Beer Education
BJCP Exam Preparation and Sensory Tastings
About the Course
Expanding qualified beer knowledge and juding through instruction and experience based education.
Key dates:
Sensory Classes: Kick-off Tuesday, February 21, 2023
BJCP Exam prep course: Starts Tuesday, July 11, 2023 (Geared toward a November 11 exam date)
In this course, we’ll learn what it takes to evaluate beer according to BJCP guidelines, technical aspects of brewing, and how to provide useful and complete descriptions of beer. A properly executed BJCP scoresheet should be specific, thorough, descriptive, and provide actionable feedback for the brewer.
What is BJCP?
The Beer Judging Certification Program is a world wide all volunteer non-profit organization which:
Encourages knowledge, understanding, and appreciation of the world’s diverse beer, mead, and cider styles,
Promotes, recognizes, and advances beer, mead, and cider tasting, evaluation and communication skills, and
Develops standardized tools, methods, and processes for the structured evaluation, ranking and feedback of beer, mead, and cider.
Sensory Classes
Sensory classes are stand alone classes which target specific beer styles and characters. There is no series commitment for attending sensory classes, they are a less formal “drop-in” format. We do request RSVP if you plan to attend, this allows us to have enough materials prepared for everybody.
Sensory classes are mainly focused on experiencing classic BJCP styles, describing and identifying characteristics, and learning about off-flavors.
Class Frequency: Every 2 weeks, refer to the calendar for upcoming dates
Location: Locations may vary, the calendar will have the class specific address
Class Length: 1.5-2 hours
Class Fee: $5 per class (Covers beer and sensory costs)
10 MINUTES
Introduction to a BJCP Process
A highlight of a single aspect of BJCP. Topics include basics of BJCP, competition formats, judging expectations, and more.
10 MINUTES
Technical Subject and Related Descriptors
A focused technical point, and a discussion of sensory descriptors related to that item.
60 MINUTES
Style Guidelines and Sensory Practice
Generally 2-3 related styles will be discussed. Classic examples will be drank and evaluated.
20 MINUTES
Off Flavor
An off flavor will be reviewed in depth, and an example of the off flavor will be sampled. Causes and solutions to the off flavor will be discussed.
BJCP Exam Prep Classes
Exam prep classes will be hosted bi-weekly. Please refer to the calendar for specific times and locations. Classes will follow the format below, touching on each area of required BJCP knowledge.
Number of Classes in the Course: 9
Class Length: 1.5-2 hours
Course Fee: $30 Total (Beer included, covers all 9 classes. This low cost is possible by donations from our partners!)
15 MINUTES
BJCP Process Information
Informational topic regarding BJCP orgnization, rankings, requirements, and best practices.
15 MINUTES
Focused Technical Subject
Technical point of discussion including brewing methods, processes, common faults, and improvements.
15 MINUTES
Style Guidelines
Selected style guidelines will be discussed in detail. Similar and related styles will be discussed together including similarities and contrasts.
45 MINUTES
Tasting and Evaluation
Beers from the style discussed will be judged. Practice scoresheets will be filled out, and format will be discussed. Common off flavors will also be included in tasting.
Calendar
Upcoming Events
Course Registration
About the Organizers
Our goal is to expand the number of qualified beer judges available for local competitions, as well as improve sensory feedback skills. We know Beer City has a lot of passionate brewers and consumers, and believe our local judging pool should reflect that extensive knowledge. This is a grass-roots effort to improve our brewing community.
Join our course, lets learn together.
Our Sponsors
We build a stronger community through collaboration. We are grateful for support from the partners below.
