BJCP Main

BJCP Bulletin

The Official Newsletter of the

Beer Judge Certification Program

February 2024
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From the President's Desk

Dear judges,

The last quarter was a quiet one for me as I took a few months off of judging after a minor surgery. 

I did just travel to Savannah, Georgia to help the Savannah Brewers League judge the Domras Mead Cup – always a fun competition to be a part of. 

I’m seeing lots of competition activity showing up on the BJCP Competition Calendar and I encourage all of my fellow judges to get out and judge as often as you are able in order to help support the homebrew community and to keep your skills fresh.

I always look forward to seeing people across the U.S., and in other countries, as I visit and participate in different competitions.  It’s fun, and I meet so many great people! Hope to see you out there on the competition trail!

Cheers,
Sandy

Recent Board Actions

• Received updates on BRAVO from the IT Team

• Received updates from the Exam Team

• Approved rank qualifications for Distinguished Certified and Distinguished National judges

• Approved Michael Wilcox as Assistant Director to Styles Directorate
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Looking to Rank Up?
Check the Exam Calendar

 

Looking to Medal Up?
Check the Competition Calendar

 
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BJCP News
2025 Cider Guidelines Now Available!

2025 Cider Guidelines Now Available!

The 2025 BJCP Cider Style Guidelines are a major rewrite of the 2015 edition. This document is a companion to the 2021 BJCP Beer Style Guidelines. While some of the 2015 content has been retained, there has been a reorganization and renaming of the categories and styles, including the addition of a few …

Read more.
MHP and BJCP – Announcing the Gavel Awards Program!

MHP and BJCP – Announcing the Gavel Awards Program!

The Master Homebrew Program in coordination with the BJCP has created the new “Gavel Awards Program” as an additional thank you and recognition for the hard  work provided by beer, mead, and cider BJCP judges.  This repeatable award will be granted once per year based on the judging points acquired and competitions attended by …

Read more.
BJCP Board Approves Plan to add Distinguished Honorific Ranks

BJCP Adds Distinguished Honorific Ranks

Two new ranks were created to recognize and show appreciation for judges who continue to volunteer their time in support of judging activities, organizing competitions, grading exams, and mentoring new judges into the community. We recognize their efforts and commitment…

Read more.
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Rank Advancements March-May 2023

Rank Advancements

BJCP would like to thank and recognize the 6,593 active judges who participated in judging sanctioned competitions in 2024!

Each BJCP Bulletin recognizes judges who have advanced to National or Master, and GM(x) rank since the last publication. This installment recognizes advancements that occurred in 2024. Congratulations to everyone for their hard work and dedication!
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Updates from BJCP Directorates
BJCP IT Directorate

IT Directorate

Over the past year, BJCP IT Directorate has taken on a project to migrate from our legacy infrastructure to a modern IT infrastructure. The current infrastructure was designed and implemented nearly 20 years ago!

Read more.
BJCP Competition Directorate

Competition Directorate

We are happy to report that competition activity continues to be very strong. New registrations are processed at least once a week, and reports are updated in the database weekly. In this edition we want to focus on “sessions.” …

Read more.
BJCP Exam Directorate

Exam Directorate

We have 51 scheduled exams on the calendar over the next 12 months, this will fill in as we move further into 2025. We closed 147 exam sets in 2024, this is up from 121 in 2023, and represented a very strong year!

Read more.
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Reporting Updates for BJCP Competitions

Reporting Updates for BJCP Competitions

As of May 2024, the BJCP no longer collects Best of Show (BOS) winner details in competition reports to streamline the reporting process and avoid delays. Learn why this change was made and how to properly report competition results.

Read more.
Judge Spotlight: Brian Eichhorn

Judge Spotlight: Brian Eichhorn

Brian Eichhorn has been a judge with the BJCP since 2010. Learn how this Grand Master IV and Mead judge living in Cincinnati, OH got his start with BJCP, and FOBAB.

Read more.
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Regional News 

Stay informed and find out what's happening in your region!  

Read more.

2025 Regional Representatives Elections
Call for nominations in Midwest / South / Mid-Atlantic regions

Beginning March 1, members may nominate themselves or a qualifying BJCP member for Regional Rep. Look for an email with full details about this near the end of February.
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DISPLAY YOUR BJCP STATUS!

Name Badges

As a service to members, the BJCP will pay for a name badge to be worn at competitions and other BJCP events. 

Please note: We are working to improve this process and provide better service to our members. We aim to shorten the time from request to delivery for members.

Learn more and place your order here
45th Annual HomebrewCon – June 22-24, 2023

Rank Pins

Rank Pin Mailings to US Members continues…

Those who are newer judges needing a pin, or judges who've recently achieved a promotion (but never received a rank pin) may fill the request form.

With regret to our international members, it is still prohibitively costly to mail internationally. 
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In Memoriam

Although we have always been able to mark our database records appropriately, we want to be sure to memorialize our departed judges appropriately.

If you know of a BJCP judge who is now deceased, but not on this list, please contact us with the information.
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STAY CONNECTED WITH BJCP

AND YOUR FELLOW JUDGES 
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