Certifications & Cicerones

Happy New Year everyone!

I know it has been some time since I last generated a new post, aside from updates here and there. What can I say except that the holidays demand a lot of attention, especially when having great beer and enjoying good times!

Well, the holidays now over, so I can once again refocus my efforts on the world of beer. First of all, I'm in the process of reading some new material in order to better hone my skills at recipe design. This is helping me as I decide what I'd like to make and with what ingredients. So far, I have some fun ideas in front of me for 2013, which I'm hoping will be an even bigger year for my home brewing than last year (I already have 4 new ideas I'm toying with, and a total of 5 recipes I want to make before April).

Aside from reading all this new material (which I owe to a very thoughtful Coren, my malt muse), I have been exploring some new options. One thing I was handed not too long ago was an article of a guy my age that is working part-time as a cicerone, which is essentially the beer version of a sommelier (even if it does pain me to simplify it that much). The role requires the certificate-holder to be well versed in beer styles, the brewing process, the history of beer, an understanding of how to serve beer, and some basis in draft management system & etiquette. Needless to say, I'm intrigued, so I have researched it a bit, and well, I'm not too surprised that the first test is something I crushed with little to no effort, but also gave me a good idea of where to focus my studies. I'm officially a certified beer server, and with a simple request to one of the many industry amigos I have made thus far, I can save up & study for the cicerone exam, which is quite a bit more involved.

So, I'm pretty pumped about this, because it is a form of true acknowledgement by the industry to have something. Besides, when was the last time anyone ever said, "Being noticed is uncool"?

That confirms a goal to have the cicerone exam scheduled and completed no later than October 2013.

Now, the other test I'm exploring requires some serious consideration and time commitments. The BJCP, or Beer Judge Certification Program, is the program in place for competitions, as small as a local club contest all the way up to the GABF. The format is to take an online test of 200 true/false questions as an entrance exam, followed within 1 year by a full exam that includes tasting several beers and providing a score card.

I'm looking forward to bigger & better challenges that will allow me to improve my own beer knowledge and have some fun! Be prepared to hear more about these programs and my advancement through them, because I'm playing for keeps.

As always, drink well and be merry.