Provide a brief introduction about yourself, feel free to add anything you’d like to share.
My name is Brian Eichhorn and I’ve been a judge with the BJCP since 2010 and am presently a Grand Master IV and Mead judge living in Cincinnati, OH.
What led to you becoming a Beer Judge with BJCP?
My entry into the BJCP was the misguided hubris of a 27 year old that thought he knew everything about beer. Before getting into bonafide beer judging, I was a ratebeer ticker that tasted as many beers as I could, Naturally, I felt like I knew way more than the exam could test me on. I essentially took my first exam on a whim and without studying. I remember my recipe question being for a Classic American Pilsner, which obviously has Cascade hops, right? I kid, but that’s what I put on the exam, which was very wrong. Anyway, this was the legacy exam and I scored 70/70. Now understanding how the exam was written, and doing a bit of research, I decided to retake my tasting exam and scored very well, so was able to sit for a second written exam and made Master in 2013. But what got me in was pure ego initially, which ultimately led me to be humbled by more experienced judges and gave me a great place to learn.
What is one thing you enjoy about being a BJCP judge?
What I enjoy most about being a BJCP judge is the opportunity to meet people that share a common interest and to continue to learn, as well as mentor newer judges and grow the community. There’s never really a competition that I judge where I don’t meet someone new and learn something new. Or get reminded that even styles I don’t care for can be exciting when executed well. Plus, best of show judging is the best!
What’s your favorite category or style to judge?
I don’t bother making distinctions of what I want to judge, or not any more, but I’m always excited to judge pilsners and bocks. I also really enjoy judging the specialty categories, like fruit beer, SHV, Barrel aged and so on because it can show the creativity of brewers. Homebrewing is the root of creativity in the beer world, I feel, and can really help to get the pulse on brewing as a whole.
Can you share any fun memories from your time as a judge?
Gosh, so many to name! As a judge, I’d say doing a few ‘walking’ bests of show with Stan Hieronymous in Chicago & St. Louis are up there just because it was fun shooting the breeze while walking the line of beers. I also remember a distinct best of show for the Drunk Monk competition where the beer that won best in show came from a bottle where the brewer did a poor job removing glue from a commercial bottle and it looked like it was going to be a train wreck. But then we all tried the beer and it ended up winning. Moral there is to not judge a book by its cover. I guess another couple would be my first time really travelling and judging with international judges, which is a whole other perspective. There’s so many memories I treasure that they’ve become hard to pin down at this point.
Any closing thoughts for your fellow judges?
The most important thing when it comes to beer judging, in my opinion, is to have fun. While we’re there to fill an important role of evaluating the beer in front of us, that doesn’t mean you have to be a jerk about it. Do your best to remove biases and take a different perspective. Thinking about the overall quality of the beer to begin with goes a long way in gaining that perspective. If all you’re going to do is pick apart everything that you think is wrong with it and not focus on the positives, you’re probably doing it wrong. We want to encourage brewers and uplift them, not tear them down. Sometimes the positives aren’t there and we need to find a way to convey that without being rude.
Now that I’ve gotten that out there, there’s a huge world of beer judging, even beyond the BJCP. But, the BJCP can be your way into the world. I’ve had the great fortune of cultivating relationships across the beer world and been invited to judge at GABF and World Beer Cup, as well international competitions. Additionally, through all of this, I’ve been able to run the Festival of Wood & Barrel Aged Beer Competition (FOBAB) for the past 10 years. These are the kinds of things that you can find for yourself if you put in the effort and make connections that can last a lifetime. And that part about not being a jerk goes a long way to getting opportunities!