BJCP vs. Cicerone?

@Mike_Aguirre could add something about BCJP.

 

BJCP judging is more than just styles and the people who knock it for the styles sometimes forget that. There is a big focus on evaluating the beers and identifying flaws and other qualities of the beer so they can give the brewer feedback and suggestions to make the beer better if there are issues. That is the part of BJCP that professional brewers will gain the most from. I hear from homebrewers all the time how the process of becoming a BJCP judge helped them make better brewers and make better beer as they more fully understand the brewing process and ingredients and how the effect the resulting beer while now being able to identify resulting flavors, aromas and flaws.

 

excellent posts

 

I'll jump on with @StarRanger and add that all brewers, both home and pro brew both styles and beers. Pros that brew "beers" still face the issue of where to submit it in GABF and WBC for judging.

For the OP, I have gained a wealth of knowledge over the years and really was impressed with how easy it was to rank high in my BJCP test last year. It is well worth the time and effort, as well as the $. It also gives you some working knowledge towards some of the aspects of the Cicerone if you choose to go that route in the future.

 

+1 to this.

A big part of BJCP judging is identifying flaws and providing corrective actions to the brewer.

As far as professional qualification, nothing kills my faith that a bar is serious about beer like tasting a pint, knowing that it's oxidized or picked up an infection from dirty lines, bringing it back and having the bartender say, "There's nothing wrong with that."

 

I'm an Advanced Cicerone, Certified BJCP Judge, and MBAA Beer Steward.
BJCP certification is very intensive but Cicerone covers some additional areas that BJCP does not (beer laws, keeping/serving, food pairing). The value of the BJCP is definitely towards brewing, whether home or pro. The value of Cicerone is definitely towards working in the industry in general and is more likely to help you get a job or promotion than BJCP. I would highly recommend using the BJCP to prepare you for the Cicerone exam. Any Certified BJCP judge is already more than half way there. If they also have worked in the industry & with draft systems then they could probably pass without any food pairing knowledge because it only counts 10% of your grade. I was really surprised how easy the Certified (level 2) exam was. I left it knowing I crushed it. I get the feeling the pass rate is so low because a lot of people taking it are only doing so because their work is making them or encouraging them to (and often paying for it) so they're not really passionate enough about it to do the studying that it takes to pass. The Advanced (level 3) exam was no joke though. I can't imagine what the Master exam must be like.

 

Im also certified beer server and I've been told the hardest part of the test is the tasting of off flavors. Once you get your history down the test is the same more or less as the server but i was told there's a speaking part and to just drink a lot of bad beer in a style comparison to good beer ie; dos equis amber vs Boston lager to pick out differences to see if you pick out bad flavors. Or get the off flavors kit from the cicerone site.

 

I have seen only a few pages of the Cicerone guidelines but they were utter and useless garbage. fit to be filed under fiction.I recall the Milds page was an embarrassment .

 

So is there any positive action you will take?

 

One of the pages was discussed on this site (Ocrober 2015 , English Mild) and I hope the writers have informed themselves better. I am not an original researcher and what I know is from others who are better placed to offer advice.

 

Oh FFS, contact them directly. Engage them in a constructive dialogue. Put some work into it, with the conviction you have on here. Hell, they might give you credits in the next revision, like another guy on here that was a big critic of the BJCP, got from the BJCP in the 2015 guidelines.