As we close out 2019, I wanted to provide a quick update for our region and some thoughts for 2020.
Rep Travel
In November, I had the privilege to visit and judge the Oregon Brew Crew’s Fall Classic Competition. The Fall Classic was a well run competition with a great staff, and I had a wonderful time. I also judged some of the best examples of an Eisbock and Altbier I’ve tasted in a while. If anyone is interested in having me or an assistant regional rep visit your competition, please let me know! I am hoping to travel to some states in our region next year that I haven’t been able to visit yet.
Assistant Reps
Our region currently has two assistant reps, Tracy Hensley in Oregon and Bob Hall in Montana. The reps help out with issues in their local areas and surrounding states. Feel free to contact any three of us with BJCP questions or concerns; we are happy to talk with you. We have had preliminary discussions about adding a third assistant rep and will likely move forward with that in 2020.
Region Growth
Last year, the Board created three new international regions and moved Nevada from the Mountain/Northwest region to the West region. As of the time of this regional realignment, the Mountain/Northwest region is the largest in the BJCP with Colorado (295 judges), Oregon (166) and Washington (179) providing the bulk of our region’s judges. In fact, CO ranks behind California as the state with the most judges! I’d love to see growth in other states, too. If you are interested in growing judges in your area, reach out and let’s discuss. The BJCP’s growth depends on grassroots efforts of our members to train and certify judges.
Website
Most of the comments I’ve received from members in our region have related to the ongoing website migration and other technological issues. From recent discussions with the IT directorate, we are very close to flipping the switch and permanently transitioning to the new website. For most uses, the new website (currently http://dev.bjcp.org/) is live, working and updated, so I encourage you to use it.
Judge Turnout
Another concern we’ve seen is a downturn in judges showing up and those interested in taking the exams. This seems to be a national trend with homebrewing in the U.S. in general. Those of you who have read this far are likely judges who are involved and interested anyway. So, I have an ask. Next time you judge, reach out to any judge friends you haven’t seen out in a while and encourage them to show up. Or, recruit some non BJCP friends to come with you to judge or steward. Helping build and sustain your local judge and homebrew communities is one of the most impactful ways you can help support the BJCP.