Brett Shegogue
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Picture this - you come home from work and grab the mail. You are excited to see a manila envelope from the coordinator of the homebrew competition you entered a few weeks prior. This is it! You are ready to receive the glowing reviews of your finely crafted malt beverage. You open the envelope and much to your dismay, see your final score of 25. You start reading the comments from the judges, which are brief, nondescript and certainly not helpful. You are left with a feeling of disappointment and confusion. How did they not like your beer, and what can I do about it?
This situation, which I will say is becoming more rare due to the hard work of the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) and quality judges, has happened to me and many other competition entrants. It was the impetus for my desire to learn more about the BJCP and to take the steps to become a judge myself so I could offer quality feedback to entrants. Today, I hope to explain the process of becoming a BJCP Judge (If you aren't familiar with the BJCP I highly recommend navigating to http://www.bjcp.org/ and reading all the valuable information they provide.).
So how does one become a BJCP Judge? To be succinct, you need to pass two exams:
As I mentioned previously, studying for the online exam can be a solo mission, and although I am sure a few people could study alone for the tasting exam and pass, I do not recommend it. Everyone has different thresholds for flavors and aromas in beer. For example, it would take a whole bottle of Orville Redenbacher butter extract for me to notice diacetyl in the aroma of a beer. Tasting beers with others allows you to compare your perception of a beer against one another, as well as picking up on flavors or aromas you may have otherwise missed. Additionally, you will learn how to notice an "off flavor" by your other senses, like the slick "mouthfeel" given off by the aforementioned diacetyl. Conversely, you may notice you are extra sensitive compared to most judges on other beer attributes. These group beer tastings help you learn your strengths and weaknesses which will help you become a better judge.
Speaking of judges, if you can get an existing Nationally ranked or better beer judge to be a part of your tasting group, it will greatly help you define your palette! I can't even count the number of times where we were tasting a beer, and it just ended up being a bad bottle! If you are tasting an off flavor in a beer you have never tasted before, you want to know its "off" and not an indicative flavor of the style - think of a light-struck (skunky) flavor often associated with Heineken. If you get it out of the can (rather than a light stricken green bottle) the flavor will not be present. Skunk character is not appropriate for the category 1C Premium American Lager (Heineken) style.
On my own journey to become a judge, a study group fell into my lap. I looked at the scheduled exam dates and contacted the coordinator for the exam nearest me to sign up - the exam I was looking to take was full, but I was told I could sign up for the next exam six months later. A few months prior to my exam date, the coordinator contacted me to see if I would be interested in the BJCP Exam Prep course he and another judge (Both BJCP National Rank) were offering. I signed up, and it was the best decision I made in my study preparation. (This course alone was probably the reason I was able to score an 85 on the tasting exam my first try!) The course consisted of meeting for two-hour tasting sessions, once a week, over a 12-week period. In addition to tasting beers from every BJCP style, there was homework, a handful of graded score sheets and even a mock tasting exam. The mock exam acclimated us to fully filling out score sheets and the feedback provided by the course directors on our completed score sheets was invaluable.
If you you aren't lucky enough to find a local course, or you don't live close enough to an existing study group, don't fret! There are some online options to help you study for the exam, such as Better Beer Scores. These courses provide interactive classes online, and I believe can be viewed at a later time if you can't make a session. If you have participated in this course, or a similar one, please share your experiences in the comments section below.
The last bit of advice I will pass on is to provide as much detail as possible on your score sheets. Under each section (Aroma, Appearance, Flavor, Mouth feel and Overall Impression) the score sheet tells you what you should comment on. Make sure you hit each of these attributes when filling out the score sheet. If you don't perceive something, state it! (Mouth feel: no alcohol warmth). Someone should be able to read your score sheet and get a very clear picture of how this beer looks, smells and tastes. Always ask yourself two questions to describe an attribute of the beer:
Ok, enough of my rambling, get out there and start studying for the exam! When will you ever have another opportunity to constitute drinking beer as studying?
***
Brett Shegogue writes for his blog, Shegogue Brew, and is the latest writer to join the HomeBrewTalk team! For more from Brett please follow this link, and keep checking back to HomeBrewTalk for the latest from this Blogger/ Brewer.
This situation, which I will say is becoming more rare due to the hard work of the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) and quality judges, has happened to me and many other competition entrants. It was the impetus for my desire to learn more about the BJCP and to take the steps to become a judge myself so I could offer quality feedback to entrants. Today, I hope to explain the process of becoming a BJCP Judge (If you aren't familiar with the BJCP I highly recommend navigating to http://www.bjcp.org/ and reading all the valuable information they provide.).
So how does one become a BJCP Judge? To be succinct, you need to pass two exams:
- Pass the Online Entrance Exam - A 60-minute, 200 question exam consisting of True-False and Multiple choice questions. This is a Pass/Fail test.
- Score a 60% or greater on the Tasting Exam - 90-minute exam evaluating and filling out score sheets for 6 beers.
As I mentioned previously, studying for the online exam can be a solo mission, and although I am sure a few people could study alone for the tasting exam and pass, I do not recommend it. Everyone has different thresholds for flavors and aromas in beer. For example, it would take a whole bottle of Orville Redenbacher butter extract for me to notice diacetyl in the aroma of a beer. Tasting beers with others allows you to compare your perception of a beer against one another, as well as picking up on flavors or aromas you may have otherwise missed. Additionally, you will learn how to notice an "off flavor" by your other senses, like the slick "mouthfeel" given off by the aforementioned diacetyl. Conversely, you may notice you are extra sensitive compared to most judges on other beer attributes. These group beer tastings help you learn your strengths and weaknesses which will help you become a better judge.
Speaking of judges, if you can get an existing Nationally ranked or better beer judge to be a part of your tasting group, it will greatly help you define your palette! I can't even count the number of times where we were tasting a beer, and it just ended up being a bad bottle! If you are tasting an off flavor in a beer you have never tasted before, you want to know its "off" and not an indicative flavor of the style - think of a light-struck (skunky) flavor often associated with Heineken. If you get it out of the can (rather than a light stricken green bottle) the flavor will not be present. Skunk character is not appropriate for the category 1C Premium American Lager (Heineken) style.
On my own journey to become a judge, a study group fell into my lap. I looked at the scheduled exam dates and contacted the coordinator for the exam nearest me to sign up - the exam I was looking to take was full, but I was told I could sign up for the next exam six months later. A few months prior to my exam date, the coordinator contacted me to see if I would be interested in the BJCP Exam Prep course he and another judge (Both BJCP National Rank) were offering. I signed up, and it was the best decision I made in my study preparation. (This course alone was probably the reason I was able to score an 85 on the tasting exam my first try!) The course consisted of meeting for two-hour tasting sessions, once a week, over a 12-week period. In addition to tasting beers from every BJCP style, there was homework, a handful of graded score sheets and even a mock tasting exam. The mock exam acclimated us to fully filling out score sheets and the feedback provided by the course directors on our completed score sheets was invaluable.
If you you aren't lucky enough to find a local course, or you don't live close enough to an existing study group, don't fret! There are some online options to help you study for the exam, such as Better Beer Scores. These courses provide interactive classes online, and I believe can be viewed at a later time if you can't make a session. If you have participated in this course, or a similar one, please share your experiences in the comments section below.
The last bit of advice I will pass on is to provide as much detail as possible on your score sheets. Under each section (Aroma, Appearance, Flavor, Mouth feel and Overall Impression) the score sheet tells you what you should comment on. Make sure you hit each of these attributes when filling out the score sheet. If you don't perceive something, state it! (Mouth feel: no alcohol warmth). Someone should be able to read your score sheet and get a very clear picture of how this beer looks, smells and tastes. Always ask yourself two questions to describe an attribute of the beer:
- How much of? - Provide a level such as none, low, moderately-low, moderate, moderately-high, high
- What kind of? Describe what you are sensing with detail being as specific as you can
Ok, enough of my rambling, get out there and start studying for the exam! When will you ever have another opportunity to constitute drinking beer as studying?
***
Brett Shegogue writes for his blog, Shegogue Brew, and is the latest writer to join the HomeBrewTalk team! For more from Brett please follow this link, and keep checking back to HomeBrewTalk for the latest from this Blogger/ Brewer.