Posts tagged BJCP
I Tried It: BJCP Beer Judging Exam
I Tried It: BJCP Beer Judging Exam

I held out on becoming a BJCP judge for a surprisingly long time for someone who is obsessed with getting points and advancing ranks. There are plenty of times, even for me, when I want to just. drink. a. beer. Not evaluate it.

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Jen BlairBJCP, BJCP scoresheets, BJCP Guidelines, BJCP judge, beer judging, Beer Judge Certification Program, so you want to be a beer judge, Under the Jenfluence, CIcerone Certification Program, Cicerone, The Simpsons, Homer SimpsonComment
I Tried It: American Pale Ale and IPA Blind Tasting
I Tried It: American Pale Ale and IPA Blind Tasting

I wish I could tell you what I thought about all the beers, but another danger of drinking eight different samples is that by the end, you don't pay attention to where you put your scoresheets and now fear they may be lost forever.

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Jen BlairBJCP, BJCP Guidelines, Under the Jenfluence, blind tasting, BJCP scoresheets, Kona Brewing Company, Big Wave Golden Ale, Kona Big Wave, Big Wave, Bell's Two-Hearted, Bell's Brewing, Fat Heads, Fat Heads Head Hunter, Head Hunter, IPA, American IPA, Blonde Ale, American Pale Ale, Pale Ale, Lagunitas, Lagunitas IPA, Stone Brewing Company, Stone IPA, Three Floyds, Zombie Dust, Sierra Nevada, Sierra Nevada Brewery, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Bear Republic, Bear Republic 5 Racer, 5 Racer, sloth, Game of ThronesComment
Becoming a Certified Cicerone: Part Five (The Feelings Edition)
Becoming a Certified Cicerone: Part Five (The Feelings Edition)

People have asked why I was taking the Cicerone exam and what I hoped to get out of it. I’m not in any industry at all where a Cicerone certification is particularly useful beyond impressing people and saving time trying to prove my beer knowledge to people who dismiss me or don’t take me seriously, usually because I’m a woman and/or they assume I “like” beer because my husband does.

Beer is not just something I drink and rarely has been – it’s living history, a seemingly endless educational opportunity, and a way to bond with people and places, however unlikely. One of my great joys in life is thinking about and experiencing the perfect beer to capture a day, a mood, a feeling, an occasion, a place. 

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Jen Blairbeer, beer study, beer styles, BJCP, craft beer, Cicerone exam, Certified Cicerone, Certified Cicerone exam, Cicerone Certification Program, Cicerone, Ray DanielsComment
Becoming a Certified Cicerone: Part Four
Becoming a Certified Cicerone: Part Four

I’ve heard and read a lot of stuff about what you should do and should not do the morning of the exam: don’t eat, don’t drink coffee, don’t smoke, don’t wear perfume. I’m a brat when it comes to being hungry. My day is 15% eating snacks and 85% worrying I may be too far away from snacks at any given time, so not eating the morning of the exam was not an option for me.

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Jen Blairbrewers, Beer Pairing, beer, beer styles, beer study, BJCP, brewing, craft beer, Draft Beer Quality Manual, Tasting Beer, Keeping and Serving Beer, The Oxford Companion to Beer, Cicerone Certification Program, Cicerone exam, Cicerone, Certified Cicerone exam, Certified Cicerone, studying, snacks, Ray DanielsComment
Becoming a Certified Cicerone: Part Three
Becoming a Certified Cicerone: Part Three

A word of warning: as great as American craft beer is, I would buy the commercial examples listed in the BJCP Guidelines rather than buying an American craft version of a style because there is a high likelihood that an American craft beer that purports to be a style like an ESB is probably not going to be the best way to train your palate and brain to recognize the classic beer style.

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Jen Blairbeer, brewing, brewers, beer styles, beer study, Beer Pairing, BJCP, Draft Beer Quality Manual, Tasting Beer, Keeping and Serving Beer, The Oxford Companion to Beer, Certified Cicerone, Certified Cicerone exam, craft beer, Cicerone, Gwen Conley, Julia Herz, Randy Mosher, Ray Daniels, Garrett Oliver, studying, Cicerone Certification Program, Harris Teeter, Total Wine and MoreComment
Becoming a Cicerone: Part Two
Becoming a Cicerone: Part Two

Beyond the expense of the exam itself the other costs can 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.

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Jen Blairbeer, craft beer, Cicerone exam, Cicerone Certification Program, Certified Cicerone, BJCP, brewing, Beer Pairing, beer study, brewers, beer styles, The Oxford Companion to Beer, Tasting Beer, studying, Randy Mosher, Ray Daniels, Draft Beer Quality Manual, Keeping and Serving Beer, Julia Herz, Garrett Oliver, Gwen ConleyComment
Becoming a Certified Cicerone: Part One
Becoming a Certified Cicerone: Part One

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. 

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Jen Blairbeer, craft beer, Certified Cicerone, Cicerone Certification Program, brewing, Ray Daniels, BJCP, beer study, studying, Cicerone exam, Cicerone, Certified Cicerone exam, Draft Beer Quality Manual, beer styles, Keeping and Serving Beer, Tasting Beer, Randy Mosher, Beer Pairing, Julia Herz, Gwen Conley, The Oxford Companion to Beer, Garrett OliverComment