Asia-Pacific
Mark Hibberd
Hi from Melbourne, Australia. I am the new Asia Pacific Region Representative. A little bit about myself… I have been a BJCP judge since 2006 and am very active as a Competition Organiser, Exam Administrator, Proctor, and Grader.
The Region currently has judges in Australia, New Zealand, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand. Half of the Region’s 800 judges are from Australia and New Zealand. I’m keen to see more growth in other countries. If I can assist anyone in Administering, Proctoring, or answering questions about organising an exam, please contact me.
After the Covid interruptions, the Australian Amateur Brewing Championship entry numbers are back up to full strength this year with over 1500 entries in the first round State/Territory Qualifiers. The final judging will be run in conjunction with the 7th Australian National Homebrewing Conference in Melbourne in October. There are also 10 other competitions already scheduled throughout the region for the rest of the year. Check out the Competition Calendar for a full list.
Latin America
James Foster
versión en español aquí/versão em português aqui
Whaazzzuuuupp fellow judges! My name is James Foster and I’m the new Latin America Regional representative. I am replacing Diego Setti, who did a great job despite having a fairly tough 3 years what with the global COVID situation and a personal relocation from Argentina to the USA to cope with.
I currently live in Argentina and have been in the BJCP since 2011. I am Grand Master I and Mead judge as well as having various other qualifications from the field.
We had a great election campaign which was a lot of fun and had an interesting and informed debate between the 3 candidates (Luis Hector Valdez Gurrola, Thomaz Pupo and myself) which was kindly facilitated and moderated by Fabian Lara and Andrés Cuadra from Chile. I asked Luis to become an assistant rep after the election, to which he agreed, and asked Thomaz to stay on as assistant, to which he declined due to heavy work commitments he has in Brazil, and because he is already in the exam directorate team.
I have already started on a couple of projects, which are to cut the current waiting time for exam results from the current 12 plus months down to 6 if possible, and to get official BJCP material translated into Spanish and Portuguese and to get it signed, sealed and sanctioned and in use. I am working with Don Blake to get native grading teams up and running again and to get more judges involved with that. I also have a small pilot team working on translating various exam materials.
I continue to try and get at least one written exam offered in Argentina every 12-18 months, which is about sufficient for the amount of judges ready and willing to take it. Although I would like to see if there is enough interest to offer the exam in regions other than Buenos Aires, and I would very much like to help out anyone wishing to put the exam on in other countries, especially if it has never been offered before.
I’m continuing the slow and steady work of getting Mead and Cider judging up to speed down here in Argentina, and I’m thankful for the support given by the more advanced regions of Brazil and Chile. Again, if anyone would like help getting these two exams moving in their countries, please get in touch.
Competitions are booming once again, after what I saw was a bit of a sluggish post-Covid 2021. There are a good number of both national and international competitions going on, with a nice interchange of judges from different countries and plenty of networking happening. IPA’s seem to still rule the roost in comps, but some very interesting beers with local ingredients always get a look in, as well as the new wave of sours and barrel aged.
That’s all for now. Please do get in touch, and never stop learning!
¿Qué tal compañeros jueces? Mi nombre es James Foster y soy el nuevo representante regional de América Latina. Estoy reemplazando a Diego Setti, quien hizo un gran trabajo a pesar de tener 3 años bastante complicados con la situación global de COVID, además de una reubicación personal de Argentina a los EE. UU.
Actualmente vivo en Argentina y he estado en el BJCP desde 2011. Soy nivel Grand Master I y juez de hidromiel, además de tener varias otras cualificaciones en el campo.
Tuvimos una gran campaña electoral que fue muy divertida y tuvo un debate interesante e informado entre los 3 candidatos (Luis Héctor Valdez Gurrola, Thomaz Pupo y yo) que amablemente fue facilitado y moderado por Fabián Lara y Andrés Cuadra de Chile. Le pedí a Luis que se convirtiera en representante asistente después de la elección, a lo que accedió, y también le pedí a Thomaz que se quedara como asistente, pero no pudo acceder debido a los fuertes compromisos de trabajo que tiene en Brasil. Thomaz además ya se encuentra en el equipo de la dirección de exámenes.
Ya comencé con un par de proyectos. El primero es reducir el tiempo de espera actual (12+ meses) para los resultados de los exámenes a 6 meses si es posible. El segundo es obtener material oficial de BJCP traducido al español y portugués para firmarlo, presentarlo, aprobarlo y ponerlo en uso. Estoy trabajando con Don Blake para que los equipos de calificación de lengua nativa vuelvan a funcionar y para que más jueces se involucren en esto. También tengo un pequeño equipo piloto que trabaja en la traducción de varios materiales de examen.
Sigo tratando de obtener al menos un examen escrito en Argentina cada 12 a 18 meses, que es suficiente para la cantidad de jueces listos y dispuestos a tomarlo. También me gustaría ver si hay suficiente interés para ofrecer el examen en otras regiones además de Buenos Aires, y me gustaría mucho ayudar a cualquiera que desee realizar el examen en otros países, especialmente si nunca antes se ha ofrecido.
Continúo con arduo y constante trabajo para acelerar la evaluación de hidromieles y sidras en Argentina, y estoy agradecido por el apoyo brindado por las regiones más avanzadas en este sector, como Brasil y Chile. Nuevamente, si alguien desea obtener ayuda para que estos exámenes se lleven a cabo en sus países, comuníquense conmigo o con algun representante asistente.
Nuevamente las competencias están en auge, comparado con el crecimiento lento del 2021 debido a la pandemia COVID. En este momento existe una buena cantidad de competencias a nivel nacional e internacional con jueces invitados de diferentes países donde se forman importantes redes de contactos. Las IPA parecen seguir dominando las entradas en las competencias, pero siempre aparecen cervezas interesantes con ingredientes locales, así como la nueva ola de cervezas ácidas y añejadas en barrica.
Eso es todo por ahora. ¡Por favor, póngase en contacto y nunca dejen de aprender!
Como vão, colegas juízes? Meu nome é James Foster e sou o novo Representante Regional da América Latina. Estou substituindo o Diego Setti, que fez um ótimo trabalho apesar de ter tido 3 anos difíceis com a situação global da Covid e lidar com uma mudança da Argentina para os Estados Unidos.
Atualmente eu vivo na Argentina e sou membro do BJCP desde 2011. Sou um Grand Master 1 e sou juiz de hidromel, com várias outras qualificações no meio.
Nós tivemos uma ótima campanha eleitoral que foi muito divertida, com um debate interessante e esclarecedor entre os 3 candidatos (Luis Hector Valdez Gurrola, Thomaz Pupo e eu) que foi gentilmente facilitado e moderado pelos chilenos Fabian Lara e Andrés Cuadra. Eu pedi a Luis para ser meu Representante Assistente depois da eleição, que foi aceito, e pedi a Thomaz para ficar como assistente, o que foi recusado dado a quantidade de compromissos de trabalho que ele tem no Brasil e porque já fazer parte do time de exames.
Eu já comecei alguns projetos, que envolvem diminuir o tempo de espera para resultados de exames de 12 ou mais meses para 6, se possível, e ter materiais oficiais do BJCP traduzidos em espanhol e português selados, sancionados e em uso. Eu estou trabalhando com o Don Blake para ter times de avaliação nativos funcionando de novo e ter mais envolvimento de juízes nesse processo. Eu também tenho um pequeno time piloto trabalhando na tradução de vários materiais relacionados a exames.
Eu continuo tentando ter pelo menos um written exam disponível na Argentina a cada 12-18 meses que parece ser suficiente para a quantidade de juízes prontos e dispostos a fazê-lo. Apesar disso, gostaria de entender se existe interesse suficiente para oferecer o exame em outras regiões diferentes de Buenos Aires e também gostaria muito de ajudar qualquer pessoa que queira aplicar o exame em outros países, especialmente nos que nunca tiveram um antes.
Eu continuo lenta e gradualmente trabalhando em fazer com que Hidromel e Sidra sejam avaliados aqui na Argentina e eu sou muito grato pelo apoio dado por regiões como mais experiência como Brasil e Chile. De novo, se alguém quiser ajudar em fazer com que esses dois exames aconteçam nos seus países, por favor, entre em contato.
Competições estão bombando novamente e depois do que parece ter sido um lento recomeço em 2021 no pós-Covid. Tem uma boa quantidade de competições tanto nacionais como internacionais acontecendo, com um bom intercambio entre juízes de vários países e muita troca de informações. IPAs parecem continuar reinando nas competições, mas algumas cervejas muito interessantes com ingredientes locais sempre aparecem, assim como a nova onda de cervejas ácidas e envelhecidas em barris.
Isso é tudo por agora. Por favor, entre em contato e nunca pare de aprender!
North
Gail Milburn
Hello from the North Region! There are a number of events and activities to report this quarter! First of all, it is my pleasure to introduce Dave Cole as the newest Assistant Representative for the region. Dave is an active Certified judge who hails from Beausejour, Manitoba. If you are a BJCP member in Western Canada, you have undoubtedly encountered Dave or one of the events in which he is involved! This year, he expects to put over 19,000 miles/30,000 km on his car traveling to various judging and competition events. He is actively involved in a number of US-based events and recently judged at the National Homebrew Competition in Pittsburgh as well as the Indiana Brewers Cup in Indianapolis. He’ll be heading to Calgary to judge at the Alberta Beer Awards soon and then on to GABF. Additionally, Dave is awaiting the results of his Mead tasting exam and hopes to sit for a Cider tasting exam soon. He has initiated and organized a number of competitions and beer events in Manitoba as well as other provinces, as well as administering beer exams. A personal and corporate tax accountant, his main brewing interests are in the unique flavours contributed to beer and mead by additions of pawpaw, buddha’s hand and various other fruits and spices, as well as historical and rarely seen beverages such as Umqobothi, Gruit, Kottbusser, and Kuit/Kuyt. Dave will be an active advocate for the BJCP in Canada as well as in the US!
One big event held annually in the North Region is the Great Taste of the Midwest held in Madison, WI on August 12. While not a BJCP-related event, it is a huge fest attended by beer lovers, homebrewers, and judges from around the region. Additionally, there are state fairs in Michigan, Wisconsin (judging held in April), and Alaska that include homebrew competitions, as well as a number of county fairs around the region.
Also in the North Region, the Michigan Homebrew Fest was held August 18-20. A three-day camping event, series of friendly but cut-throat competitions, and celebration of beer, mead and cider, MHF is attended by homebrew clubs from around the state. It also serves as the awards ceremony for the BJCP-sanctioned Michigan Beer Cup (which also includes BOS award for Mead and Cider). Of course, it was a blast!
Coming up soon is the Valkyries Horn Mead Competition in Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN held on Sept 9-10. A Mead tasting exam will be administered on September 8, as well. On October 15, the Michigan Mead Cup will take place in Brighton, MI. A Beer tasting exams will be held in Madison, WI October 29 and in Vancouver, BC on November 27. See the competition and exam calendars at BJCP.org for contact information. I am certain that upcoming competitions are in need of additional judges, as well as stewards if you want to learn more about mead and judging mead!
Northeast
Andrew Luberto
Greetings Fellow North East Judges!
As we bid farewell to Summer, I’m looking forward to some crisp Autumn nights by an outdoor fire and dusting off the flannels. Fall is upon us and ciders, cysers, and fest beers abound! We have a number of people to congratulate in our region. Congratulations to Michael Helzer of NYC on attaining National Rank and, while not BJCP, a big Congratulation’s to National Judge Max Finnance of Ledyard, CT on becoming just the 22nd Master Cicerone! Outstanding job. Also, I’d like to wish the MontreAlers homebrew club a happy 20th Anniversary!
I had the pleasure of judging in a number of places in the past few weeks. My virtual judging experience still remains very positive and is a good way to get increased participation outside the immediate area. Also, in August we held our 3rd quarter board meeting. There was a lot of ground covered, and we had an exciting presentation from IT Director Bruce Buerger on some very cool things coming down the pike. Look for those minutes to be posted here, soon.
Back in May, I hosted a webinar with the American Mead Makers Association interviewing author Lars Garshol on mead making with Kviek. There’ll be a follow up article in the Nov/Dec issue of Zymurgy. If you missed it, you can watch the reply here.
There’s a quarterly written exam scheduled for October 15th. Assistant Rep, Jay Hersh will be holding an exam in Essex Junction, VT. If you’d like one held in the lower NY area, let me know and I will administer it for you (even if its only for 1 person). We want more National+ judges in the region. If you’re thinking of setting up a mead or cider exam in the region and need some advice, guidance, or proctors please don’t hesitate to reach out to me or anyone from the North East Team. Don’t forget we’re also available for virtual training sessions and Q&A on all things BJCP.
Lastly, the NE Team wants to hear from you! Questions, concerns, initiatives, what your up to, let us know! Again, email me here. Cheers!
Midwest
Sandy Cockerham
In the past quarter in the Midwest region, things continued to improve and open up. Some competitions that were virtual last year, returned in their usual format, although some of them have been seeing a decrease in entry numbers, either naturally or by capping entries to be less.
Exams continue to be held and multiple administrators are looking to schedule more exams in the coming year. Reach out to me or one of the assistant Reps for the MidWest, (Amanda Burkemper, Leah Dienes, or Jim Vondracek), if you want to hold an exam in your area. We will help you move forward with that if your area has enough people who want to take the exam.
I held a BJCP beer judging exam July 10 in Indianapolis that had people traveling in from far away to gain seats. It was awesome to have a full exam! I will also administer a Mead judging exam in September at the Mazer Cup competition in Kansas City. The tentative date is Sept 14, but we will have to meet the minimum 6 to hold the exam. If you are in the region or within driving distance and want to become a mead judge, please contact me.
Generally, when I do an update for the newsletter I think about what has been going on in the region. If you are in the Midwest Region and there is something you’d like to see put in the next quarter’s update, drop me a line through my contact link on the BJCP officer’s page.
Mid-Atlantic
Fred Mullner
Lots of activity in the region this quarter. Let’s start with New Jersey!
New Jersey
Michael Ultee of Hillsborough, NJ, is famous far beyond the borders of the Garden State.
I was featured last week at a “Meet the Brewer” event at the local brewery here in Lubec, Maine. My wife and I have been coming each summer on vacation to this far northeastern corner of Maine for about 20 years. Lubec Brewing opened up some years ago and I became friends with the brewer, Gale White. I helped him brew a few batches for a couple of years. Last year he asked me for some of my favorite ones, one of which was a a Kölsch. While I unfortunately had to return home that year before that beer was ready, Gale told me that it was a big hit with his customers.
This year he offered to brew it again and did so in late June so it would be ready for me when I visited in early August. He also arranged a “Meet Mike” event the day after “Mike’s Kölsch” was released. I had a great afternoon chatting with his customers who were enjoying this beer.
Garden State Homebrewers just secured a three peat for the NJ Homebrew Club of the Year with an amazing showing at the NJ State Fair Homebrew Competition which included a sweep of the best of show table and 37 medals awarded. The three-peat is a first for any NJ homebrew club!
NJ Hopz members sacrifice themselves for science. Bob Teichmann has the details:
True or False: Does Stout make you warmer in the summer than Lagers?
In order to definitely decide this matter my homebrew club NJ Hopz created a bruexperiment. We had a keg of Dry Irish Stout and a Pils that our members had brewed. We divided ourselves into 5 lager drinkers and 5 stout guys.
Judging
The club has two Certified BJCP Judges, and one judge was assigned to each team. We picked a hot day and had the competition at a member’s screened in porch. It gets a nice breeze is shady in the afternoon. Drinking a cold brew in the late afternoon, it was very comfortable in the shorts and tees that we wore.
Each member had to drink 5 pints over a 3 hour period to truly test if the premise was correct. Five pints may seem like a lot but none of us had anything better to do this afternoon and evening and it was hot and good music was playing. Every half hour a poll was taken of how many beers each team member had drunk and how they felt: hot, cool, etc. Temperatures were taken with one a temperature
scanner for the forehead.
Oh yes, we also judged the beers to BJCP guidelines and talked about it as homebrewers usually do.
Results
Judging results concluded that the stout was a little hoppy and therefore should have been entered in the American Stout category. Pils drinkers declared that their Pils was near perfect and were very happy with it. Stout drinkers declared themselves pretty warm, whereas lager drinkers considered themselves pretty cool.
Interestingly enough the measured temperature found the exact reverse, Stout drinkers were a full degree Fahrenheit lower than the Lager drinkers. Of course the reason for this resulted in some heated arguments. A consensus agreed that it was likely that if someone’s body temperature was lower, then they feel the higher out door temperature and thus feel hot. The lager drinkers felt cool because the body temperature was closer the ambient temperature.
Sound Recordings were made every half hour during the data collection. It seems clear to everyone that the stout drinkers were louder, with loud voices and a lot of laughter. The lager drinkers became very serious about the yeast types and pitching rates. While voices were raised, they didn’t sound like they were having as much fun as the stout drinkers. While the stout drinkers didn’t finish their keg, they came over to help the lager drinkers completely kick the lager keg.
The final data collection was quite difficult. Some members totally forgot what we were doing and thought that this was some kind of other get together. Never the less, good times were had by all and data was diligently collected by one of our diligent members.
The experiment was good for membership. Three new members signed up to the club and there is a good chance they will become regulars.
Ohio
Two BJCP Exams (24 total seats available) will be held in the Cleveland/Akron area, one each on Saturday, November 5, and Saturday, November 12. People can use the BJCP Exam Calendar (https://legacy.bjcp.org/exams.php ) to contact administrators to reserve a seat or check availability. They can also contact Paul Klammer at [email protected] if they want specific information about preparing to take the exams. It’s a great opportunity to increase your score to qualify for the written exam or get started as a new judge!
West Virginia
Appalachian Brew Club member Matt Hollen of Elkins, WV received his tasting exam score and became a BJCP Judge on June the 5th.
A contingent of club members made the journey to Homebrew Con in Pittsburgh where we poured lots of beer at our booth on Club Night. Lots of fun.
Pennsylvania
Stoney Creek Homebrewer’s Amateur Brewer Competition (SCH ABC 15) will be held on 11/12. Info can be found on our website www.schabc.com. They’re also looking forward to fall competition season including Valhalla, our local mead-only competition.
The Club Barrel Brew Championship returned to Keystone Homebrew on July 23. Keystone donates a 15 gallon barrel and local clubs all come and brew the beer of their choice on site. Then next year (usually April) the clubs get together and pour and taste all the beers where a champion is crowned. Historically it was after NHC 1st round judging but it will likely be a standalone event going forward. Nine clubs participated this year.
Virginia
GRiST (Grains Result in Something Tasty) homebrew club (Arlington, VA) is holding their 4th Annual NoVA Classic Homebrew Competition (it’s 4th annual discounting 2020 & 2021 due to covid).
The NoVA Classic will be held on Oct 22, 2022.
All proceeds will benefit the John Lyon VFW Post 3150, Arlington, VA.
Registration (for Judges and Stewards) and beer entries is between Sep 1 to Oct 11, 2022.
Beer drop-off / Shipping: DC Brau Craft Brewery, 3178-B Bladensburg Rd NE, Washington, D.C., DC 20018 (drop-off during DC Brau business hours only).
There is a maximum of 100 beer entries accepted with 3 maximum of entries per person ($12/beer entry).
John Lyon Award – At the NoVA Classic there will be a special sub-competition for beers made by veterans, active duty personnel, and their dependents; see the registration site below (after Sep 1, 2022; one beer per person for the John Lyon Award).
Information and registration (after Sep 1, 2022) for the NoVA Classic: https://beerawardsplatform.com/nova-classic
Also try the GRiST website: https://www.gristhomebrew.com/vfw (under construction)
And finally, the James River Homebrewers of Richmond, VA, bring back the Dominion Cup for 2022
The Dominion Cup is running strong, and August featured the 29th year of the competition. While the competition has featured a pared-down version with the recent years’ restrictions on public gatherings, the appetite for brewing and participation in homebrewing competitions remained strong. There were many participants in all phases.
Competition Coordinator Steve White has marshalled the Dominion Cup through some unusual years these past few and has done a fantastic job maintaining order and some normalcy throughout challenging times. This year there were 375 entries, and that limit was met very quickly once official registration opened up. To put that in some perspective, just over 25 years ago, the 1996 Dominion Cup was considered a big success with only 85 entries.
There were approximately 50 judges across 6 judging sessions and the Dominion Cup includes the expertise to incorporate Meads and Ciders as well, for some overdue recognition. We got a personal visit and participation from Fred Mullner, the BJCP Mid-Atlantic Representative who offered continued help in any way he could be of assistance going forward.
There were over 20 stewards who stepped up to help as well and we are grateful to all who helped in all varying capacities. It was encouraging to be joined by representatives from other clubs in our region and it felt like friends getting together again to do this at a larger scale. There was lots of good expertise in the room(s) and it was a great experience to judge with many varied talents.
The Dominion Cup is an open competition geographically and entries into the competition this year came from at least 16 different states and one from Bolton Ontario. Cheers to all of you and thank you for your participation.
We also got great support from our local craft brewing industry, donating time, prizes, and spaces for judging. Thank you to Tony – Original Gravity. An Bui – Mekong (and Answer Brewpub). See many more at the impressive sponsors list link, https://dominioncup-jrhb.org/index.php?section=sponsors We were also given space to judge in the six (6) judging sessions throughout the competition. A special thanks goes out to the following venues who supported us in that fashion. Here, listed in chronological order:
Solstice Farm Brewery’s off-site pilot location
Castleburg Brewery
Answer Brewpub
Tabol Brewing
The final judging sessions were at Richmond Volleyball Club, which is a great facility making use of a former beer distributor’s warehouse building with ample conditioned space and refrigeration capacity. There were many really good beers this year and it felt like there were plenty that narrowly escaped being prize-winners. Keep brewing and join us next year in whatever capacity you can. We would love to have you. You can view all the prizewinners here: https://dominioncup-jrhb.org/
West
Brian Cooper
Two of our assistant reps in the West region, Oleg Shpyrko and John Tull earned Grand Master rank this summer. I added a Mead Judge endorsement as well, and plan to proctor an upcoming Mead Exam. It is great to see our judges doing great things for the program in their respective areas.
Our Southern California assistant Oleg and some other judges from San Diego helped with a “trifecta” exam in Guadalajara, Mexico this summer. Mead, Beer, and Cider — all in a 2-day span! They did a Cider Exam in the evening, a Mead Exam the next morning, and a Beer Judging Exam at noontime.
In the LA area, there are 2 large competitions left coming up this year — the Southern California Regional Homebrew Championship at the end of September and the Pacific Brewers Cup in early October. Competitions earlier in the year were struggling to enlist enough judges due to COVID, so organizers are understandably concerned about how their competitions will go.
With competitions and exams returning to something resembling normal, they also need help. Though Hawaii seems fairly quiet, we have seen some pent up demand for judge education in California and Nevada, with study groups and exams forming more frequently in these regions. It takes a lot of judges to keep competitions going, plus staff and graders for exams.
In light of that, I encourage our judges in the West to get out and do some judging to support local competitions. They need you! Advanced judges can administer, proctor, or offer to assist with an exam. I also encourage higher level judges (anyone National or above) to sign up for grading, help educate others, and remind fellow judges it’s a good time to judge comps again even if they haven’t in a while. It can be a lot of fun to get out and do so!
A longer-term goal is to put people in positions where they can eventually step up to help the BJCP — like long time graders that can consider going for Assistant Exam Director. Anyone who is qualified, please consider helping. We are an all-volunteer organization with a lot of great judges here in the West. Our collective support of these exams, competitions, and the BJCP will surely pay off in higher quality of judging, and better experiences for new examinees and those re-taking the exam.
Mountain/Northwest
Dennis Mitchell
Mountain/Northwest Region Update Summer 2022
Competition and exam activities seems to have picked up as living with COVID becomes more part of our everyday life. Myself and your assistant regional reps have been keeping busy!
In Colorado, John Haven became an Associate Exam Director this year, has been busy judging, and noted several upcoming comps in Colorado in Sept. and Oct., including the Rocky Mountain Homebrew Challenge. John was accepted to judge at GABF, so congrats John! Grand Master judge Brad Darnell is teaching a BJCP course in Colorado Springs and is holding an exam in early December.
In Oregon, Tracy Hensley reports increased brewery activities in the outskirts of Portland as some struggles with crime in the city have encourages outward expansion.
In Montana, Bob Hall is administering a beer judging exam on Oct. 1 and has been seeing a commercial trend towards German beer styles. If you are qualified as a beer exam proctor and can help him on Oct 1, reach out as he is still looking for an additional proctor.
I held a mead judging exam in Flagstaff, AZ in August, am holding a beer judging exam in Tempe, AZ on Sept. 10th, and am givin the quarterly written exam in Oct. If anyone wants to come out to AZ for the written exam, let me know! There are a couple people from New Mexico coming over for the beer judging exam on 9/10, so it’s good to see some increasing interest in exams in the region. I have four consecutive weekends filled with exams and judging in Sept and Oct between my local club’s fall competition, GABF judging, and a local commercial comp. The President role is also keeping me busy as we are working on several initiatives to stabalize the organziation and improve it’s operations.
I hope you are able to get out and judge in the many competition opportunities this fall. For those of you who are national or higher judges, as always, consider grading. We need a better pipeline of grades who have interest in becoming associate exam directors in the future. For those who are not national yet, I hope you may consider plans to eventually retake the exam to rank up!
Feel free to contact any of us with any questions or concerns.
Cheers!
Dennis Mitchell
BJCP Mountain/Northwest Regional Rep and BJCP President
South
Sal Mortillaro II
No updates at this time
Europe, Middle East, Africa
Omer Basha
No Updates at this time