BJCP Study Group
Dave Williams

A bunch of us have gotten together, under the able tutelage of Ed Wolfe to study for the BJCP exam. If we pass, we'll be card carrying beer geeks, able to judge beer with authority and conviction. Besides, we get to drink beer while we study. You won't find that in your Intro to Eastern Religions class. The folks who are attending the study group are Ed & Carol Wolfe, Bradley Dilger, Ken Colson, Sue & Wayne Smith, Bob Bates, George Perrin, Greg McGann, Dave Williams, and Mark Tumarkin

So why would anyone want to be a beer judge? Well, it's just another aspect of our avocation that we want to learn as much as we can about beer. Besides, when you start to think that you know beer, studying for the BJCP exam provides perspective and humility. If you would like to get a feel for the scope of the exam, you can download the BJCP study guide from http://www.bjcp.org/study.html.

So. Just what the heck is the BJCP, anyway? Well, if you didn't already know, the BJCP is the Beer Judge Certification Program, an all-volunteer organization that promotes beer appreciation and provides education on matters concerning (you guessed it) beer. One of their goals is to educate and rank a pool of qualified judges in an effort to provide good judging skills and useful feedback in beer competitions. Judges are ranked by their scores on the BJCP exam and by their accumulation of experience points. Experience points are earned for judging, proctoring, organizing a competition, or for services rendered to the BJCP in pursuit of it's stated goals. In general, half of the experience points have to be for judging in order to count towards a judge's rank. The BJCP levels are as follows:

Ed and Carol Wolfe are ranked as National Judges, and if you look at some of the exam questions, you'll see that you have to know a lot about beer to reach National ranking. Ed is also a contributing author of the BJCP study guide. Suffice it to say that we are very fortunate to have Ed and Carol hosting our group.

The test itself is made up of two parts. Ten essay questions on beer styles and brewing technique make up 70% of the exam score. The remaining 30% is based on the judging of four beers as if in a competition.

The class structure is based on the following outline:

Class 1: Orientation to the BJCP and the BJCP exam

Styles: Light Lagers and Light Ales

Class 2: Orientation to beer styles and beer evaluation

Styles: Doctored beer and Pale Ales

Class 3: Ingredients (1)

Styles: Amber and Brown Ales

Class 4: Ingredients (2)

Styles: Amber, Dark, and Strong Lagers

Class 5: Techniques (1)

Styles: Strong Ales

Class 6: Techniques (2)

Styles: Dark Ales

Class 7: Faults

Styles: Doctored beers

Class 8: Recipe Formulation

Styles: Wheat

Class 9: Review and test taking strategies

Styles: Belgian Ales

At each class, Ed gives a short explanation of the subject for that session. The last couple of meetings, he has started off the session with a merciless, timed, pop quiz. There we all sit, scribbling furiously (or illegibly in Mark's case) and Ed will bring out a beer. "Judge this as a Continental Dark Lager, you have about ten minutes left" he will say. Ed has a slight sadistic streak.

After the quiz and the discussion on the day's topic, we get down to the serious business of tasting beers. We try commercial and homebrewed examples of several beers at each session, and Ed gives background on the styles and how well each example fits its style. It's all very educational, really. We don't just do it as an excuse to sit around and drink beer. Really.

Anyway, D-day is Saturday, July 17. That's when we'll be taking the Exam. Afterwards, we'll probably hit Market Street to celebrate or drown our sorrows as the case may be.