Judging Beer
THC BJCP Judges
John Blichman -- Certified
Jon Boley -- Recognized
Lloyd Chatham -- Certified
Tyler Dare -- Recognized
Jarrod Doucette -- Recognized
Evan Ferree -- Recognized
Nancy Hartman -- Recognized
Scott Moll -- Recognized
Alan Schwab -- Recognized
Linda Swihart -- National
Rick Westerman -- Certified
Why become a beer judge?
Becoming a beer judge is perhaps the best way for an established homebrewer to learn more about beer and become a better brewer. Judging beer will:
- Help you better understand and identify the flavors and aromas found in beer
- Help you better understand brewing ingredients and processes and their effects on the finished beer.
- Greatly improve your understanding of beer styles.
- Give you an opportunity to share knowledge and discuss beer with other judges.
- Allow you to help your fellow homebrewers improve their beers.
History of judging in the THC (by Linda Swihart)
Bill Friday is listed as Recognized in the list of Departed BJCP Judges at <http://www.bjcp.org/departed.php>. Not sure when Bill took the test but he did. None of us who were around then and still around now can recall hearing much or anything about the BJCP program until after Bill was gone. Before he died (before he even told people he had cancer again), Bill asked Linda Swihart to "take over scheduling the meetings for a while." A while turned out to be longer than she had supposed. But the club survived the sad episode of Bill's passing and learned that there is nothing like the legacy of a departed friend to drive and inspire accomplishment.
Linda learned about the BJCP program from San Diego buddies in early 2004, and in June of that year she attended the National Homebrew Conference and served as a steward for the 2nd round of the National Homebrew Competition. The inspiration provided by these events, and other beer competitions that year and the next was amazing. And the fantastic and fun people in the beer judging crowd were more appealing than beer itself (if you can believe it), and when Anita Johnson (Great Fermentations Anita) announced in August 2005 that Indianapolis would host a BJCP exam in March 2006, well all of this led to a decision. Linda asked who wanted to study with her, and in March 2006 Linda, Rick, Lloyd, and John took the test with over 20 people at the State Fairgrounds. It was one of the largest BJCP exams yet given, and it quadrupled the number of judges in Indiana. (Linda got the lowest score of the Tippecanoe group, a 65. The three fellows, including her husband who knows FAR far less about beer than she does, scored in the 70s.)
In the Fall of 2006, strong interest in an exam study course was expressed by a young man nobody in the club had heard of (Jerome where are you, we miss you), and Linda hosted a slightly more formal study course. In April 2007 Lafayette Brewing Company hosted Lafayette's first exam, with Victor, Jerome, Robert, Nancy, and Kurt taking the exam as first timers, and Linda re-taking it (that's where that National score came from). We miss Kurt, Jerome, Robert, and Victor who are not so around these parts anymore and we're not certain what ranks they have now or if they've changed.
Nancy Hartman has been a very active judge since 2007 and was the motive force for the most recent study class (Jan - May 2010) and exam (5/22/2010). Nancy co-taught the class with Linda and Lloyd, and she re-took the exam on May 22. This kind of behavior very often leads to a much better score than the first time, although it sometimes turns out that somebody gets 80 or more on his/her first try. When the scores come back ANY DAY NOW there's a good chance that it will stimulate a frenzy of homebrewer activity, will be frantic and fun times. As of this writing 10/20/10 they're not back; it's been nearly five months. We wait patiently.
BJCP Study Group
The THC club offers a study class every few years for those interested in taking the exam. Below is the information from the 2010 class...
The study group will meet on Tuesday evenings from 6 to 9 pm at the Lafayette Brewing Company starting January 19th and continuing to May 18th. The exam is scheduled for Saturday May 22, 2010 at LBC starting at 10 am. The cost is $50 for the exam plus $60 for sensory evaluation samples. Exam deposit of $20 is due by the end of February,with the remaining exam fee of $30 due by the end of March. The part of the fee for the exam may be refundable if you choose not to take the exam and cancel by the end of April. No refund on the sensory evaluation samples.
General class structure:
- 1/2 - 3/4 hour lecture on the week's topic,
- discussion about the week's styles,
- sample 3 - 4 commercial beverages from the week's styles, talking about what we perceive,
- whenever possible, blind score 1 or 2 homebrews.
Recommended - a three ring binder for your handouts and style guideling, sharpened pencils
Suggested reading - http://www.bjcp.org/study.php
Course handouts http://www.bjcp.org/stylecenter.php for the beer style guidelines. You will need to download and printout your own copy or there is an ap for download to your iPhone.
Here is a list of the beer styles with commercial examples. I will update this list as I purchase more sensory evaluation materials.
The course is lead by Nancy Hartman & Linda Swihart, both THC members. Nancy is Recognized BJCP judge with over 17 judging and 7 non judging points. She has been brewing and judging for 3 years. Linda Swihart is a National BJCP judge with many points. She has been judging for a more than 6 years and has been brewing for about 30 years. Linda is also serving as the exam proctor.
| THC BJCP Study Group Syllabus | |||
| Class date | Beer Style | Beer Style | Topic |
| 1/19/2010 | 1. LIGHT LAGER (A-E) | 2. PILSNER (A - C) | What is BJCP, levels of judges, etc. - Linda |
| 1/26/2010 | 3. EUROPEAN AMBER LAGER (A - B) | 4. DARK LAGER (A - C) | Judging procedures and ethics - Linda |
| 2/2/2010 | 5. BOCK (A - D) | 11. ENGLISH BROWN ALE (A -C) | Overview of the brewing process, - Lloyd & Matt judge THC entries for AHA Club-Only Competition, The Session Challenge-English Brown Ales |
| 2/9/2010 | 6. LIGHT HYBRID BEER (A -D) | 7. AMBER HYBRID BEER (A - C) | Ingredients and the Brewing Process |
| 2/16/2010 | 8. ENGLISH PALE ALE (A -C) | 10. AMERICAN ALE (A -C) | Water |
| 2/23/2010 | 17. SOUR ALE (A - F) | Beer Faults class will be later in the schedule depending on Ron Smith's availability | Class will be here not in Indy |
| 3/2/2010 | 12. PORTER (A - C) | 13. STOUT (A - F) | Alternate class if you will be out of town on 3/16/10 - Wort Production |
| 3/9/2010 | Beer faults | A few extra club members can come for a fee of $10 to cover Ron's costs | Lead by Ron Smith |
| 3/13/2010 | SATURDAY | Optional field trip to Drunk Monk, try your hand a judging | Aurora, IL |
| 3/16/2010 | 12. PORTER (A - C) | 13. STOUT (A - F) | Wort Production |
| 3/23/2010 | 9. SCOTTISH AND IRISH ALE (A -E) | Malt and Adjuncts - Lloyd | |
| 3/30/2010 | 14. INDIA PALE ALE (IPA) (A - C) | 15. GERMAN WHEAT AND RYE BEER (A - D) | Hops |
| 4/6/2010 | 16. BELGIAN AND FRENCH ALE (A - E) | Yeast and Fermentation | |
| 4/13/2010 | 18. BELGIAN STRONG ALE (A - E) | Troubleshooting | |
| 4/24/2010 | SATURDAY | Optional field trip to National Homebrew Competition, Round One. Try your hand a judging or help steward |
Indianapolis, IN |
| 4/27/2010 | 19. STRONG ALE (A - C) | Creating a recipe, pt. 1 - Lloyd | |
| 5/4/2010 | 20. FRUIT BEER | 21. SPICE/HERB/VEGETABLE BEER (A - B) | Creating a recipe, pt. 2 Calculations - Lloyd |
| 5/11/2010 | 22. SMOKE-FLAVORED & WOOD-AGED BEER (A - C) | 23. SPECIALTY BEER | Begin exam review |
| 5/18/2010 | EXAM REVIEW | ||
| 5/22/2010 | 10 am | EXAM | |