Our prior advice remains in effect. Listen to your local public health organizations for guidance. Some areas are reopening with restrictions, and some are still under lockdown.
Remember, the BJCP doesn’t directly operate competitions or exams, so always seek out the organizer of these events for updated information.
The BJCP has been lenient in rescheduling and cancelling events, and in refunding fees. Just remember to do so with us before the planned date of the event.
Elections were performed electronically and were not impacted by lockdowns.
The National Homebrew Competition and Conference in Nashville has been cancelled by the AHA this year, so there will be no BJCP events taking place during that time. We are exploring ways to have our annual meetings electronically.
Many people are concerned about maintaining their active status while events are being cancelled. The BJCP is not changing policy, but we have suspended our processing of inactive members during the COVID-19 pandemic. We will have a lenient grace period for those members who would have expired during this time. We will not process any suspensions before the end of the calendar year, and will re-evaluate the process then. We never delete member records, so do not worry about your status in the organization.
For those who have passed the online exam but cannot find a tasting exam due to rescheduling, we will be lenient with the expiration of the online exam status. Once an exam is scheduled with a firm date, you can request an extension through your exam administrator.
We will provide further updates as events dictate.
Continue to stay safe, and we will talk to you again soon.
Gordon Strong, President
Beer Judge Certification Program, Inc.