BJCP test pointers.

You need to know what is in the BJCP guidelines. You can lose points if actual experience differs. Think about the number of Americans who have spent time overseas drinking beer and appreciating it in the home setting, vs. the ones that have had old imported versions or poor attempts by a small American brewery. Sad but true.

Edit - Duesseldorf altbier - you would be surprized at what most think. All munich base malt - pffft!

 

Many professional brewers judge competitions, many are not BJCP certified and do a great job. There is a check box for professional on the form.

 

Well, at least they now have a set definition for what constitutes "quality beer." http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/brewers-association-defines-quality-beer.253408/

 

Do NOT confuse the BJCP with the Brewers Association. Please, two different organizations.

 

Just to echo what others have said. Read the guidelines and critically judge beer and write scoresheets (lots of scoresheets).

We trained by writing scoresheets in 12 minutes which was really helpful on the actual exam where you get 15 minutes. When judging the last beer or two on the tasting exam the time really flies.

A couple scoresheet tips. Fill out every line and comment on everything that the categories mention (Aroma:hops/malt/esters/etc).

Online exam: Know the differences between similar or closely related styles. Lots of questions about brown ales/porters and belgians on mine. You don't have a ton of time to look stuff up so know it well. If you've brewed a bunch of styles you probably know more than you think.

 

Not sure if these study aids are up to date (last one is from 2011), but here you go....

http://www.bjcp.org/docs/OffFlavorFlash.pdf
http://bjcp-cards.pintwell.com/
2011 http://www.flashcardmachine.com/bjcp-exam-studyguide.html

 

@SFACRKnight what ever came of your studies?

 

I am also an ASE certified Master with L1. I realize this is an old thread, but I couldn't help but comment. I am also an avid homebrewer. It's always nice to meet another knuckle buster who shares the same passion for beer.
If you think the BCJP testing is hard, then wait until you take the L1!
I've had that cert. for 11 years, and I do advanced diagnostics every day. But it never gets any easier when I re-certify. It's a lot harder than any exam I took in college. Good luck!

 

Knowing your styles is important for both tests. I had a LOT of style questions in the online exam - so many that all of the questions related to the BJCP program and brewing ingredient/process questions seemed minimal and easy. For the judging exam, obviously you don't know what you will get (with the exception of a few exclusions) so you really have to have a pretty good idea of what each style is about.

That said, good scoresheets are probably much less about style than they are about solid, descriptive evaluation of the beer, and appropriate feedback. Check out the BJCP judge training video (available on Youtube) as well as the exam grader guidelines/rubric. The grade for the judging exam is based on 20% each from perception (most difficult, since it relies on developing your palate), scoring accuracy (use the scoring guide at the bottom of the sheet as a check), feedback (appropriate for better matching style and overall improvement to the beer), descriptive ability (develop a vocabulary to go with your perception), and completeness (address everything and fill up the sheet).

You can get the majority of the points for a passing score relatively easily from those last three, which are almost formulaic. Practice writing good quality scoresheets and tasting different beers/styles. The more you do this, the more you will see improvement in your scoresheets, and the judging exam will be just more of the same - except waiting for a grade...