By Ken Carman

Ken Carman is a BJCP judge; homebrewer since 1979, club member at Escambia Bay and Music City Homebrewers, who has been interviewing professional brewers all over the east coast for over 10 years.

The Topic: The BJCP Exam

Last September I took the BJCP exam again. For those unfamiliar this is the exam that ranks beer judges. I’ve heard the uninitiated joke and make fun, thinking this is something straight out of one of my least favorite movies: “Beerfest.” Oh, I can see the humor; I just think “Beerfest” is one vast dump on a very serious endeavor: filled with cliche’s and misconceptions. One would think from watching “Beerfest” all beer related events are guzzling affairs attended by alcoholic nincompoops.

That’s just the opposite of judging beer. The test itself has a well deserved reputation of being tougher than some engineering exams and those who grade it being exceedingly tough. It’s a well deserved reputation.

The majority of your grade is culled from the written part, a far lesser part is drawn from a blind judging of beer samples. I think this is backwards. A beer judge who doesn’t know the various BJCP beer categories by heart can simply use the guidelines when they judge. They are given a copy. But a judge without keen taste buds is a poor judge indeed.

I’m not arguing in favor of getting rid of the written part. I think any judge needs to know beer basics, although I have ridiculed the concept of making a judge design a recipe for the exam: cold; without knowing the style to begin with, and then punishing them for not getting the specific gravity or IBUs right.

I, personally, don’t see how that proves one is a better judge than one who fails at the task.

I certainly think judges should have some knowledge of defects. But actually being able to find those defects; to have similar abilities to taste them with the best of judges? Crucia. But that’s far less important to your grade than the rest.

When I studied for this year’s exam I spent months polluting beer. I bought cans of corn and used the juice, I used cold sprays, Butter Buds: all to mimic well known defects in beer. I used non-alcoholic beer and IPAs, Imperial Stouts… basically all kinds of beer.

Yes, I did better, though not as well as I had hoped.

Of course I’m not sure how they prepared their samples during the test, except one. The last one was to be judged as a Russian Imperial, but what they did is take an Imperial IPA and Guinness Stout and mix them. According to the judges who judged the beer for the BJCP that we were pitted against they felt it didn’t have enough body for a Russian Imperial. The BJCP, of course, has to trust those who do such mixing and the two judges who were pitted against us.

They were wrong. I know they were. But, I could be wrong: I have been before… once. (Chuckle.)

Now some might say if you mix these two that would have to be the result: less body than a Russian Imperial. But doesn’t that depend upon the mix and how hoppy this Imperial was? Imperials can have loads of body: indeed they tend to to create balance with the hops. A thin Imperial would be a poor Imperial IPA indeed. To me it was almost a perfect clone of Old Rasputin by North Coast with just a few more hops. Old Rasputin is a classic example of the style.

But whether I’m wrong, or right, my point is we should be doing constant taste bud calibrations with judges and judges to be. The few I have been to are far too quick, far too shallow and far too, well, few. You don;t get much education from providing a sample and then moving one. I recommend picking, oh, say DMS and then doing a session with various styles: progressive from thin to bold all with the same defect. Encourage the judges to do tis on their own. Then repeat with various defects.

This would be true training.

This would create better judges, and separate the “real” judges from the lesser ones.

The BJCP site, last time I went to that page, says exactly that, The BJCP test separates out the “real” judges.

No it doesn’t.

At least not yet.

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Brew Biz: Werts and All, is a column dedicated to review, discuss and comment on all things beer including, but not limited to: marketing, homebrewing and homebrew/beer related events, how society perceives all things beer. Also: reviews of beer related businesses, opinions about trends in the beer business, and all the various homebrew, judging and organizations related to beer. Essentially, all things “beer.”

Copyright 2010
Ken Carman and Cartenual Productions
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