Advice for BJCP tasting exam

Get a hold of a copy of the style guidelines and try some of the commercial brews for each style. Score them using the beer scoresheet and see how you do based on the style guidelines. Under each categors there is fine type. For example: Aroma - comment on malt, hops, esters, and other aromatics. Tick off each one as you comment on it to make sure you have it covered. Write as much as you can and be descriptive. Even if you blow the rating if your descriptions are good enough you will still get enough points to make it to certified. If there are any competitions between now and your test, volunteer to judge. Practice makes perfect.

When you are scoring, keep in mind that most people do not score a beer below 15 or much above 40 and you get points for the closer you are to the judges rating. So start with 27.5 to 30 and go 5 over or under. If it is really bad or good then go more but think about why your are doing it.

There will generally be one really good beer and one really bad beer with the rest being in between somewhere.

Studying with a couple of people when you are going hrough the styles can help. In studying the styles you don't need to mess with fruit beers, specialty beers, etc. Generally they will focus on the more popular styles. I could write more but unfortunately work intervenes. If you have any more questions contact me. Good luck!

 

Practice. You will have 6 beers to judge in 1.5 hours. Manage your time, don't get behind. Be descriptive. For the first 4 sections (Aroma, Apperance, Flavor, Mouthfeel) only write your perceptions on what you get/don't get for the sample. In the overall impression sum it up, give recommendations for improvement. Don't say things like "use more Munich Malt", as the beer could be all Munich malt, you just don't know. Check your addition for overall score. Mark check boxes on the left for Flavor Descriptions, mark the check boxes at the bottom.

Good luck.

 

Here are some threads that might help

http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/bjcp-national-test.309906/
http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/is-there-a-bjcp-practice-exam.309264/
http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/bjcp-test-pointers.252538/

 

You will be great! Good luck =)

 

The people testing you will have the same problem getting commercial styles although they may use some homebrew. Don't bother with sours (Cagetory 17), fruit beers (20), spice/herb/vegetable (31), smoke flavored and wood aged (22), specialty beeer (23), or Belgian Specialty (16E). Start with trying to get at least one beer in each major category (1,2,3,4,5,6, etc.) and then work on the harder stuff. Working through the scoresheets and getting comfortable with them will help out a lot. Good Luck!

 

Write a lot. Leave as little white space as possible. Don't forget to comment on things that aren't there too (e.g. no hop aroma, no alcohol presence, etc)

 

Here's a link to a similar thread from a few months back: http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/bjcp-test-pointers.252538/

EDIT: Missed that @jmw already linked this and more!

 

Be sure to find out which style guidelines you should be studying! From now until the end of the year (I think; cutoff may be earlier, but well past September), exams can use either the 2008 or 2015 guidelines. While an American IPA is still an American IPA, you don't want to be served a "3B, Czech Premium Pale Lager" as an exam beer and not realize that it is the same as a 2B, Bohemian Pils.

 

It's a waste of time, don't bother.

 

Maybe according to you. But, who are you anyways?