Study resources for the Certified Beer Server exam

Here’s a list of resources about Cicerone® Certification Program, and resources to study for the Certified Beer Server exam. I’ll add more study resources for the Certified Beer Server exam as I find them.

Please help others, add other resources in the comments below.

Study resources for the Certified Beer Server exam

These are the reading materials for the Certified Beer Server exam, as recommended by the Cicerone® Certification Program. Feel free to get anything that you think you’ll need to pass the exam—or check out my free study notes throughout this site.

Part I. Keeping and Serving Beer

Like I said, feel free to get any of these that you think you’ll need to pass the exam or that look interesting. Or check out my free study notes for part 1 here.

Part II. Beer Styles

If you don’t want to pay for or round up the resources listed below, check out my free study notes for part 2 here.

Part III. Beer Flavor and Evaluation

There are lot of resources to gather for this section. If you don’t want to compile them all yourself and sort through to find out what you need to know, just check out my free study notes for part 3 here.

  • Mosher, Randy. Tasting Beer: An Insider’s Guide to the World’s Greatest Drink. North Adams, Massachusetts: Story Publishing, LLC, 2009. Print.
  • The parts about “sensory evaluation” are helpful and interesting, and there’s a little bit from “brewing and the vocabulary of beer flavor” that’s pertinent to this section.
  • Wikipedia. “Flavor.” http://en.wikipedia.org. Accessed August 28, 2015.
    Check out the first 2 sections, the introduction and about “flavorants or flavorings.”
  • Beeradvocate. “How To Taste Beer.” http://www.beeradvocate.com. Accessed August 28, 2015.
    A short guide of techniques for beer evaluation.
  • Real Beer. “When your beer really stinks.” http://www.realbeer.com. Accessed August 28, 2015.
    A short piece about “skunky” beer.
  • MoreBeer! “‘Off’ Flavors In Beer; Their Causes & How To Avoid Them.” http://www.morebeer.com. Accessed August 28, 2015.
    This is an awesome resource about off flavors in beer. It’s kind of advanced, but it’s especially good if you want to advance your knowledge.

I also used these resources:

Part IV. Beer Ingredients and Brewing Processes

There’s a lot of material for this section. I’m really surprised that they smashed all that into one section of the Certified Beer Server syllabus. It’s a lot of reading material. If you don’t want to sift through all of it, just peruse my free study notes for part 4 here.

Resources about malt:

Resources about hops:

Resources about yeast:

Resources about water:

  • Cicerone® Certification Program. “The Basics of Water.” http://cicerone.org. Accessed October 2015.

Resources about brewing processes:

Part V. Pairing Beer with Food

The syllabus doesn’t really say much about pairing beer with food. There are no resources listed. Most of what I’ve learned about pairing beer with food has been from experimenting. Try different beer than you would normally drink. Try beers with different food than you would normally eat with it. Just try lots of different things, set aside your preconceived notions, and explore the whole world of epicurean delights. Your favorites will be there when you get back, heck maybe you’ll find a new favorite!

I did check out a couple references for this section, which are listed below. If you don’t want to look anything up yourself, just check out my free study notes for part 5 here.

Books for starting a brewery

Reading is key for advancing your knowledge! Check out the Book Recommendations at MicroBrewr Podcast for books recommended by brewers and brewery owners. Every guest of MicroBrewr Podcast is asked to recommend a book that will help me succeed in opening a brewery. The book recommendations are listed from the answers shared and ranked by the number of times each book was suggested.

MicroBrewr craft beer podcast

MicroBrewer is everything craft beer related, with a focus for people looking at starting their own microbrewery or wanting to take their existing brewery to the next level. If you want to know how to start a brewery, MicroBrewr is the place to go.

The craft beer beer podcast has weekly episodes interviewing brewers and brewery owners. There are also guests from other sectors of the industry like distributors, retailers, and marketers. We go deep, to get inside the industry and inside the heads of people who work there.


Some of the links above are “affiliate links.” If you click the link and buy something, I will receive some money from the purchase. It doesn’t add anything to your purchase price. While I have not personally used all of the resources listed here, based on others’ recommendations, I feel that these resources will truly provide value to you. Please do not purchase any of these products unless you feel that you need it or that it will help you achieve your goals. Read more at the Affiliate Disclaimer.

Please note: I reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive or off-topic.

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