Beer Judge Certification Program
Encyclopedia
The Beer Judge Certification Program or BJCP is a non-profit organization formed in 1985 "to promote beer literacy and the appreciation of real beer, and to recognize beer tasting and evaluation skills." It has been described in the press as a "hands-on ... study program designed to teach aspiring beer enthusiasts about the essence of any kind of beer". The BJCP certifies and ranks beer judges through an examination and monitoring process. Membership is limited to beer judges who have taken the BJCP exam.
s and their accurate production by brewers. The BJCP tracks members' participation as judges, organizers, or stewards in BJCP-sanctioned brewing competitions and awards continuing education units
for participation.
The BJCP also publishes style guidelines categorizing beer
, cider
, and mead
into twenty-eight style categories. These guidelines are used in both the examination of beer judges by the BJCP and, voluntarily, by brewing competition organizers; the BJCP also encourages prospective test-takers to study the available literature on styles and brewing. The most recent revision of the style guidelines was published in February 2008, a relatively minor revision to the 2004 style guidelines.
Finally, the BJCP organizes a program of beer examinations wherein test-takers complete a series of written questions regarding brewing
, beer style
s and judging and then perform four beer judging exercises.
and cider
.
. During its formative years, the program was jointly sponsored by the AHA and the Home Wine and Beer Trade Association (HWBTA). Both organizations sanctioned local homebrew competitions, and each had a national competition. Consequently, both were interested in fostering the improvement of judging skills and building up a pool of experienced beer judges. The program was administered at the AHA offices, and there were two Co-Directors, one from each association. Jim Homer was the AHA Co-Director, and Pat Baker served the same role for the HWBTA.
In August, 1995, after a successful ten year history, support was withdrawn by the AHA, which had intentions of starting its own beer judging program. The HWBTA was unable to continue operating the program by itself, so the BJCP was expected to simply fade away. However, a considerable number of judges had been built up by this time, and many of them were quite active. A small number of these activists decided that the program could be operated solely by volunteers from among themselves, and decided to attempt the continuation of the BJCP as an independent entity.
The effort was coordinated in a haphazard fashion, mainly through e-mail
, but a consensus gradually emerged and the program was able to continue its growth. A Board of Directors was established to guide the program, composed of six (currently seven) Regional Representatives elected by members from each of seven geographical regions throughout North America
. The U.S. was divided into geographic regions, and an election for the Board of Directors was held by mailing ballots to members.
Assisting the Board was program administrator Russ Wigglesworth, who remained in his post and assumed the duties of maintaining the database of members, sending program materials to competition organizers, providing certificates and pins to new and newly promoted judges, and performing other essential administrative tasks. Wigglesworth remains in his position, but began to transfer his duties to other members in 2004 and this transfer is nearly complete.
In the early years, there were regional elections for the Board, conducted entirely by postal ballot, and a newsletter was published for several years to inform the membership. An annual letter was also sent by the Program Administrator to each member, listing the experience points earned from judging in various competitions. These activities are now done electronically, with the BJCP website serving as the repository of information including a password-protected section where members can check their personal record, and website voting, competition registration, and point reporting.
Purpose
The BJCP has three functions within the US beer community. First, it provides a standards-based organization supplying qualified judges to both amateur and commercial brewing competitions designed to promote the appreciation of beer styleBeer style
Beer style is a term used to differentiate and categorize beers by various factors such as colour, flavour, strength, ingredients, production method, recipe, history, or origin....
s and their accurate production by brewers. The BJCP tracks members' participation as judges, organizers, or stewards in BJCP-sanctioned brewing competitions and awards continuing education units
Continuing education
Continuing education is an all-encompassing term within a broad spectrum of post-secondary learning activities and programs. The term is used mainly in the United States and Canada...
for participation.
The BJCP also publishes style guidelines categorizing beer
Beer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
, cider
Cider
Cider or cyder is a fermented alcoholic beverage made from apple juice. Cider varies in alcohol content from 2% abv to 8.5% abv or more in traditional English ciders. In some regions, such as Germany and America, cider may be termed "apple wine"...
, and mead
Mead
Mead , also called honey wine, is an alcoholic beverage that is produced by fermenting a solution of honey and water. It may also be produced by fermenting a solution of water and honey with grain mash, which is strained immediately after fermentation...
into twenty-eight style categories. These guidelines are used in both the examination of beer judges by the BJCP and, voluntarily, by brewing competition organizers; the BJCP also encourages prospective test-takers to study the available literature on styles and brewing. The most recent revision of the style guidelines was published in February 2008, a relatively minor revision to the 2004 style guidelines.
Finally, the BJCP organizes a program of beer examinations wherein test-takers complete a series of written questions regarding brewing
Brewing
Brewing is the production of beer through steeping a starch source in water and then fermenting with yeast. Brewing has taken place since around the 6th millennium BCE, and archeological evidence suggests that this technique was used in ancient Egypt...
, beer style
Beer style
Beer style is a term used to differentiate and categorize beers by various factors such as colour, flavour, strength, ingredients, production method, recipe, history, or origin....
s and judging and then perform four beer judging exercises.
Organization
Judges are ranked within the certification program based upon a combination their score on a standardized certification test and experience points received for participating in sanctioned competition program events, in BJCP exams, or continuing education program events. The ranks include "apprentice", "recognized", "certified", "national", "master", several levels of "grand master", and "honorary grand master". The BJCP also certifies judges in meadMead
Mead , also called honey wine, is an alcoholic beverage that is produced by fermenting a solution of honey and water. It may also be produced by fermenting a solution of water and honey with grain mash, which is strained immediately after fermentation...
and cider
Cider
Cider or cyder is a fermented alcoholic beverage made from apple juice. Cider varies in alcohol content from 2% abv to 8.5% abv or more in traditional English ciders. In some regions, such as Germany and America, cider may be termed "apple wine"...
.
Influence
Its standards for beers have been cited by the Wall Street Journal and by Zymurgy, the journal of home beer brewing, among others.History
The BJCP was founded in 1985, when the first exam was given at the American Homebrewers Association (AHA) annual conference in Estes Park, ColoradoColorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
. During its formative years, the program was jointly sponsored by the AHA and the Home Wine and Beer Trade Association (HWBTA). Both organizations sanctioned local homebrew competitions, and each had a national competition. Consequently, both were interested in fostering the improvement of judging skills and building up a pool of experienced beer judges. The program was administered at the AHA offices, and there were two Co-Directors, one from each association. Jim Homer was the AHA Co-Director, and Pat Baker served the same role for the HWBTA.
In August, 1995, after a successful ten year history, support was withdrawn by the AHA, which had intentions of starting its own beer judging program. The HWBTA was unable to continue operating the program by itself, so the BJCP was expected to simply fade away. However, a considerable number of judges had been built up by this time, and many of them were quite active. A small number of these activists decided that the program could be operated solely by volunteers from among themselves, and decided to attempt the continuation of the BJCP as an independent entity.
The effort was coordinated in a haphazard fashion, mainly through e-mail
E-mail
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
, but a consensus gradually emerged and the program was able to continue its growth. A Board of Directors was established to guide the program, composed of six (currently seven) Regional Representatives elected by members from each of seven geographical regions throughout North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. The U.S. was divided into geographic regions, and an election for the Board of Directors was held by mailing ballots to members.
Assisting the Board was program administrator Russ Wigglesworth, who remained in his post and assumed the duties of maintaining the database of members, sending program materials to competition organizers, providing certificates and pins to new and newly promoted judges, and performing other essential administrative tasks. Wigglesworth remains in his position, but began to transfer his duties to other members in 2004 and this transfer is nearly complete.
In the early years, there were regional elections for the Board, conducted entirely by postal ballot, and a newsletter was published for several years to inform the membership. An annual letter was also sent by the Program Administrator to each member, listing the experience points earned from judging in various competitions. These activities are now done electronically, with the BJCP website serving as the repository of information including a password-protected section where members can check their personal record, and website voting, competition registration, and point reporting.