Beer Exam Progression Chart
The following is a graphical overview of how one progresses through the BJCP beer exam process.
If a person is starting out as a new judge they would be starting from the top of the chart. For existing judges, they will need to find their Beer Judging Exam score and point total on the third step and plan accordingly.
Judging Procedures & Etiquette
Recommended Reading from the BJCP
Typical judging procedures have been outlined on the BJCP Website. There is a collection of documents on the subject that cover the basic logistics of judging in a competition setting.
- Judge Procedures Manual – This document outlines the roles of a BJCP Sanctioned competition and is good reading for those who have not judged or volunteered at a competition. It is also good review for those who have judged but have not organized a BJCP Sanctioned competition.
- BJCP Beer Exam Study Guide – Introduction Section, Section II Important BJCP Reference Materials, The BJCP Exam
- How to Judge Beer – An older overview that still provides a concise and useful overview of judging.
- Queued Judging Quick Reference – Many, if not all, competitions use queued judging, this document is useful for these very common procedures. Note: Not needed for the Entrance or Judging exams.
- Queued Judging Procedure – More detailed version of the above. Note: Not needed for the Entrance or Judging exams.
- Beer Score Sheet – These are filled out for every beer judged.
- Flight Summary Sheet – Can be filled out by the head judge or the steward at the head judge’s discretion. This is typically used to report the scores and placement of winning beers to the Competition Organizer.
- Mini-BOS Procedures – While newer judges are not typically selected to participate in Mini-BOS, the opportunity may present itself! Note: Not needed for the Entrance or Judging exams. Solely intended to help newer judges prepare for their first competition experience.
Introduction to Judging
Newer BJCP judges will need to learn as much as possible from existing training materials, style guidelines, and experienced judges if available. The goal of this course is to prepare prospective judges for the Judging Exam as well as for judging in an actual competition, where real score sheets can reflect well or poorly on not only the BJCP judge themselves, but also on the Competition Organizer & sponsoring homebrew club. Course instructors should encourage all participants to judge in competitions, both local and within a short travel distance whenever possible in order to gain experience.
Queued Judging
Many competitions use queued judging in order to complete their task in a timely manner. The BJCP Queued Judging documents are a good resource for this, but we will expand here further. Typically, the highest-ranking judge at the table will review the pull sheet with the table’s steward and agree to a “pull order”. In nearly all cases outside of specialty categories, the “pull order” is just the order that the competition software generates. For example, there is little worth in reordering BJCP 2015 Category 5: Pale Bitter European Beer (as it generally follows the most delicate to least delicate rule of thumb). However, BJCP 2015 Category 6: Amber Malty European Lager has Rauchbier in the middle of Märzen and Dunkles Bock. If this situation presented itself, the Head Judge should move the Rauchbiers to the end of the flight so as to mitigate palate fatigue from the smoky beers. This exercise can become more complicated when dealing with entire Specialty Categories, which is why the highest-ranking judge is preferred for the task. Note: this is not covered on the Entrance or Judging Exams however this format is widely practiced at competitions. It is helpful to be familiar with the format prior to judging at a competition.
Elements of a Score Sheet
The left side of a score sheet lists checks boxes for off flavors, aromas, and sensations. The right side of the sheet contains what is known as the AAFM section. AAFM stands for Aroma, Appearance, Flavor, and Mouthfeel. Each of the AAFM sections has a list of attributes underneath it. Judges should be commenting on every attribute listed (presence or absence), as well as the amount of each. For example, the Aroma section has the attributes “Malt, hops, esters, and other aromatics.” Judges should list primary, secondary, and if present tertiary descriptors of each attribute along with the levels of each.
Feedback is a vast topic that requires much more than an overview in a training course. However, the main goal here is to provide constructive feedback based off of what is perceived from the sample. Under no circumstances should a judge state something that could be perceived as belittling, rude, or uncouth. The purpose of the BJCP is to promote, recognize, encourage knowledge, and understanding, not to extol personal preferences or virtues.
Guideline Overview
The 2021 BJCP Beer Style Guidelines were a minor update from the 2015 Guidelines. If you are familiar with the 2015 version, please refer to the 2021 Beer Guidelines Change Log to understand the major differences between the 2015 and 2021 versions.
The guidelines have a number of introductory sections, which should be read in full before continuing on with the guidelines themselves. These sections are not usually in the app versions of the guidelines, so referencing the source is important. Particular sections of note:
In addition to these introductory sections, each Main Category has a brief explanation of the Category itself. This is particularly helpful in Specialty-type categories, where mis-categorization and mis-interpretation is commonplace. The Style Introductions will answer many, if not all, of the common questions an entrant or judge may have.
Individual competitions are not controlled by the BJCP. This means that there may be varying application of the general intent of the BJCP. If in doubt, first ask the head judge at the table. The head judge can inquire to the Judge Coordinator and/or the Competition Organizer if necessary.