BJCP BEER EXAM STUDY GUIDE Interim Revision of 1998 Study Guide by Gordon Strong and Steve Piatz Last Revised: January 2011 This is an Interim Study Guide temporarily replacing the 1998 Study Guide which will undergo a complete update by a Study Guide Committee upon completion and approval of the new BJCP Judge Exam. Contributing Authors: Original document by Edward Wolfe, Scott Bickham, David Houseman, Ginger Wotring, Dave Sapsis, Peter Garofalo, Chuck Hanning. Revised 2006 by Gordon Strong and Steve Piatz. Copyright © 1998-2011 by the authors and the BJCP CHANGE LOG February 13, 2007 – Clarified the Grand Master ranks on page 4. March 12, 2007 – Incorporated the 2006 changes to the exam questions, and corrected some water chemistry. January 31, 2008 – Revised exam admin point schedule, updated recommended reading. February 8, 2009 – Revised exam director email addresses, corrected web links. March 27, 2009 – Corrected error misidentifying fructose as a disaccharide, updated and clarified exam question pool. August 13, 2009 – Corrected tongue taste map inaccuracies, water chemistry errors September 13, 2009 – Standardized material with mead study guide, bring troubleshooting in agreement with style guidelines December 19, 2009 – removed the “sub-” notation. Clarified the summary of the exam. February 15, 2010 – Corrected errors in the water section July 31, 2010 – Revised comments about the scoring range of beer in competitions August 7, 2010 – Added new policy on returning exams, added separate page for change log January 13, 2011 – change the answer to true/false question 8 based on other BJCP documents. Added point allocation details to a number of questions. Clarified comments on using reverse osmosis water. TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................................................... 2 Recommended Reading............................................................................................................................................. 3 Advanced Reading.................................................................................................................................................... 3 II. BEER JUDGING AND THE BJCP EXAM.................................................................................................................. 4 A. The BJCP Guide ...................................................................................................................................................... 4 The BJCP Beer Exam................................................................................................................................................ 4 Judging Levels.......................................................................................................................................................... 5 Advancing in the BJCP............................................................................................................................................. 5 Experience Points ..................................................................................................................................................... 6 BJCP EXPERIENCE POINT AWARD SCHEDULE (Revised July 2005, July 2008) ................................................ 6 Exam Administration................................................................................................................................................ 9 BJCP Administration ................................................................................................................................................ 9 B. Beer Evaluation and the Judging Process.................................................................................................................10 Beer Evaluation .......................................................................................................................................................10 Environment............................................................................................................................................................10 Equipment ...............................................................................................................................................................10 Presentation .............................................................................................................................................................11 The Judging Process.................................................................................................................................................11 Notes on Smelling the Beer......................................................................................................................................13 Notes on Tasting the Beer ........................................................................................................................................14 Notes on Making Comments about Beer...................................................................................................................15 Other Considerations ...............................................................................................................................................15 References and Additional Reading..........................................................................................................................16 C. Important BJCP Reference Materials.......................................................................................................................18 D. The BJCP Exam......................................................................................................................................................19 Overview .................................................................................................................................................................19 BJCP Exam Questions .............................................................................................................................................20 Example of a Complete Answer ...............................................................................................................................33 E. BJCP Exam Study Course........................................................................................................................................35 Guidelines for Doctoring Beers ................................................................................................................................38 III. BJCP STYLE GUIDELINES.....................................................................................................................................39 A. Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................39 IV. INGREDIENTS AND THE BREWING PROCESS ...................................................................................................41 A. Water......................................................................................................................................................................41 Alkalinity, pH and Hardness ....................................................................................................................................41 Ions in Brewing .......................................................................................................................................................42 Famous Brewing Waters ..........................................................................................................................................42 Water Adjustment....................................................................................................................................................43 Further Reading.......................................................................................................................................................43 B. Malts and Adjuncts .................................................................................................................................................44 Barley Malt..............................................................................................................................................................44 Selection ..................................................................................................................................................................44 Malting....................................................................................................................................................................45 Kilning ....................................................................................................................................................................45 Other Malted Grains ................................................................................................................................................46 Malt Content............................................................................................................................................................46 Cereal Adjuncts .......................................................................................................................................................46 Other Adjuncts.........................................................................................................................................................47