1. BJCP Update and Master Judging Techniques
Gordon Strong

2. BJCP News BJCP is now in 44 countries
30% of exams are now outside the US
Growth rate higher outside the US (judges, exams, and competitions)
10 exam graders fluent in Spanish
Translated materials
Online exams in Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese
Regional Representatives and Assistants
Northeast US and International: Scott Bickham
Canada (Ontario and eastward) is in Northeast region
Canada (Manitoba and westward) is in North region (Brian Joas)
Rick August is regional assistant in Western Canada (Regina)

3. 20% of BJCP judges live outside of the US
336 35 51 32 8 26 6
5140 5 74 18 20 3 39 70 19 8 3 14 12 22
150 1
202 65 45 51 6 5
Data as of May 2017

4. 2016 Annual Report Highlights
BJCP passed 10,000 judges worldwide
Assistant Regional Representatives added
Training for exam graders created
Cider exam development continues
2015 Style Guideline transition complete
BJCP web site migration in progress
New content continues to be created for the web site
BJCP newsletter now published online

5. Sensory Analysis – Overview
Use all your senses
Capture perceptions in your own words
Organize using Scoresheet sections
Be thorough and complete
First impressions matter
Do you like it?
Would you drink it?
When I first taste a beer, I get an immediate idea of how good it is. I may not be thinking of a specific score, but I am thinking of a quality range.
It’s ok to be more general at first. There is plenty of time for detail as the process unfolds.

6. Aroma Techniques Low sniff High sniff Drive-by sniff Dog sniff Swirl
Capping
Temperature effects
Refreshing or resetting your nose

7. How Your Tongue Works NO
YES

8. Tasting Techniques Clean palate Small sips
Tongue swish, slowly, push beer not whip it
Rest beer on tongue, allow to warm
Chew
Aerate
Swallow (use good form)
Exhale through nose with mouth closed

9. Structured Tasting Communication is the goal
Describe in detail what you perceived
Use the Scoresheet as a guide
Go section by section
Use section prompters for completeness
For each component
Is it present? If so, at what level?
Describe in detail – be precise if you can
Quantity and quality
Think about balance of components

10. Models for Characterizing Flavors

11. Descriptor Hierarchy Fruity Citrus Lemon Orange Tangerine Tropical
Mango
Passionfruit
Pineapple
Pome
Apple
Pear
Quince
Lemon
Orange
Tangerine
Citrus
Mango
Passionfruit
Fruity
Tropical
Pineapple
Pome
Apple
Pear
Quince

12. Evaluating for Style Understand the essence of the style
Overall impression and balance
What must be present
What separates it from other styles
Understand the range of the style
Don’t over-emphasize a single phrase
Don’t let a single example define the style
Read everything in context
Order and intensity of descriptors
Required vs. optional elements

13. Capturing Comments Method matters more than the form used
Get your information across
Help the brewer by not guessing
Justify your final result (score, rank, assessment)
What you perceived is more important than how to fix

14. Scoresheets
BJCP (Normal)
BJCP (Checklist)
GABF