Certified Cicerones?

I am currently in pursuit of a certification, only reason not done yet being money at the moment. I can/will do the beer server test without studying with no problem. Will have to study for the beer/food pairing and some of the draft stuff. I am a homebrewer, so I have a lot of the tough stuff already worked out on the tasting/evaluation side, aside from reviewing beer for 10 years so I know all the styles.

I personally want it just to have it, if you put any effort into understanding beer it will just be a proof certificate that you know what you are talking about. Might broaden your knowledge though. I do plan on some day entering the field in some capacity, but the pay keeps me in Engineering for the time being.

I plan on being certified before the year is over.

 

I took and passed the Beer Server test in 2011 and then the Certified Cicerone(R) exam in 2012. I did it for my job in the beer, wine, spirits retail field.

Those were the earlier days of the Cicerone program and there were three levels at that time (Advanced Cicerone level did not exist). The program went from Certified to Master. I did not pursue the Master level mostly because it was not going to advance me in my particular career situation.

I am very glad I did it. It absolutely helped me understand, and appreciate, beer better.

 

Sure. You do it every time you post a brand name of a beer, don't ya?

 

I'm working my way through studying for certified (did server a few months ago) - still early stages but I've found it's already helped in how I think about beer, why I like what I like, etc.

 

If I was 25 and interested in a possible career in the beverage industry, i
I might take the course. As is over 40 years in the business will have to suffice. My specialties are beer, wine, and Scotch Whiskey.

 

I know the Cicerone folks were sticklers about that, so I am in the habit of writing it that way. They want to be sure the word "cicerone" in the context of an official title used for the beer certification is properly referenced including their trademarks.

Here's an excerpt from their website:

What is a Cicerone?
The word Cicerone (sis-uh-rohn) designates hospitality professionals with proven experience in selecting, acquiring, and serving today's wide range of beers. To claim the title of Cicerone, one must earn the trademarked title of Certified Cicerone® or hold higher certification as Advanced CiceroneTM or Master Cicerone®. Those with a basic level of expertise gain recognition by earning the first-level title Certified Beer Server.

As stated by others, don't sweat it when referencing it here.

 

I became a Level 1 Certified Beer Server with the Cicerone group back in November and did so to help getting into the industry. I wanted to make a career change from being an Art Director to serving beer and felt that the certification would help my job search, and it did. From serving beer to cleaning lines the the knowledge I gained has been very helpful and helped show that I was serious. I've been preparing (slowly) for Level 2 Certified Cicerone but have had to pause a bit due to a recent lack of funds. I actually had a course on off-flavors scheduled right before everything in the world got cancelled, and was about to pull the trigger on longer beer ed course too, so hopefully when the economy gets back to it they'll reschedule everything and I can get back to it.

 

I think nothing can replace actual hands on industry experience- see My. Miyagi doubtfully ask Daniel Larusso in their first encounter, "You learn karate from book?" But the Cicerone series does provide a solid in-depth knowledge base and does a service for the hiring bar/brewery as well: by requiring a certification to get hired, it saves the bar/brewery a good amount of time and expense that goes into training the new hires.

 

I have my CBS and have had it for a few years now. I feel like it was more of a nice extra curricular when I got it, that let employers know you were more serious than the average person gunning for the same job. Nowadays it's pretty much become industry standard and not having at least CBS is a crime.

 

I'm a Cicerone, passed the test in 2015. I've been in the industry since 2008 from originally just working in a store, to running a fine wine store, to working for breweries the past five plus years.

I already had A LOT of sensory experience before I took the CBS or Certified Cicerone exams. A friend of mine had already passed the Cicerone exam and prior to the exam he said I wouldn't have to study for the CBS and that the Cicerone exam would be like taking a low level college course and that was the case for me as well.

 

The one thing I'd suggest to anyone taking the exam or not, is just to take the tours of countries or styles. There's sooo many new money drinkers that don't respect historical styles b/c they jumped into craft in a slushy, pastry stout, milkshake IPA world. You'll be a better consumer and drinker if you drink all of the classics. There's no experience like actually having X amount of great beers in front of you.

 

If anyone is interested, Cicerone is doing a YouTube live series on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 1pm CT (so... not for people working, I guess) starting 4/21 with a master Cicerone running through a lesson and then doing Q&A - full info below/apologies on formatting:

As bars, restaurants, and brewery taprooms remain shuttered due to social distancing protocols, we wanted to do something to help educate folks that are stuck at home right now. To that end, we’ve put together a short curriculum that we’re calling CBS Prep Talks—a free, 12-session series of live presentations geared towards the Certified Beer Server exam. We’ll be hosting the sessions Tuesdays and Thursdays at 1pm CT starting on Tuesday, April 21, and running through the end of May. Each session will feature about half an hour of live training with Master Cicerone® Neil Witte followed by a question and answer session*. As a bonus, we’ll be offering 10 free Certified Beer Server exams to the attendees of each session. We’ll also be posting the videos to our YouTube channel so that you can still follow along in case you can’t make one of the live sessions.

The 12 sessions will cover the following topics:

• Tuesday, April 21 – Session #1 – Flavor, taste, and aroma
• Thursday, April 23 – Session #2 – Improving your flavor vocabulary and understanding malt flavor
• Tuesday, April 28 – Session #3 – Hop and fermentation flavors
• Thursday, April 30 – Session #4 – Brewing process
• Tuesday, May 5 – Session #5 – Oxidation and lightstruck off flavors
• Thursday, May 7 – Session #6 – Draft knowledge and dirty draft systems
• Tuesday, May 12 – Session #7 – Proper glassware and pouring techniques
• Thursday, May 14 – Session #8 – Understanding beer style parameters (ABV, IBUs, SRM)
• Tuesday, May 19 – Session #9 – German and Czech beer styles
• Thursday, May 21 – Session #10 – British and Irish beer styles
• Tuesday, May 26 – Session #11 – American beer styles
• Thursday, May 28 – Session #12 – Belgian beer styles

If you want to learn a bit more about beer, we’d love to have you join us. To check out the sessions, either subscribe to our YouTube channel or click here for a link to the first session!

Link: https://www.cicerone.org/us-en/blog...-72823825&mc_cid=6773443db1&mc_eid=287f40e534

 

Thanks for posting. I just sent this along to my colleagues.

 

I am currently study for the CBS exam, as I have a lot of free time at work and figured I might be able to put my beer knowledge to the test, so to speak. No idea what I will do with any certification, if I decided to chase the Certified Cicerone.