What was changed in Certified Beer Server Syllabus v3.2?

The syllabus for the Certified Beer Server exam was updated a couple months ago. It wasn’t a large overhaul, but there are some key things you need to know. If you already passed the Certified Beer Server exam, check out the updated information below to keep your skills sharp. If you’re getting ready to take the exam, you’re in luck—I already updated my study notes on this website to reflect the changes shown below. This post details the changes from Certified Beer Server Syllabus v3.1 to v3.2.

Exam by Alberto G. on flickr (CC BY 2.0)

Changes to Certified Beer Server Syllabus v3.2

Certified Beer Server Syllabus v3.2 is dated November 20, 2017.

There were minor formatting changes throughout, plus two key changes you need to know.

Minor formatting changes throughout

Imperial measurements in the syllabus now also have metric equivalents shown in parenthesis.

It’s kind of weird. Here in the U.S., we’re the global odd ones out with the Imperial system, but it is the nationwide standard. Now that the Cicerone® Certification Program has syllabus for several countries, I don’t see much need for the USA syllabus to show the metric measurements.

Currently, the Cicerone website has versions for:

USA: English
Canada: English
Australia: English
International: English
Internacional: Español

With Certified Beer Server becoming more popular outside of the USA, and Beer Exam School accessible worldwide, I also updated the study lessons on the website to include metric measurements in parenthesis.

Please let me know if you see something that I missed. Just make a comment below this post and I’ll get it updated for the peeps on the metric system.

Using a glass washing machine

Instructions were added for using a glass washing machine.

For when your employer doesn’t use the 3-sink method for getting the glasses to beer clean, but they have a glass washing machine dedicated to the task.

Pouring a beer from tap on nitro

Instructions were added for pouring a beer from tap on nitro.

It’s very similar to pouring a beer from tap on CO2, but there’re are a couple key steps that are required by the super sudsiness of those creamy beers we love on nitro.

One beer style added

The Cicerone® Certification Program has stated that the beer styles in their syllabus reference the BJCP Guidelines rather than the Brewers Association’s because BJCP Guidelines don’t change very often. BJCP is still operating from their 2015 BJCP Style Guidelines. So there’s not a lot of updates to this section of the Certified Beer Server Syllabus.

However, one new style was added: International Pale Lager. The style is basically a copy of the widely popular, American Pale Lager.

What you need to know:

So that’s it! That’s all of the changes to the Certified Beer Server Syllabus v3.2. Thankfully, it was not a whole lot this time.

After 10 years of conducting exams, I guess the Cicerone® Certification Program is still honing their syllabi. I don’t see much other need for changing the Certified Beer Server syllabus as often as they do. I mean glass washing machines have been around a while, beer on nitro has been around a while, although it is getting more popular. The Cicerone Certification Program isn’t a program of lifelong learning, they don’t require continuing education credits for keeping your status. But I guess it’s good that they keep up with the latest in the industry.

I already updated my study notes and flashcards on this website to reflect these changes. So if you haven’t already started studying for the Certified Beer Server exam, now’s your chance!

Use my free study notes and flashcards on this website for the best way to pass the heck out of the Certified Beer Server exam the first time! Get going and let me know when you pass.