The purpose of the Education and Training Directorate (ETD) is to develop, recognize, and encourage worthwhile continuing education opportunities for the BJCP membership.
The main functions of the Directorate are to:
- Develop and promote quality continuing education for the BJCP.
- Provide guidance and direction for member-initiated offerings pertaining to the improvement of brewing and judging education.
- Recognize members that organize and participate in directorate-approved offerings.
- Provide the training to each judge to give adequate, relevant, and helpful feedback for each and every beer, mead, and cider judged.
- Instill in-depth of knowledge of BJCP styles.
- Assist when needed with implementing BJCP initiatives.
Continuing Education Courses
The chief focus of the ETD will be developing education classes and courses. Member-submitted courses must be submitted and approved in advance in order to receive ETD recognition.
BJCP Exam Preparatory Course
These are a group of classes over multiple dates that culminate in taking the BJCP exam (tasting or written exam) or a test that reinforces the key items and objectives of a particular topic. These classes mainly use the BJCP-published material or professional literature (published books, periodicals, or studies) as their basis for organization. They consist of beer/mead/cider topics, style review, product examination and judging as well as off-flavor and sensory training.
Individual Classes
These usually come in the form of one-off events or training sessions instructing on individual beer/mead/cider topics or styles, production techniques, or ingredients. These events can be similar in structure to a class that is part of a Course Program but they typically do not lead up to an exam and they don’t consist of multiple sessions.
Special Request
These requests are for things that do not fit the projected format but still include an obvious enrichment of judging ability. Some of these will encompass already established events such as AHA nationals, and others will be created for local functions such as structured tastings. Special event point assignments will be arranged according to division of responsibilities and roles in such an event. These will be considered on an individual basis but must be approved by the Education Liaison in advance of taking place.
ETD Course Submission and Approval Process
In order to incorporate these sessions into the established BJCP program, they must be well-structured, and the roles for presenters, organizers and attendees must be well-defined.
The Education Liaison must review and approve the following at least one month in advance of the event or first course that is part of the series:
- The schedule of the event/session(s) or syllabus.
- List of topics.
- List of presenter(s) along with their credentials.
- Any supporting materials.
- A copy of any test questions or exercises that will be given to or conducted with the participants.
This enables the ETD to ensure that the basic components, such as tasting and the instruction in technical and stylistic topics, are included and presented capably, and to develop a library of presentations for other organizers and presenters to use.
To register a ETD event please begin by contacting the Education Liaison by completing this online form. The Education Liaison will review the submission and work with you through the approval process. Note: You will need your BJCP Member Portal user id and password in order to access the form.