The purpose of the Beer Judge Certification Program is to promote beer literacy and the appreciation of real beer, and to recognize beer tasting and evaluation skills. We certify and rank beer judges through an examination and monitoring process.

The BJCP was founded in 1985 and has administered the Beer Judge Examination to 5,040 individuals worldwide. 2,888 are currently active judges in the program, with over 450 holding the rank of National or higher. Since we started keeping detailed records, our members have judged over 480,587 beers and we have sanctioned over 3,680 competitions.

  • AHA NHC Information

    2009 AHA NHC Judge Reception is now CLOSED

    Full details are listed on the reception page. Please wear your BJCP badge.

    Total registration is 119 judges and 49 guests.

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    AHA NHC 2nd Round Judge Registration is now CLOSED

    Judge registration for the 2nd round of the AHA National Homebrew Competition has closed. Judges will be getting a confirmation email and some paper to fill out shortly. More details to follow. See you in Oakland! Remember to bring your rank pin and BJCP badge.

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    BJCP Member's Meeting

    Once again the BJCP staff will host a member's meeting at the AHA NHC. If you are attending the conference, please plan on attending. The meeting will be 5:15pm to 6:15pm on Saturday June 20th before the Grand Banquet.

  • June 2009

    BJCP Member Milestone

    David Williamson of Xenia, Ohio is the 5000th person to take the BJCP exam. We reached 4000 on November 24, 2006, 3000 on August 16, 2002, 2000 on May 24, 1997, and 1000 on May 31, 1990. One thousand new members in a two and a half years. Anyone wonder why the exam program is stressed? If you're a National or higher ranked judge, please consider volunteering to grade exams.


  • May 2009

    Testers Needed

    Anyone have a Google Android phone? How about an Amazon Kindle? Two different application developers have ported the BJCP Style Guidelines to these platforms and are looking for BJCP judges to test them. If you have one of these devices and want to evaluate the application for us, please contact the IT Director and we'll get you in touch with the developers.


  • March 2009

    New Beer Flavor Kits Available for Order

    The BJCP is happy to announce a partnership with the Siebel Institute to provide their new Sensory Training Kit to BJCP exam prep classes. The Sensory Training Kit is a commercial product containing 24 different flavor samples, and replaces the prior kit which contained 10 samples.

    The new Siebel kit will be offered under the same terms as the previous kit: any CEP-registered exam prep class leading to a BJCP-registered exam can request a kit by contacting the Education Director. The kits are free, but shipping, duties, etc. involved in shipping outside the continental US will be charged at cost.

    The Education Director has contacted exam administrators and prep class organizers that have already been registered. Prep classes for exams already held in 2009 are eligible for receiving a kit, but must request one. Any organizer who did not receive a kit or who did not receive an email, please contact the Education Director to request one.

    Please check the CEP Kits page for full details.


  • December 2008

    Former BJCP President and Treasurer Sentenced

    Former BJCP President and Treasurer William R. Slack of Nashua, NH was sentenced on December 16, 2008 in U.S. District Court in Concord, NH. Mr. Slack admitted his guilt as part of a plea bargain. During his allocution, Mr. Slack admitted that he misappropriated BJCP funds steadily during this tenure as BJCP Treasurer. Mr. Slack was sentenced to (1) restitution of approximately $43K, (2) five years probation, and (3) incarceration of one week per month for twelve months.

    For a quick update based on BJCP President Gordon Strong's notes, see this thread in the BJCP Forums. A full report will be forthcoming once all details are gathered. Expect it around the time the Annual Report is published.

    Update: The court's formal sentencing order has been obtained (Dec 24, 2008). The trial was covered in detail in the local newspaper in Nashua, NH. (Dec 28, 2008).


  • October 2008

    Style Guidelines on the iPhone

    Do you have an Apple iPhone or iPod Touch? Download the free BJCP Styles application (or go to the App Store in your iPhone and search for "BJCP"). This application was written by future judge Joshua Baran.

    The XML Style Guidelines have been updated recently to correct a few minor errors found during the development of this application.


  • September 2008

    Exam Program Updates

    Several of the documents associated with the BJCP Beer Judge Exam have been updated based on comments from graders. The files changed are the exam scoresheet, exam preamble, proctor scoresheet and exam admin instructions. The updates are minor, but if you plan to administer, study for, take, or grade any exams in the near future, we encourage you to download the necessary documents in the Exam Center.

    The staff role of Exam Administrator (meaning the person who processes exam results and promotions) has been renamed Assistant Exam Director. Susan Ruud continues to hold this position. This change is to avoid confusion with the exam role of exam administrator (meaning the person who administers an individual BJCP exam).


  • August 2008

    Website Changes

    Some technical changes have been made to the BJCP Website. We've converted most pages to use PHP rather than HTML, which will allow us to better maintain the consistency between pages and also allow us to add more dynamic content later. If you have bookmarks to individual pages, they will likely break. Try changing the extension from ".html" to ".php" and see if that works. Otherwise, start here and navigate to the new page and update your bookmarks. If you notice anything really broken, let us know.
    Update (Sept 2008): The conversion is complete. Old files have been removed. Many documents are now in the 'docs' subdirectory. Check any links you have to materials within the website; they are likely in need of revision.

    Thanks to Joe Dougherty for initiating this change. After completing this project, Joe stepped down as webmaster. We are searching for a replacement. During this time, updates to the website might occur less frequently as they have over the last month.

  • July 2008

    Color Guide Instructions Now Available Online

    The Color Guide page describes our new BJCP Color Guide, a free resource for BJCP members. It serves as a resource for instruction on color guide use, as well as details on how to care for it, and how to acquire replacements. All active BJCP members were mailed a guide in late May (which also let us validate your mailing addresses). Anyone taking the BJCP Exam will get a Color Guide along with their results, as will anyone being promoted.

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    AHA NHC Update

    You can now download the presentations given at the judge reception. Links for the presentations are located with their corresponding speaker on the agenda.

    All the experience points from the NHC have now been awarded, so check your record for judging and CEP points. If you think anything is missing, let Gordon know about it.

  • June 2008

    BJCP Officers Election

    The BJCP Board of Directors has held their required annual election of officers. Gordon Strong and Al Boyce were reelected President and Treasurer, respectively, and Joe Formanek is the new Vice President, replacing Dave Sapsis who has retired from the board.

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    Study Guide Revised

    A few small, but significant changes have been made in the BJCP Exam Study Guide, in an effort to clarify some points that were occasionally misinterpreted by examinees. In particular, the Guide now contains a full version of the first (BJCP) question on the exam, including the complete pool of true/false questions in that section. We feel fairly certain that anyone with an intelligence level above that of Saccharomyces should be able to obtain a passing score on this question, although we have been proven wrong before. Some minor wording changes were also made throughout.

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    New Style Guidelines Available

    Well, not really new guidelines, but one of the problems experienced with such a comprehensive set of guidelines is the sheer length of them. When you need to download a copy for printing, the current guidelines comprise a hefty package.

    So, in response to a number of requests, we have arranged for Cafepress to produce a printed and bound edition of the current style guidelines that you can order for delivery to your mailbox.

    This is a nicely formatted (easier to read) book, wirebound to lay flat. It costs $8.30 plus shipping, and the BJCP makes exactly one penny per copy sold (just as an accounting device). Typical shipping cost in the US is $5.00 for one copy, but if a group goes together, the shipping cost per copy can go way down. For example, the typical shipping cost for 10 books is $10.60, or $1.06 per copy. Canadian and international shipping costs are higher, of course, but that information is all available on the ordering website.

    To order the printed BJCP Style Guidelines, go to http://www.cafepress.com/bjcpstore.

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    Regional representatives elected

    The winners of the 2008 regional rep elections are:

    Mid-Atlantic:
    Gordon Strong (incumbent), with 83% of the total vote in the region.
    Voter turnout was 45% of the region's active members.

    Midwest:
    Joe Formanek (incumbent), with 82% of the total vote in the region.
    Voter turnout was 30% of the region's active members.

    South (no incumbent running):
    Phil Farrell, with 61% of the total vote in the region.
    Voter turnout was 34% of the region's active members.

    West (no incumbent running):
    Jamil Zainasheff, with 57% of the total vote in the region.
    Voter turnout was 42% of the region's active members.

    The winners will officially take office June 1, 2008.

    Our thanks have also been expressed to Lyle Brown, Pancho Luna, Mike Dixon, Jeff Glovan, and David Teckam for showing exceptional initiative and interest in the program.

  • February 2008

    Frequently Asked Questions Updated

    The list of Frequently Asked Questions has been expanded, to include questions specifically about our Style Guidelines.

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    BJCP Style Guidelines Revised

    The last (2004) revision of the style guidelines has been updated. This is not a major revision, and all the category and style names and numbers remain the same. Technically, this is the "2008 update to the 2004 guidelines" but will generally be known as the 2008 guidelines. The website navigation bar has been updated to point to the new version, and you can find a one-page PDF summary of the changes HERE.

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    BJCP Annual Report for 2007 Published

    The BJCP officers have put together the annual report covering most of our activities for the last year. We encourage all members to read it and become aware of what's going on in our program.

  • January 2008

    New Limit on Exam Scheduling

    Due to the significant growth in requests to schedule the BJCP Beer Judge Examination, we have had to impose a scheduling limit of no more than five exams per month. The reason is simply that we don't have enough volunteer exam graders to provide a reasonable turnaround time at present.

    But you can help! If you are a National judge or higher (or a Certified judge with a score of 80 or better on the essay portion and some relevant experience), please contact the Exam Directors to volunteer as an exam grader.

  • Former BJCP Treasurer Indicted For Fraud (May 2007)

    As many members know, there has been an ongoing effort to deal with the failure of the former BJCP Treasurer, Mr. William R. Slack, of Nashua, New Hampshire, to turn over the funds in the treasury to the current Treasurer. Mr. Slack, also a former BJCP President, has not communicated with the current Board of Directors, and we have been pursuing a resolution of this matter since 2004.

    For obvious reasons, the BJCP officers and legal committee are unable to comment publicly, but we feel the membership deserves to be kept informed as much as possible.Links in the following paragraphs will display the relevant documents.

    We recently learned that a Federal Grand Jury has indicted Mr. Slack for fraud. This indictment was reported in the local newspaper in Nashua. Mr. Slack was served with a summons on April 30, 2007 for his initial appearance in U.S. District Court on May 17, 2007.

    Mr. Slack appeared with his public defender at that hearing, and entered a plea of "not guilty" to the charge. He was released pending trial, subject to a number of conditions, and a trial date has been set for July 10, 2007.

    The Department of Justice has issued a press release describing the case, including potential penalties. The case is also summarized in their Annual Report, page 66.

    1st Update: Mr. Slack, through his public defender, requested a continuance (legalese for a delay in going to trial). On June 26, 2007, the court granted his request, and rescheduled his trial for October 10, 2007.

    2nd Update: Mr. Slack, through his public defender, requested a second continuance which was also granted, which postpones his trial until at least February 5, 2008.

    3rd Update: Mr. Slack, through his public defender, requested a third continuance which was also granted, which postpones his trial until at least June 3, 2008.

    4th Update: Mr. Slack, through his public defender, requested a fourth continuance which was also granted, which postpones his trial until at least September 3, 2008.

    5th Update: Mr. Slack, through his public defender, entered into a plea agreement on September 2, 2008. In the agreement, Mr. Slack agreed to plead guilty to his crime. Sentencing is scheduled for December 16, 2008 at 10:30am at the Federal Courthouse in Concord, NH.

    6th Update: Mr. Slack was sentenced on December 16, 2008 to five years probation, incarceration of one week per month for twelve months, and restitution of approximately $43K. The sentencing order provides full details of the sentence imposed. The local newspaper in Nashua reported on the trial, and it was also mentioned in the Keene, NH paper. A full report is forthcoming.

    The BJCP is satisfied with this sentence and believes this matter is now closed.

  • Earlier news items can be found on the News page, which also has a link to the Archives page containing even older items.