• Update: New Kits from Siebel are Now Available (March 2009)

    What's going on?

    The BJCP is proud to announce the immediate availability of second-generation beer flavor training kits. While the first-generation kits were perfectly adequate, they were difficult to obtain, costly and required the BJCP to maintain inventory. All of these issues have been addressed with the new kits, while expanding the number of characteristics included in the kit from 10 to 24. Providing kits meets one of the original goals of the Continuing Education Program (CEP), which was to provide new resources to help people prepare for the BJCP Beer Judge Exam.

    The BJCP has partnered with the Siebel Institute to provide commercial kits to BJCP exam prep classes. These are not custom kits, but the BJCP was involved with developing and testing the final product. The kits are described in full on the Siebel web site.

    One change from the prior program is that Siebel will handle order fulfilment for us. Individual orders are placed through the BJCP, which will then periodically collect them into groups and place batch orders with Siebel. This ensures that we will have fresh kits sent out, that we won't run out of inventory, and that we won't have to have volunteers handle product fulfillment. The new kits use liquid rather than powder, so they are easier to mix. The samples come in vials that can be resealed, so the samples can be used multiple times (with careful measuring).

    What's in the kit?

    Each sample flavor makes one liter, which provides enough for at least 20 samples. The characteristics in each kit are:

    • Acetaldehyde
    • Acetic
    • Almond
    • Butyric
    • Diacetyl
    • DMS (Dimethyl Sulfide)
    • Earthy
    • Mercaptan
    • Ethyl acetate
    • Ethyl hexanoate
    • Spicy
    • Metallic
    • Geraniol
    • Indole
    • Isoamyl acetate
    • Grainy
    • Isovaleric
    • Lactic
    • Caprylic
    • Papery
    • Vanilla
    • Bitter
    • Infection
    • Hefeweizen

  • How can you get a kit?

    It's pretty easy.


  • What's it cost?

    The kit is free to registered exam prep classes. The BJCP is subsidizing the cost of the kit using Continuing Education Program funds, allocated from the BJCP annual operating budget. Siebel is handling product fulfillment. The BJCP will pay for the shipping costs.

    Sensory Training Kit Orders Shipped Outside of the United States — Please Read!! There will likely be associated costs with the delivery of sensory training kits outside of the United States, including local taxes and customs or duty fees. Depending on the country, these fees may be substantial. These are destination charges and are the responsibility of the member to pay upon delivery. The BJCP will subsidize the cost of the kit and the shipping but will not pay these additional destination charges. If you have any questions regarding what additional fees you may need to pay, please contact your local customs officials for those details.

    Contact the Education Director for specific details.