There's a pretty good movie that details a few people prepping for the exam: The full thing is available on Amazon Prime.
From reddit, posted byWSJ….. Hi, This is Laura at The Wall Street Journal. Thought this group might be interested in this feature about beer experts. Our reporters Kristina Peterson and Laura Cooper spoke to several Master Cicerones, the highest certification among beer experts. It's an exclusive club–there are only 28 Master Cicerones. Skip the paywall and read the full story here: https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/beer-sommelier-master-cicerone-brew-tasting-bd626d19?st=FtSQ17 52
““There’s only so much beer you can drink and be productive,” Pratt said. ” Amen to that! “The Master Cicerone exam, administered by an independent group, marks the highest of four certification levels and involves 16 essays, eight blind beer-tasting panels and 12 oral exams over two days.” So basically you are drinking and then doing oral exams, drinking then doing oral exams…definitely sounds like a fraternity initiation.
I have a dedicated beer fridge. In fact, I have a 2nd one in the garage for summertime. Imagine going out for drinks with a know-it-all cicerone. Oh boy.
I know some folks who have done the first few tiers of the Cicerone certification. It sounded a lot like a super rigorous beer judge certification, but with way more emphasis on the background for things. Rather than just knowing what traits should be present, I guess they have to know a whole lot of why in a historical sense. There are also requirements for knowing how to do actual service work, like cleaning lines, pouring, glassware, etc. It sounded pretty interesting, but it's not free. Also, the further you get into it seems to take the "fun" out of beer.
My whiffer doesn't work like it used to when I was younger. I can't detect any difference between straw or hay or grass in aromas. I'd fail that exam easily. I know what I like to drink and drink what I like. Good enough for me. Sometimes wanna be cicerone reviews crack me up with their over the top descriptions of aroma & flavor. They get notes of plum, fig, prune, raisins, brown sugar, figgie pudding, sugar & spice & everything nice. I taste & smell beer. Maybe it was the cocaine I did back in the 80's? Maybe not?
We keep ours fairly well stocked. New to us breweries get a sticker on the door, assuming they have stickers.
My wife got tired of my beer taking over the fridge. She bought me a college sized refrigerator. It only made me buy more beer. Believe it or not, you can pack a lot of beer in one, except for the big bottles
My sister and nephew moved in with us a while back so we needed a 2nd fridge that is located in the garage. When they moved out, my son and I took it over as a beer fridge.
I’ve never had a beer fridge of my own. That may be a plan some day. Funny thing during my stay in a barracks in the army, I was working as a bartender in what the Commonwealth nations calls the Officers Mess. The fellow soldier working in the Mess kitchen sharing the room had the idea to bring a fairly small but very convenient refrigerator. Keeping the 1664 and Heineken cold instead of lukewarm allowing better evenings/nights. We got totally screwed though during some inspection by our officers having a fridge full of beers, and it got confiscated. I don’t remember any drunken stupor at least the nights before working so a bit arbitrary but we enjoyed it for a few weeks.
