BJCP Tasting Exam

[LAjerm]

My exam consisted of the following beers, in the order given, I had to judge each quickly, as the exam is timed and the beers just keep coming ready or not:

1) Hopback Amber Ale Tröegs Brewing Co.:fantastic example, I was little harder on it than the proctors

2) Blonde Ale : this was probably a homebrewed example, and was seriously flawed. It was infected, cloudy, estery, phenolic, and the most important that they were trying to pick up, Astringent. The exam director added a touch of lactic acid to pull out the astringency even more. It was really just horrible wretched.

3) Traditional Bock - A great beer, actually a homebrew from Charlie Milan, our states only nationally ranked BJCP judge.

4) Belgian Dark Strong Ale - They tried to Fool us, it was actually a perfect bottle of Chimay Red, which is a Belgian Dubbel, not a dark strong, very similar, but not quite right.

5) Scottish Export - A beer so flawed and infected no one, even the Grand Master Level Three proctor could tell this was actually an Oktoberfest Lager.

6) American Pale Ale. - We had a perfect sample of Celebration Ale, which while fantastic, is not too style. So I was lucky enough to pick up the fact that it was too big and too hoppy for a APA, but still an excellent beer.

 

[WilliamWS]

You're lucky. At my tasting exam it was all homebrew and only one was over a 25 (and not by a lot). Two were under 20. It was rough.
I would much rather taste/decribe good beer that's miscategorized or missing some of the finer nuances of the style than partake in the asparagus/cheese/cardboard/cough medicine buffet that was served to us.

 

[Darwin18]

LAjerm - Sounds like you did well!

 

[LAjerm]

You're lucky. At my tasting exam it was all homebrew and only one was over a 25 (and not by a lot). Two were under 20. It was rough.
I would much rather taste/decribe good beer that's miscategorized or missing some of the finer nuances of the style than partake in the asparagus/cheese/cardboard/cough medicine buffet that was served to us.

The Proctors rated the #6 beer a 47! despite being out of style. The #2 and #5 beers were horid, so I had my share of extreme flaws.

 

[LAjerm]

LAjerm - Sounds like you did well!

I was lucky enough to have good teachers (Thank you Shady Grove Brewmaster!, and Bob Carbone), an excellent Study group that has met twice a month for over a year, and more importantly, real world judging experiance.

 

[LAjerm]

Just got my score in, Passed with a 74

 

[Wynne-R]

Congratulations. You can get one of those nifty badges now. We always need more judges.

When did you take it? Last I heard it was about six months to grade.

 

[LAjerm]

Congratulations. You can get one of those nifty badges now. We always need more judges.

When did you take it? Last I heard it was about six months to grade.

End of Feb... they say its an average of about 100 days now.

 

[nukebrewer]

End of Feb... they say its an average of about 100 days now.

Yeah, sounds about right. I took mine in mid-January and got my results back at almost the end of April.

 

[Pappers_]

Yeah, sounds about right. I took mine in mid-January and got my results back at almost the end of April.

Sounds like they are catching up on the back log of exams they had. It was a little more than 180 days for the exam I took last July.

 

[Piratwolf]

Thanks to everyone who posted in this thread. I managed to get a stand-by slot for tomorrow, which is very exciting. Downside is that I was studying daily for 6 months or so until January but then got sick (no smell/taste--really bad cold) and had to give up my spot... then couldn't find another and gave up on it for a while.

Looks like I'll be cramming the guidelines HARD this afternoon! The only thing I have going for me is having brewed a lot and judged in 8 competitions, some with National judges who have been incredibly helpful.

Wish me luck!

 

[nukebrewer]

Good luck!

 

[Pappers_]

Thanks to everyone who posted in this thread. I managed to get a stand-by slot for tomorrow, which is very exciting. Downside is that I was studying daily for 6 months or so until January but then got sick (no smell/taste--really bad cold) and had to give up my spot... then couldn't find another and gave up on it for a while.

Looks like I'll be cramming the guidelines HARD this afternoon! The only thing I have going for me is having brewed a lot and judged in 8 competitions, some with National judges who have been incredibly helpful.

Wish me luck!

I have a feeling you won't need luck, especially if you've judged in 8 competitions with experienced judging partners.

 

[Darwin18]

I have a feeling you won't need luck, especially if you've judged in 8 competitions with experienced judging partners.

+1

My only advice is to remember to describe in detail exactly what your senses are telling you with regards to the score sheets. If you can really articulate what you're sensing then you're going to score very well. Just remember not to interpret too heavily on a flaw but focus on ways to reduce that flaw in the feedback session.

 

[Piratwolf]

Thanks!!!!