BJCP test pointers.

My best advice is to study the style guidelines as much as possible. If you don't have the BJCP style guide app on your phone, get it. You can squeeze in a glance at a style or two in unexpected odd situations where you have nothing better to do. Knowing the styles well is important for both exams. If you are looking to get a solid passing score and save going for a high score at a later date, most of the rest of what you really need to know is in the exam study guide. If you know the style guide and study guide well, you are in good shape. Finally, drink beer critically, especially home-brew! Keep a copy of the scoresheet in your pocket or on your phone, so you can informally judge a beer whenever the mood hits. Judge as much as possible with experienced judges, if at all possible. Cheers, and good luck!
Mike
BJCP Exam Director

 

Study like mad.... memorize the style guidelines word for word, every word.... fill out a ton of scoresheets... flex your hand muscles well, as you will be doing a ton of writing on the second test. Becoming a judge is truly like a 5-credit college course, it really truly is. If you don't put in the effort, you cannot expect to pass. But study hard, and it won't be a terrible challenge. I didn't study at all for the last tasting exam, and my score suffered because of it. I know I would do better if I'd studied harder. Drink a lot of beer, study hard, fill out lots of scoresheets...... yeah, that's pretty much it. Best of luck to you. Or should I say, it's not luck, not at all. Make sure you've acquired some decent skills before the tests. BJCP judges do deserve a little bit of respect because it's way harder than Joe Q. Public thinks to become a good beer judge.

 

I will echo @CASK1 for sure. I just passed the 200 question, will be doing the tasting portion in 2 weeks. As you study the guidelines, make sure you also pay attention to the comments section and know them well. You will need to know what makes a N. English Brown ale different than S English and different than Brown Porter, dif between Brown and Robust Porter. I had a bunch of odd questions about the dif & similarities between Cal Commons and Amber Ale, two styles I don't ever care to drink. Dif between Helles, Dortmunder, German & Bohemian Pils. Know the Belgians well too. Pay attention to which styles typically have certain off flavors in low amounts like Diacetyl, acetaldehyde, and DMS (some styles are defined by notes of these in authentic versions).

You will also need to know the information in the Study Guide fairly well. I thought I knew brewing, water, malt, mashing, etc, fairly well until I reviewed that and still picked up new information, and that new info happened to be the questions asked in my test. You might think that having background info on competition organization isn't that important, but it can be. I didn't get any tough questions about how many judging points were needed with a score of X% to be a Master judge, but there are questions about whether the organizer can judge, or do BOS. The Study Guide is fairly indepth and has a lot of the info you will need to do well. I only had a couple questions that weren't answered in it. Be ready to take it when you do, don't assume you can simply look up the answers. I was nervous, but passed on the first go round.

For judging, know your flavors, make sure you do an off flavors study, even if it is simply using the household doctoring kit (in the Study Guide). We did the Siebel kit and they had at least 8 vials switched which makes for an epic fail when trying to figure out the exact flavor/aroma of compound X. I might just do a doctor at home before next weekend. You will also want to know the styles well as it is rumored that they like to throw at least one of the beers in there labeled incorrectly, ie, a Belgian Pale as an English or American Pale, or a S English Brown as a Robust Porter. You will need to know the styles well enough to judge what is there to the beer style given, and then give them direction on how to get it to fit the style or say, this beer might fit in category X better - all without opening the BJCP Guidelines. There is also supposed to be at least one beer with a flaw or even multiple flaws. I saw tha one of our proctors put a request to the Club out for beers , including ones with flaws.

 

Know the guidelines inside out.

Fill out the tasting score sheets completely, and quickly. Harder than you think.

Know off flavors and style technical flaws.

Practice time management in a test setting, that is where I really lost points.

 

The 200 question internet test should be a piece of cake if you are a decent test taker, have an app ( it's open book/app) and don't dilly-dally. take the practice test and go for the buy 2 get one free option. I passed it the first time (no app for this old guy), but it was nice knowing I had another shot if I fucked it up. Just remember...no smart phones at the tasting exam!

The tasting exam was a little bit different...study the style guidelines ad nauseum and don't be afraid to bullshit (write a lot). That mediocre porter needs to be dissected in intimate detail including what it doesn't taste like! Make sure you cover every attribute/factor or it will be easy to ding you for an incomplete assessment. Hope your test organizer and proctors aren't dicks

Good luck

 

Judging experience helps especially with getting used to the time crunch. However it isn't completely the same - different feedback between trying to be helpful to the brewer and a test of knowledge.
I've never taken the online exam but to answer questions every 18 seconds I'd come back later if I didn't immediately know an answer.

 

I'm running a tasting exam in April and I just filled up the exam. I had to go through 18 people on the waiting list before I filled it. It is very common for people to sign up and fail to take/pass the online exam. What number are you on the waiting list? Has the Exam Sponsor (person running the exam) given deadlines to pass the online exam? Ask how many people in front of you have passed the online exam?

I would recommend taking a chance and passing the online exam as soon as you can. I know that the BJCP says wait until you have a spot in the tasting exam to pass the online test, but I disagree. Passing the online exam says you are serious about the exam and and in my view you would move to the top of the waiting list. Having people sign up and not go through with the online exam is one of the most frustrating things about the exam from a Exam Sponsor point of view.

Also from personal experience I've taken the tasting exam twice and in both situation I was able to get a spot in the exam even though I was 14 and 23 on the waiting list.

 

@SFACRKnight ever seen the documentary Somm? Check it out.

It's about wine, but it shows the grueling practices of tasting/studying to becoming a master sommelier. Very similar to what you'd have to go through to become a BJCP. Definitely worth a watch. You've gotta be crazy obsessed!

 

I've taken the tasting exam twice - got Certified the first time and the second test will be in limbo for probably 6 months... But think of things from the perspective of the proctor of the test. Typically the beer that is brought in is from the proctor or their club. It will be styles that are brewed often or fairly often. So yes you should study the style guidelines well and know the ins and outs of most styles but if your brain is at max capacity you can probably take a break on Bier de Garde... Some judges dose beers with off flavors some don't. Some mix a bunch of shit beer left over from a competition to give you a real bad one on test day. Judge as many comps as you can before your test and you'll do fine.

 

My top tips

1. If you are an experienced home brewer and beer drinker don't sweat the online test. It's open book and you'll know lots of answers anyway. I passed easily on my first try without much studying.

2. Study the exam guide and style guidelines thoroughly for the written exam. It is much more difficult. Know yours styles inside and out and fill out every descriptor on the sheet. I lucked out and got 4 out of 5 styles I was more familiar with and still barely got over certified level on my first test. If you feel confident about 3 or 4 of the beers you should be pretty safe.

3. Study off flavors and styles you are not as familiar with. I would suggest an off flavors kit if you know a BJCP judge who can get it for cheap. We do this every other year in our homebrew club and it's very valuable. If you are on BA, I'm assuming you know what a good beer's attributes are as you've probably had many. Even as a certified judge, I still have some troubles picking out off flavors sometimes. The only time I really ever have bad beer is at competitions and random start up breweries. I'm a lot more used to average to good beer than bad beer.

4. Practice writing scoresheets with a lot of the beer you drink and specifically focus on what is called out in parenthesis in each section while you are drinking. Study some sample scoresheets to see how the master judges do it. There are many examples of scoresheets done on commercial beers. I'd recommend snagging a few of those, doing your own scoresheet then comparing them to the ones found online.

 

No one suggests actually traveling to the areas/countries/beer cultures where the "styles" originated?

 

For me, a study group that met once a month and then twice a month right before the tasting exam helped...too bad I had to travel 120 miles R/T to get there.

 

I would like to add, if your club still does Club Only Comps judge them all to get as much practice as possible for the tasting exam. If they don't, then judge any BJCP comps in your area, find a National or higher ranked judge, and sit at his table. They will mentor you as you go, and you can calibrate your palette and scoring as you get feedback from them.

 

The BJCP rules for comps allow for a certain number of novice judges dependent upon the make up of BJCP judges. Of course you don't want to have 3 noobs and a brand new Certified judge doing his first couple points. If there is a good mix of higher ranked/experienced judges, fresher BJCP guys, and noobs there isn't an issue. The past couple comps I have judged had some fresh fish in the pond at our table, I still don't have my BJCP but have judged for a few years now, and then there was a big fish at our table as well.

 

Just to clarify, there is nothing it the rules that states you have to be a BJCP Ranked Judge to judge. The BJCP actually allows a lot of leeway with giving Competition Organizers the ability to set their own rules. Here are the rules that the BJCP imposes on all sanctioned competitions. http://bjcp.org/rules.php

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I have found that it is a case by case basis...sometimes the "fresh fish" write better score sheets than nationally ranked judges. I had one come back from a nationally ranked judge that for flavor said "good", while another from a provisional judge was excellent with both front and back crammed to the margins with insightful comments.

If they don't have enough judges, almost anyone could find themself sitting in the judge's chair.