BJCP Board Meeting Minutes, NHC 2016

Meeting Date:  June 8, 2016

Location:  National Homebrew Conference, Baltimore, Maryland

ATTENDANCE

Present (Quorum): Gordon Strong (President, Mid-Atlantic Rep), Phil Farrell (Vice President, South Rep), Brian Joas (North Rep), Sandy Cockerham (Treasurer, Midwest Rep), Travis Hammond (West Rep)

Absent:  Scott Bickham (Northeast/International), Ryan Thomas (Mountain/Northwest Rep)

NEW BUSINESS AND DISCUSSION OF PROPOSALS

1. Encouragement of BJCP Board and Staff attendance at NHC
   1. The Board approved a travel stipend (5-0) of US$200 per staff member who attends NHC, judges the competition, participates in BJCP events (Judge Reception, Proctor Training, Members Meeting) to encourage meeting and interacting with our members.
   2. The Board approved a travel stipend (5-0) of US$500 per Board member who attends NHC, judges the competition, participates in BJCP events (Judge Reception, Proctor Training, Members Meeting) to encourage meeting, interacting with, and soliciting feedback and ideas from our members.
   3. These stipends will be included in the budget next year along with more specific provisions for qualification.
2. Encouragement of Regional Representative travel within their region
   1. The Board approved a travel stipend (5-0) of up to US$500 per year per Representative to encourage participation in an exam, judging a competition, and/or hosting a continuing education event out of their home area and within their region for the purposes of meeting, interacting with, and soliciting feedback and ideas from our members.
   2. This stipend will be included in the budget next year along with more specific provisions for qualification.
3. Assistant Regional Representatives
   1. The Board approved a proposal (5-0) to authorize Regional Representatives to choose up to 3 Assistant Regional Representatives to serve in sub-regions/cities within the regions.
   2. Regional Representatives are to propose candidates for Assistant Regional Representative positions to the Board for approval.
   3. Andy Hejl proposed and approved by the Board (5 votes to 0) to serve as the Assistant Regional Representative for the Philadelphia sub-region within the Mid-Atlantic Region.
   4. Regional Representative and Assistant Regional Representative job descriptions and expectations have been drafted and will be circulated for comment prior to approval.
4. Feedback provided on Scoresheets
   1. The Board discussed a proposal regarding the current expectation for judges to provide corrective feedback to brewers within the Overall Impression section of the scoresheet. The BJCP received a complaint that often the recommendations provided to brewers are not accurate or helpful for improving the beer.  The proposal requests that judges provide their perceptions and note which perceptions need modification for a beer to improve, without providing specific recommendations for how to achieve those modifications.
   2. Gordon Strong (BJCP President) will discuss the idea with Steve Piatz (BJCP Exam Director) and will prepare a response to the complaint.
5. Modifications to BJCP forms
   1. The Board received a request to modify our standard Scoresheet form to include:
      1. An editable field/blank line in the header to include the name and date of the competition.
      2. Enhance judging cues provided on scoresheets including:
         1. Aroma: “Comment on the intensity of and primary/secondary characteristics of malt, hops, esters, and other aromatics”
         2. Appearance: “Comment on color, clarity, head (formation, retention, color, and texture), and effervescence”
         3. Flavor: “Comment on the intensity of and primary/secondary characteristics of malt, hops, fermentation characteristics, balance, finish/aftertaste, and other flavor characteristics”
         4. Mouthfeel: “Comment on body, carbonation, alcohol warmth, creaminess, astringency, finish (dry/sweet), and other palate sensations”
      3. Remove “Descriptor Definitions” along the left side as they are redundant with the judge’s descriptions and not helpful to brewers. This will allow more space for higher quality descriptions that are more specific to the beer being judged than a standard list of terms, some of which may be checked whether they are used in a positive way or a negative way (example: estery in an Belgian Tripel).   
      4. Gordon Strong (BJCP President) requested that any additional suggestions be provided to him for consideration by the documents committee. Documents are currently being updated for consistency prior to the migration to the new website.
6. Providing Feedback to Exam Proctors
   1. The Board discussed a proposal received to provide feedback to Exam Proctors as part of the exam grading process. A complaint was received that occasionally, Exam Proctors do not meet the expectations of the BJCP. 
   2. The Board decided to request that graders elevate these issues to the Exam Directorate for follow up on a case by case basis. Providing feedback to Exam Proctors will be considered as an enhancement to the exam program in the future.
   3. A Proctor Training session was conducted and recorded at NHC 2016 which will be available to future Exam Proctors.
7. Providing Continuing Education Credit to Judges Who Improve Their Exam Scores
   1. A Proposal was reviewed to award a Continuing Education (non-judging) credit to judges who study for and improve their current score on either the BJCP Beer Judging Exam or the BJCP Written Exam.
   2. The Board agreed to review this proposal in the future due to time limitations.

ACTION ITEMS/NEEDS