It's officially summer, I just got out of school but want continue my beer education. Other than my thirst for beer knowledge, my goal is to be Cicerone certified by the end of the summer. So, are there any beer education courses in the DFW area that help me out?
Not really, some of the homebrew clubs hold educational sessions on cicerone training. I don't think you can learn enough in a summer though. Good luck in your journey though, it is always good to have more educated beer drinkers!
As @Lutter mentioned, the Certified Beer Server exam is fairly simple. The certified cicerone exam is much, much harder. I also suggest @Chuk_Hell 's recommendation on reading "Tasting Beer" by Mosher. Also, check up on tap setup and maintenance. As far as other courses, I know in Houston, home-brew clubs here hold BJCP study groups, which would be very helpful for Cicerone.
Also, to become a certified cicerone, I believe you need a year of industry experience, or an industry sponsor.
Yeah, yoiu have to be in the beer industry to get past CBS. I checked into it a while back. Heres the website i was looking around on, good info and courses here. http://beersavvy.com/
Community Beer Company hosts a "Beer School" with their head brewer once a month or so. Technical details on brewing, history of beer, brewery FAQs, and tastings included: http://www.communitybeer.com/#!events/c3zk
Also, I'm interested in going that same route- getting my cicerone certification over the summer (if I have time with work and all). Message me if you've made any headway with details or want to get a "study group" going!
The NTHBA puts on a Beer Camp in the summer, that may be worth looking into. Some reading: John Palmer's How to Brew, New Lager Brewing, Principles of Brewing Science, and the Brewing Elements Series has been great thus far along with Brewing with Wheat and the Farmhouse Ales/Wild Brews/Brew Like a Monk trilogy. I'm also looking into putting together some short course programs on Advanced Homebrewing and Basics of Cellarmanship.
This x1000. The Brewmaster's Table by Garrett Oliver is an excellent resource as well. As mentioned, the CBS exam is fairly simple, though it still requires some studying prior to taking it. The Certified Cicerone exam is a lot more technical and complex. It consists of a tasting portion (styles and off-flavors), short answer, and essay questions. Topics covered include proper handling, brewing process, draft systems, and style knowledge/history. I've been a CBS studying for the CC for 3 years, and I still don't feel that I'm fully ready for it (close though). If you haven't already, study up and take the CBS exam. The CC is going to take a lot of work. I'd recommend finding a few other people who may be interested in going that route so you can help each other study and split costs on some of the training programs (I'd highly recommend doing the off-flavor seminar before taking the exam). Best of luck to you!
