The Belhaven Scottish Ale paired perfectly with the vegetarian version. The caramel maltiness tempered the heat from the spicy Italian Beyond sausage as well as highlighted the Maillard flavors from the deep frying. The herbal and earthy hop flavors highlighted the beer horseradish mustard I paired with the Scotch eggs.

"Meh" is not acceptable feedback for competitions. Or anywhere, really - stop leaving "Meh" as beer feedback, everyone

As I predicted, I did not pass. I missed it by a total of 9 points.

How did I find the difference between Belgian Blond Ales, Belgian Golden Strong Ales, and Belgian Tripels?

Pretty much like the difference between Queen's "Under Pressure" and Vanilla Ice's "Ice, Ice, Baby," as described by Vanilla Ice.

Beyond the expense of the exam itself, the other costs can add up quickly. However, the good news is that if you don’t have a lot of cash to throw around, it’s still completely possible to have all the study materials you need for next to nothing.

My road to Cicerone was a long one, full of hard work, failure, and self-discovery. In this series of posts, I'll talk about how I approached the exam, the resources I used, how I conducted tastings, how the day of the exam went for me, and what I learned along the way.