Beer Judging

Homebrew Con 2017 & Why You Should Attend Next Year!

Another year, another whirlwind of fantastic Homebrew Con experiences! This year was our 3rd year attending, and of course it was the most fun yet.

I’m writing this blog post because I’ve had trouble rallying my fellow GTA Brews members to attend. This annual event is a must for Rebecca and I. I hope by sharing all the awesome things we did, I can get people excited to attend next year!

Homebrew Con is an annual conference of 3000 homebrewing and craft beer enthusiasts put on by the American Homebrewers Association. Each year a new city is chosen, which keeps things exciting since you get to visit somewhere new. It’s an amazing experience to see and meet so many people that are passionate about the same thing you are Continue reading →

Becoming a Beer Judge (BJCP)

It’s been over a year since I got back my exam results from my Nov 2014 BJCP exam. I’ve always meant to make a post like this, but never got around to it. So here it is!

I wrote the exam on Nov 9th, 2014 and got the results back March 18th, 2015. Many thanks to my graders, admins, and proctors for volunteering their time to help me become a BJCP judge. That’s about 4.5 months for those keeping score, not to mention there were Christmas holidays in there. In 2014, while I was studying for the exam (shout out to Craig, Kyle, and Shaun the best study group ever!) I used to hear BJCP took 6-8 months for grading so I was pleasantly surprised that it only took 4.5 months. I believe it might even be quicker than this these days.

BJCP certified certificate

I earned the rank of Certified on April 2nd, 2015 after getting the 1/2 point I needed to advance from Recognized after getting my exam back.

Since getting my results back I’ve Continue reading →