To help members learn more about “who’s running things’ at BJCP we want to spotlight the Board Members of the organization.
In this issue we interviewed the new BJCP President (former VP), Grand Master IX er, scratch that… GM X Beer Judge, Cider Judge, and Mead Judge Sandy Cockerham who is also the BJCP Midwest Regional Rep.
Sandy is a native of Indiana and lives in Indianapolis. A scientist by training, she is retired from the Pharmaceutical industry. She is a very active judge and enjoys traveling to competitions and meeting new people. She helps coordinate the Indiana Brewers Cup and invites all BJCP judges to come and judge with them in early July each year.
What led to you becoming a Beer Judge with BJCP?
I’d been a Homebrewer for almost 20 years and had fallen away from it during law school. After graduating, I was attending a continuing legal education course on upcoming changes to Indiana’s alcohol laws and the class included a beer tasting session at Indy’s Rathskeller German restaurant and beer bar. There, I ran into an old Homebrewer friend’s wife who told me about an upcoming BJCP class and exam and I decided to do it. I sat for the exam about 5 months later, and having already judged 3 competitions, my judge life started.
What is one thing you enjoy about being a BJCP judge?
The people! I do like judging and helping people improve their beer, mead, and cider but honestly, I’ve loved meeting people from across the US and from outside of the country. It’s been educational and very enriching. Beer people are good people.
What’s your favorite category or style to judge?
In beer it’s lately been the pilsners. In mead it’s the traditional meads with diverse honey varietals, and in cider it tends to be the standard ciders, especially those utilizing traditional, heritage apples.
Can you share any fun memories from your time as a judge?
Oh, there are so many! Let’s see, this one still makes me laugh. We were judging a First Round of the National Homebrew Competition at Weasel Boy Brewing in Zanesville, OH and I was paired with my friend, Gail Milburn to judge ciders. We were assigned a standard cider and it was listed as having petillant carbonation. I opened the bottle and cider hit the very high ceiling and sprayed Gail across the face and she had cider dripping off of her glasses. (She still says she didn’t know if we were launching a ship or had won the Stanley Cup.) Meanwhile, I had a very wet cider soaked hoodie and as I panicked and grabbed the bottle and turned, I sprayed fellow judge, Tom Morgan, across the back of his sweatshirt. Afterwards, as cider dripped from the ceiling and the bottle had only about an inch of remaining cider, we declared that the cider was petulant instead of petillant. Still makes me laugh. Being the thorough judges that we are, bottle #2 was procured and carefully opened inside the 5 gallon dump bucket and only gushed a little so we had sufficient sample to pour and do a full analysis.
Any closing thoughts for your fellow judges?
Write good, detailed scoresheets! Our entrants deserve a well thought out analysis and full details. And if you’re a judge looking to advance, judge lots and then judge even more before sitting for another tasting exam. We learn by doing and practice is key. Also, I know handwriting is hard, but do give it your best effort. People really do want to read what is on the page. Also, if you’re a National judge wanting to hit the Master level, grading is something you should do. It will help you to understand what depth of answers is that you need to have and you’ll learn as you do it. I know I did. Also, as an officer of the BJCP, I want to say THANK YOU for being part of the organization.
