use time management and knowing the test format helps.

 

[seatbelt123]

Check out Beer Judge Education: http://www.beerjudgeeducation.com/courses/better-beer-scores

$175 for 12 week live online course. I heard an interview with the guys that run it - both professional corporate educators and enthusiastic beer geeks. I signed up
for the course and cant wait to get started.

Here's the coupon code, expires today I think. BBS11HOLIDAYS

 

[McCheese352]

There was an online study course talked about on The Brewing Network a couple weeks ago.

Do You Want to Pass the BJCP Exam? | Beer Judge Education

I haven't taken it so I can't provide a recommendation, but it may be something to look into.

 

[rjsnau]

Check out Beer Judge Education: Better Beer Scores | Beer Judge Education

$175 for 12 week live online course. I heard an interview with the guys that run it - both professional corporate educators and enthusiastic beer geeks. I signed up
for the course and cant wait to get started.

Here's the coupon code, expires today I think. BBS11HOLIDAYS

+1 for the class! Mine starts this Wednesday and I can't wait. $175 seems like a really good price for 12 two hour classes.

 

[Jawbox0]

I took the test in April and did well. I primarily relied on the BJCp study guide and BJCP exam for dummies for written materials. For classes, our sponsoring ber club had a weekly course with that followed the suggested class schedule along with tastings, judgings, and discussions of the results.

If you can manage to find a class, it really helps.

 

[seatbelt123]

+1 for the class! Mine starts this Wednesday and I can't wait. $175 seems like a really good price for 12 two hour classes.

Cool, I'm in that class too!

 

[RiverCityBrewer]

I took the exam last month... the best advice I can give you is to thoroughly know the BJCP study guide and memorize to the best of your ability the actual BJCP guidelines.

 

[_d_]

So do I need to memorize the actual style guidelines: OG, FG, ABV, IBU..
Or should I focus on Flavor/Aroma/Appearance/Mouthfeel..

 

[brewfish]

+1 for the class! Mine starts this Wednesday and I can't wait. $175 seems like a really good price for 12 two hour classes.

I start my class on Monday, after having surgery that morning. Looking forward to the class.

 

[RiverCityBrewer]

So do I need to memorize the actual style guidelines: OG, FG, ABV, IBU..
Or should I focus on Flavor/Aroma/Appearance/Mouthfeel..

Focus on the flavor/aroma/etc... the technical data of all the styles, while important, was a very very small part of the test.

 

[Lennie]

The scoring is listed in BJCP for Dummies, the link is on the exam website.

 

[FSR402]

Would love to hear your thoughts on the class after it's done.

 

[brewfish]

Class is going well, it seems like a great alternative to having a club study group, something that I could not make.
The inst Charlie is well spoken, organized and knows what he's talking about.
It's cool listening to my class mates as we learn how to judge beer.

 

[weirdboy]

I'm going to begin studying for the BJCP exam.
I was looking into some study materials, and could use some direction.

I was thinking of Purchasing Michael Jacksons Beer Companion, the first edition is 80$ cheaper and I was wondering if it was essential I buy the 2nd revised edition.

More importantly, what references would you recommend and why?

Regarding Beer Companion specifically, I found a used copy on Amazon for $0.47 + $3.99 S&H. That was around April or so of last year. So, keep checking. Also I think Beer Companion is a good read, but New World Guide to Beer is probably better for the BJCP study materials. There is a lot of overlap between the two books.


Ray Daniel's Designing Great Beers is an excellent reference for the recipe design question on the exam.

I am taking the exam in a bit over a week. I would say you probably cannot focus enough on time management. The sheer volume of data that you have to get down on paper in the allotted time is quite daunting, so be sure to practice hand writing answers to questions with a stopwatch or other timer. Take a look at what you get done in the allotted time, then figure out how to optimize what you are writing for brevity while still conveying the same or more information.

 

[Lennie]

I took the exam again last weekend, that is a very busy three hours! I talked to some of the examinees and procters before the test and I told them I thought the BJCP for Dummies was helpful. They were of the opinion that it was only good for getting to Certified level, and I can see where they are coming from. However, I think it really helped me to know which parts of the exam to focus on from a score standpoint, and how to approach the questions from an organizational perspective. I feel like I did better this time around just because I was more methodical in my answers from using grids and labelling the various aspects. I'd already gotten some practice at tasting/judging from having participated in five comps last year. I'm hoping to get a solid Certified score, and part of me wants to get one or both parts to National level although that would mean I'd want to take the stupid test again and its really a pain in the butt.

The highlight of the test was the first beer, a lovely Munich Helles. I asked for more just because it was tasty!

 

[Bsquared]

March 17th I'll be taking the test too. Right now I am taking a review class that meets once a week. I'm finding it really helpful, not that I am learning a ton of new material from it but more of what to know for the test and what to expect. All the material we are using comes from the BJCP web site and a few really helpful hand outs the class organizers have put together. If you want send me a PM and I'll email you them. one is a break down of the 3 Styles questions regarding how many times a specific beer has appeared on the test and for what style question.

So far the biggest take home message I have goten from this class is, practice answering the essay questions in ten minuts each, try to wright up score sheets for commercial examples of classic styles.

 

[Desertups]

I was just starting to look into these classes and noticed that the company has been dissolved and no longer offering classes.

http://www.beerjudgeeducation.com/

Too bad, I was interested in taking their classes.

 

[weirdboy]

I will mention that while the numbers are irrelevant in the traditional essay version of the written exam, assuming you have the respective descriptions down, they are back in the new web-based version. They are not a HUGE portion of the exam, though, and if you are able to answer the other questions competently it pretty much doesn't matter whether you know the numbers or not, because the online exam is pass/fail.


For the traditional written one, practice writing answers to every single question, including writing example recipes for each of the possible styles listed in the exam guide. Time yourself religiously. Keep doing that until you can get a reasonable answer out for any question in under 10 minutes. There are some questions in particular that this is a no-brainer, and some for which you really have to think about how to convey all the necessary information in an efficient manner to get a decent score. But, if you can answer even the tough ones in under 10 minutes, you should be OK.

 

[Desertups]

I was just starting to look into these classes and noticed that the company has been dissolved and no longer offering classes.

http://www.beerjudgeeducation.com/

Too bad, I was interested in taking their classes.

 

[Yooper]

I was just starting to look into these classes and noticed that the company has been dissolved and no longer offering classes.

http://www.beerjudgeeducation.com/

Too bad, I was interested in taking their classes.

For the test, all you need is on the BJCP website. The "study guide" and the style guidelines can be printed out and used to study for the test. There are a few questions about mash pH and such, but not many. Even those questions come directly from the Study Guide on the website, though!

 

[bumstigedy]

Nice to know that the study guide is such a good resource. My wife is signed up for the local class starting late this summer and the exam early next year. Hopefully she will pass and I will have my own personal BJCP judge at home to give me instant feedback on my creations

 

[Skrazybrews]

So I know that I'm bringing back at thread that had gone dormant.

But I wanted to see if there are any updates on what to study, what to focus on. I'm going through the BJCP study guide and style guidelines. (I've been going over them a bit and would like to pass my exam before having to switch over to the new guidelines).

Thanks for the help!