The BJCP held a judges reception at the 2014 National Homebrewers Conference (NHC), with presentations on new styles, judge ethics, and cider judging. The reception, an annual BJCP event, welcomes BJCP judges who are attending the National Homebrewers Conference, and provides them a social context to network, and learn from other judges. Judges who attend the reception are eligible to receive 2.0 Continuing Education Points (considered non-judging points) towards their judging record.

The 2014 reception was coordinated by BJCP Midwest Representative Sandy Cockerham, and Assistant Exam Director Gail Milburn. The admission price was $10 for BJCP members, and $25 for non-BJCP guests.

Included at the 2014 reception were food, drink and three separate presentations on topics relevant to BJCP judges.

"The intent was to utilize Gary Awdey again for a cider styles and flaws talk since it had been awhile. Dibbs Harting and Leah Dienes presented on Kentucky Common as a tie in to the changes coming in the style guidelines. Finally, Don Blake was a champ and did a talk on BJCP Judge Ethics to fill a hole after I could not come to talk on judging coffee beers. So the overall theme was to cover different aspects of the BJCP and it was pulled off quite well," noted Cockerham.

The session began with food. "The food was prepared by the hotel catering crew and I heard a lot of positive feedback saying it was really good," noted Cockerham. "The menu is shown below. We worked to accomodate dietary needs as best we could."

Appetizers	Entrees	Sides	Sauces	Desserts
Pork potstickers	Ginger beef	Rice	Plum sauce	Green tea mousse
Vegetable spring rolls	Lemongrass Chicken	Asian vegetable mix	Soy scallion	Coconut flan
	Tofu stir fry		Chili sauce	Beeramisu (using Founder's Porter)

National-level judges Leah Dienes and Dibbs Harting first presented “Kentucky Common: An Almost Forgotten Style,” covering Kentucky Common, a style included under the 2014 BJCP Guidelines. Kentucky Common was one of only three indigenous beer styles of the United States, oftentimes referred to as just “Common” or “Dark Cream Ale”, and was unique to the Louisville, Kentucky metropolitan area. It evolved from the mid-19th century through Prohibition, but then faded into obscurity during the Prohibition era. Over 75% of all beer consumed in Louisville in the early 1900s was of this style.

Dienes’ and Harting’s presentation explained the popularity of the style, its role in the growth of brewing in Louisville as a brewing powerhouse, recipes of the evolution of the styles, brewing and fermentation techniques, handling and delivery, and a discussion on various souring and yeast addition techniques surrounding the style. Their presentation may be found at http://www.bjcp.org/docs/NHC2014-kycommon.pdf on the BJCP web site, and also on the AHA’s web site for AHA members.

Next, Grand Master-level judge Don Blake presented “Ethics in Beer Judging,” a presentation intended to remind BJCP judges of who we are, why we exist, and the values that all BJCP judges should share. The presentation included a reminder of the purposes of the BJCP, the values that the BJCP promotes, as well as the fundamental ethics that should be included in beer, mead, and cider judging.

The presentation also included specific guidance on ethical practices surrounding the mini-best of show round, respecting the privacy of the judging and organizing process, and the challenges and opportunities that various advances in technology have introduced to the judging process. Blake provided a breakdown of the various social media tools that the BJCP now has a presence on, including Facebook, Twitter, Google Groups, as well as traditional communications means such as the BJCP web site, BJCP forums, and text messaging. Regardless of the platform, they noted, the potential exists to act unethically, and it’s the responsibility of the BJCP judge to respect the values that the BJCP and judging procedures seek to instill.

Cider expert and friend to the BJCP Gary Awdey provided the day’s final presentation on practical cider faults and style identification. Awdey gave a similar presentation in 2008 at the BJCP judges reception held during the 2008 National Homebrewers Conference in Cincinnati, OH. With updated Cider guidelines and a new Cider exam on the near horizon, the presentation was warmly received by the audience, many of whom have earned their judging points through the judging of beer and mead.

Awdey’s presentation included sensory training, updated to align with the BJCP’s new 2014 cider guidelines. Mr. Awdey provided samples of the standard cider and perry styles, discussed the styles and how to best recognized them, and how to evaluate their merits and potential faults. Some of those faults included ethyl acetate, diacetyl, acetaldehyde, and mousiness.

"This was probably the best one we’ve done,” noted BJCP President Gordon Strong. “I was really pleased by not only the presentations, but the quality of the material covered, and the reception overall.”

"In addition, we had immense amounts of help provided by Susan Rankert, Jeff Renner, Leah Dienes, Dibs Harting, Mike Arend, and Mike O'Brien. I hope I am not forgetting anyone," said Cockerham.