What is the Certified Beer Server exam?

The Certified Beer Server exam is the way the Cicerone® Certification Program tests knowledge and expertise for excellent beer service. A person who passes the exam is called a Certified Beer Server.

What is a Certified Beer Sever?

A Certified Beer Server is someone who has been certified as having excellent knowledge and expertise in beer service.

Who administers Certified Beer Server exam?

The Cicerone® Certification Program administers the Certified Beer Server exam on their website: cicerone.org.

Where do I go to take the Certified Beer Server exam?

The Certified Beer Server exam is administered online at: cicerone.org.

Enroll me in Beer Exam School!

How much does it cost to take the Certified Beer Server exam?

It costs $69 to take the Certified Beer Server exam.

How many tries do I get to pass the Certified Beer Server exam?

You get 2 attempts to pass the Certified Beer Server exam. If you don’t pass it on the second try, you can pay again. So be sure to use all my free study notes and flashcards on this website to pass the heck out of the Certified Beer Server exam the first time.

How many questions are on the Certified Beer Server exam?

The Certified Beer Server exam is a 60 question, multiple choice exam.

What is the time limit on taking the Certified Beer Server exam?

You’ll have 30 minutes to get through all 60 questions in the Certified Beer Server exam. So there’s no time to look up answers or use any other resources. You’re not allowed to, anyway. So study hard and pass the first time.

What do I get after passing the Certified Beer Server exam?

After you pass the Certified Beer Server exam, you’ll be able to call yourself a Certified Beer Server and put it on your resume. The Cicerone® Certification Program will email mail you a certificate that you can print and they will mail a lapel pin to wear with pride. They’ll also publish your name on their website, so any prospective employer can verify that you are a Certified Beer Server.

Who should take the Certified Beer Server exam?

The Certified Beer Server exam is helpful for anyone who wants a job in craft beer or anywhere in the alcoholic beverage industry. It is also good if you want to learn more about craft beer or if you just want bragging rights!

Enroll me in Beer Exam School!

Why would I want to take the Certified Beer Server exam?

More and more breweries, distributors, and even retail outlets are requiring their staff to become Certified Beer Servers. Having this certification will help you get that job you want in craft beer or anywhere in the alcoholic beverage industry.

After taking the Certified Beer Server exam, you will feel a sense of accomplishment and pride. You will know more about the history of beer, how to savor a beer, craft beers from the world, and how to provide excellent beer service.

What’s the easiest and best way to pass the heck out of the Certified Beer Server exam on the first try?

Use my free study notes and flashcards on this website for the easiest and best way to pass the heck out of the Certified Beer Server exam the first time!

Start with the table of contents here.

Join Beer Exam School

Study along with my notes–pass this exam!

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The post Certified Beer Server FAQ appeared first on Beer Exam School.

Graduation by Mark Ramsay on flickr (CC BY 2.0) has been modified from it’s original state

First: I passed the Certified Beer Server exam!

I hadn’t worked so long and hard at anything since college!

Okay, I’m not saying the exam itself is that hard. It’s just a 60 question, multiple choice exam online. But I wasn’t just studying to pass the exam itself.

I wanted to actually learn from the experience, gain some working knowledge, and make myself more valuable in the alcoholic beverage industry.

Plus, I was recording all my notes and flashcards, and publishing them on this site for you to use so you can also pass the heck out of the Certified Beer Server exam, too.

Turns out, building up a webpage from scratch is a lot more involved that it seems.

Second: I passed the Certified Beer Server exam!!

And I aced it, too!! I scored 54 out of 60. Which I have mixed feelings about.

After I passed the exam, Cicerone® Certification Program emailed me a Certified Beer Server certificate.

On one hand, I studied for more than a year. (My first study notes were published October 9, 2014. And I took the exam January 3, 2016.) So I kind of felt that I should have gotten a hundred percent!

On the other hand, it really validated that I needed to study hard for the exam. By the time I had gotten to 20 lessons of study notes and over 200 flashcards, I was worried that I might have been over studying. Especially because I’ve heard of people taking the exam over a couple of beers (there’s a 30 minute time limit) and passing without studying at all. I even worried that this whole Beer Exam School website was pointless, maybe nobody needs any help passing the Certified Beer Server exam. :,(

But after all that effort, I still didn’t completely ace the exam one hundred percent.

I’m glad I did study. I’m glad I studied as hard as I did. I’m glad I put together all my notes on this website to help you pass the heck out of the Certified Beer Server exam, too!

90% is pretty good.

Third: I passed the Certified Beer Server exam!!!

After I passed the exam, Cicerone® Certification Program mailed me a Certified Beer Server lapel pin.

I added it to my resume. I know a lot more than I did about beers from around the world, and about excellent beer service.

More and more breweries, distributors, and even retail outlets are requiring their staff to become Certified Beer Servers.

Having this certification will help you get that job you want in craft beer or anywhere in the alcoholic beverage industry.

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! Start with the table of contents here.

Join Beer Exam School

Study along with my notes–pass this exam!

Sign up for the email list:   Enroll me in Beer Exam School!

The post 3 thoughts on passing the Certified Beer Server exam appeared first on Beer Exam School.

Untitled by jvoves on flickr (CC BY 2.0)

So let’s look at the reading list for part 4.

The first step is to get my study materials together

Today I’m going through the materials to find any recommended books, articles, or anything else. Here are the materials that I’ll need to study for the Certified Beer Server, Part IV. Beer Ingredients and Brewing Processes.

You can get whatever you’ll need to pass the exam. Or you can simply use my free flashcards and study notes throughout this site.

Looks like lots of the material is coming from John Palmer’s book, How To Brew. I’ve heard good things about the book. For this section of the syllabus, links go to the online version of the book. You can also get your own copy in Amazon.

Other resources are listed below.

Reading list for Certified Beer Server, Part IV. Beer Ingredients and Brewing Processes

Resources about malt:

• Palmer, John J. How To Brew: Everything You Need To Know To Brew Beer Right The First Time. Boulder, CO: Brewers Publications, 2006. Print.
  “Chapter 3 – Malt Extract and Beer Kits; What is Malt?” http://www.howtobrew.com. Accessed October 2015.
• Briess, Malt & Ingredients Co. “Malting – A Three-Step Process.” http://www.briess.com. Accessed October 2015.

Resources about hops:

• Wikipedia. “Hops.” https://en.wikipedia.org. Accessed October 2015.
• Palmer, John J. How To Brew: Everything You Need To Know To Brew Beer Right The First Time. Boulder, CO: Brewers Publications, 2006. Print.
  “Chapter 5 – Hops; What are they?” http://www.howtobrew.com. Accessed October 2015.
• Palmer, John J. How To Brew: Everything You Need To Know To Brew Beer Right The First Time. Boulder, CO: Brewers Publications, 2006. Print.
  “Chapter 5 – Hops; 5.1 How Are They Used?” http://www.howtobrew.com. Accessed October 2015.

Resources about yeast:

• Palmer, John J. How To Brew: Everything You Need To Know To Brew Beer Right The First Time. Boulder, CO: Brewers Publications, 2006. Print.
  “Chapter 6 – Yeast; What is it?” http://www.howtobrew.com. Accessed October 2015.
• Wyeast Laboratories, Inc. “What Is Yeast?” http://www.wyeastlab.com. Accessed October 2015.
• Wyeast Laboratories, Inc. “Home Brewing Style Guidelines.” http://www.wyeastlab.com. Accessed October 2015.

Resources about water:

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

Resources about brewing processes:

• Palmer, John J. How To Brew: Everything You Need To Know To Brew Beer Right The First Time. Boulder, CO: Brewers Publications, 2006. Print.
  Peruse Chapter 1 and maybe a little from other chapters to get a basic understanding of the brewing process. http://www.howtobrew.com. Accessed October 2015.
• American Homebrewers Association. Zymergy: An Introduction To Homebrewing. http://www.homebrewersassociation.org. Accessed October 2015.
  (Enter your email address and download it for free.)
• Papazian, Charlie. The Complete Joy of Homebrewing Fourth Edition: Fully Revised and Updated. New York: William Morrow Paperbacks, 2014. Print.
• Lastly, the Cicerone® Certification Program advises:
  Another option: find a friend who homebrews and join them sometime when they are brewing to learn how it is done.

So, holy wow! that’s a lot of material. I’m really surprised that they smashed all that into one section of the Certified Beer Server syllabus, Part IV: Beer Ingredients and Brewing Processes. As I start digging into it, I see whether I can fit all of it into one section of notes and flashcards…

We’re almost done! ! !

Gosh, I can almost feel it.

I’ve been doing this for so long. If I didn’t have a podcast about how to start a brewery, and if I wasn’t trying to make an entire website from these study notes, I certainly could have taken this exam a long time ago.

Oh well; now you get the advantage of using my flashcards and study notes for free!

As soon as I finish studying and publishing my notes for all of the sections, I’ll review my flashcards really well and pass the heck out of this exam!

Let’s do this! Part IV: Beer Ingredients and Brewing Processes.

Join Beer Exam School

Study along with me–let’s pass this exam!

Sign up for the email list:   Enroll me in Beer Exam School!

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Before I even started studying for the Certified Beer Server exam, I knew I would be using flashcards. Flashcards were super helpful for me while I was in college. Having to think of the answer before you flip the card over challenges your mind and helps to enforce the new knowledge so much more than just reading the material.

As I started creating Beer Exam School, I knew I wanted to be totally transparent and show exactly all of the notes that I’m using to study for the exam—even my flashcards. But I wanted to go a step further and give you the actual flashcards that I’m using to study for the exam.

I was trying to find a way so that you could print them yourself efficiently and inexpensively. So I designed all of the flashcards to fit onto perforated business card sheets (compatible with Avery 8371).

So here’s…

How to make Beer Exam School flashcards in 3 simple steps

1. Download the flashcards

First, download the flashcards on PDF. Just click the link after each lesson, or simply go to this page and download the whole set in 2 PDFs.

2. Print the flashcards

Insert perforated business card sheets into your printer.

Be sure to use the ones that are compatible with Avery 8371, most business card sheets are.

If you’re having trouble finding the right ones, here’s a link to the product in Amazon.

Print the cards double-sided, in color.

Color is especially important for the beer style flashcards because they are color coordinated for each beer style.

If your printer doesn’t do double-sided, just use the bypass tray and feed them through a second time for the backsides.

3. Punch out the flashcards

After the cards are printed, fold along the perforations and…

easily tear apart the cards.

Troubleshooting

Cards are printed over the perforations

If the cards get printed over the perforations, try orienting the sheets in a different direction. Test one sheet at a time, until it prints correctly. Make sure every sheet is fed through the printer in the same direction.

I don’t want to buy perforated business card sheets

If you want to save a little extra cash, just print the cards onto regular paper and cut them out yourself with scissors.

The top page of each set has cut lines to guide you. For straighter edges and more uniform-sized cards, go down to your local copy shop or library and use a paper cutter.

Now start studying!

That’s it! Now you have all of the flashcards you need to pass the Certified Beer Server exam the first time!

Use Beer Exam School flashcards in conjunction with the study notes throughout this site, and you’re sure to ace this exam.

Join Beer Exam School

Study along with me–let’s pass this exam!

Sign up for the email list:   Enroll me in Beer Exam School!

The post How to make flashcards for Certified Beer Server exam appeared first on Beer Exam School.

Q: Can I kick it? by Todd on flickr (CC BY 2.0)

I got fired

Yeah, so… That brewery that hired me… I asked them for a paycheck, and they fired me.

“It’s not working out,” they said. “It’s not a good fit.” Or something else came up that they didn’t tell me about.

They cut me loose after I had worked just three, 4-hour shifts. I added an update to the post where I mentioned that I got a job at a brewery and how maybe I shouldn’t mention it until I actually sign the W-4, so if you want a slightly more detailed account, check it out.

So there’s that.

I got you

Anyway, that experience had certainly diminished my urgency to finish this exam. But I’ve been realizing lately that I should’ve finished a long time ago. And publishing a weekly podcast about how to start a brewery takes way more time than you would guess!

And applying for a “real job.”

Anyway, I want to get my certificate and finish up these notes before the Cicerone® Certification Program changes the exam.

@inbituinthebrew New @cicerone Certified Beer Server exams in 6 mo? Where's new syllabus??? (Been studying for 6 mo. might need another 6.)

— MicroBrewr (@MicroBrewr) May 14, 2015

Perfect. Thank you, @cicerone. @inbituinthebrew

— MicroBrewr (@MicroBrewr) May 14, 2015

I reckon some people are checking these notes. I know some people have signed up to get the free flashcards. So I want to finish this in time so this website will still be helpful to you guys.

And I don’t want the notes to be overkill. I had a feeling that I was studying too much, so I emailed the Cicerone® Certification Program.

They confirmed my suspicion.

…Knowing exact ABV, SRM, and IBU ranges goes well beyond what you need to know for Certified Beer Server exam. However, I laud the effort to go the extra mile, and that extra study will definitely help if you want to take the Certified Cicerone exam at some point. (Email from Cicerone® Certification Program, March 6, 2015)

So I went back and revised the last lesson on Style Parameters. And I designed some flashcards for the beer styles in the subsequent lesson.

I got going

We’re now in part 3 of the Certified Beer Server syllabus. We’re on a roll and we’re still rolling. Let’s get this thing done!

I have applied for several positions for which Certified Beer Server certification is required or “highly recommended.” It seems like “currently studying for” isn’t good enough.

Gotta get this done.

Let’s go! ! !

Join Beer Exam School

Study along with me–let’s pass this exam!

Sign up for the email list:   Enroll me in Beer Exam School!

The post Let’s keep this Certified Beer Server ball rolling appeared first on Beer Exam School.

Light Reading by Martin on flickr (CC BY 2.0)

After that tough section on all those beer styles, I was finally able to distill it down to flashcards for all of the beer styles in the Certified Beer Server Syllabus.

If you want to go back and read all the stats and info for each and every beer style, knock yourself out. But the flashcards make it so much easier.

Now we gotta get back in the saddle and keep studying through the last few sections. I’ll keep publishing my study notes along the way.

I hope you’re finding the notes on this site helpful. Send me an email and let me know. And if you have questions about any of the materials, leave comments below any of the sections. I’ll try to answer any questions I can, or maybe we’ll hear the answer from someone else who’s reading along.

So let’s look at the reading list for part 3.

The first step is to get my study materials together

This time I kind of did it backwards. I was too eager and dug into the syllabus forgetting about the “free study links” at the Cicerone website.

Then I got stuck in some parts of my studies and I had to go back and find more study material. So here are the materials that I’ll need to study for the Certified Beer Server, Part III. Beer Flavor and Evaluation.

Feel free to get anything that you think you’ll need to pass the exam. Or just check out my free study notes throughout this site.

Reading list for Certified Beer Server, Part III. Beer Flavor and Evaluation

• 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:

• Cicerone® Certification Program. “Certified Beer Server Syllabus.” http://cicerone.org. June 1, 2013. PDF. Accessed October 9, 2014.
  The syllabus was the main guide for my notes about “evaluation techniques.”
• Jackson, Michael. Michael Jackson’s Great Beer Guide. New York: Dorling Kindersley, 2000. Print.
  The short section at the back was helpful: Lexicon of Flavors & Aromas.
• White, Chris and Jamil Zainasheff. Yeast: The Practical Guide to Beer Fermentation. Boulder, CO: Brewers Association, 2010. p 3. https://books.google.com accessed September 25, 2015.
• Oliver, Garrett. The Oxford Companion to Beer. Oxford: The Oxford University Press, 2012. p. 134. https://books.google.com. Accessed August 21, 2015.
• Palmer, John. How to Brew: Everything You Need To Know To Brew Beer Right The First Time. Boulder, CO: Brewers Publications, 2006. Chapter 21.2. http://www.howtobrew.com. Accessed August 21, 2015.

So we need only a few resources to study for the Certified Beer Server syllabus, Part III: Beer Flavor and Evaluation.

But those resources are loaded with information. The hard part is discerning and pulling out only what we must know for this section.

Sign up to study with me

We’re almost done now. There are just 3 parts in this section, and one part in each of the next 2 sections.

It has taken me way too long to do this. Maybe I shouldn’t have taken on this whole website thing along with studying to pass this exam.

But hey, you get the benefit of using all of my study notes! I’m buying the books, digging through the materials, writing it all up in easy format, and I’m sharing my flashcards, too. Now it’s all in one place, easy for you to learn from.

So keep studying along with me and we’ll pass this exam together!

Sign up for the email list to make sure you hear when I publish each new post. Plus there’s a free gift, too!

Now we’re going to go deep into the character of a beer to understand its inner being.

Join Beer Exam School

Study along with me–let’s pass this exam!

Sign up for the email list:   Enroll me in Beer Exam School!

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Beer styles can be measured qualitatively and quantitatively. Today’s lesson describes the different ways to measure the characteristics of a beer, and understand its style.

Best in Show by capnvynl on flickr (CC BY 2.0)

This isn’t psychology. I mean, who’s to say why people put things into categories.

Cars, trucks, SUVs. Apartments, condos, single-detached homes. Men and women. Dogs and cats. Ales and lagers.

Categories help us understand things and appreciate things. Beer styles are a way to understand the beer in hand.

Reading material for this section was found in the Certified Beer Server syllabus and the following sources.

Discussion of quantitative assessments come mostly from the BJCP 2015 Style Guidelines; Beer, Mead, and Cider Guidelines with Special Ingredient Descriptions.

Discussion of qualitative assessments, especially pertaining to beer character, come mostly from:

• Michael Jackson’s Great Beer Guide by Michael Jackson
• Tasting Beer; An Insider’s Guide to the World’s Greatest Drink by Randy Mosher

  

Knowledge requirements: qualitative measurements versus quantitative measurements

I first learned the terms qualitative and quantitative in university science classes. It’s a way to differentiate between a measurement that is subjective from a measurement that is objective.

Qualitative measurement is subjective to the observer. It’s usually described with adjectives. What one person calls brown, another might call beige. Therefore, a quality is descriptive and can be perceived slightly differently from person to person.

On the other hand, quantitative measurement is objective. It helps me to think of the word “quantity,” like a weight or a measurement. It’s quantifiable. Quantitative descriptors usually come in the form of numbers. Therefore, a quantitative measurement is the same for everyone.

We can say qualitatively that a person is tall. We can say quantitatively that she is 5’11”.

So it is in beer styles, they can be measured qualitatively and quantitatively.

NOTE: For all of the beer styles that we’ll be following, please keep in mind that these styles are a general representation of most beers of the given style. That is, most beers in a style will follow these parameters and ranges that we’ll discuss, but there will be some outliers, some beers that fall slightly outside of the strict parameters for a given style.

It’s a spectrum, it’s fluid, it’s artistic, and it’s open to some interpretation by the individual brewers.

The four parameters that define beer style: Color, perceived bitterness, alcohol content, and character

As described earlier, the Certified Beer Server syllabus goes by the BJCP Style Guidelines for beer styles. Allegedly, the BJCP Guidelines don’t change as often as other guidelines.

BJCP Style Guidelines have lots of prose describing each style, sometimes half a page or more. In the next lesson, we’ll get into the descriptions for each specific style. For now, we’re just outlining how the descriptions are measured.

I’m changing the order of these parameters from that shown in the syllabus. I present them in the order we perceive them when approaching a beer.

In fact, I’m going out a little further on that limb; I’m grouping this study not by measurement type, but by the different parameters. It makes more sense to me to look at one parameter at a time, and understand both qualitative and quantitative measurements for that parameter.

Parameters of beer styles fall into these categories:

1. Color
2. Perceived bitterness
3. Alcohol content

Often these parameters will be abbreviated as follows:

• C – color
• PB – perceived bitterness
• ABV – alcohol content (alcohol by volume)

These 3 parameters each can be measured qualitatively or quantitatively.

A fourth parameter, however—character— can be measured only qualitatively. That is, character has no quantitative measurements.

Color

The first thing we will notice when approaching a beer is its visual color.

BJCP uses 12 qualitative color categories and corresponds them to the quantitative “Standard Reference Method” (SRM) scale. For this exam, we need to know just the following 5 color descriptors:

1. Straw
2. Gold
3. Amber
4. Brown
5. Black

Each of the qualitative color descriptors above correlates to a quantitative range on the SRM scale. We don’t need to know SRM values for the Certified Beer Server exam, but I’m including the information in case you want to get nerdy about. I like to get nerdy about it.

SRM is often used as a quantitative measurement of beer color. It’s measured on a scale of 1-40+.

BJCP Style Guidelines describes SRM as “a measure of beer color or density more than hue/tint.”

A friend from the Beer Color Laboratories sent me a Beer Color Reference guide. The transparent card has a gradient of colors that you can compare to any beer and gauge the SRM number. It’s a handy way to hone your visual skills and beer knowledge.

Anyway, he says, “SRM is actually a measure of ‘darkness’ at one wavelength and not a good representation of ‘color’ by any means. You need to gather color data for many beers… to get a representative color for beers at those [SRM] values.”

Beer Color Reference by Beer Color Laboratories is a handy tool for measuring the SRM of beer.

How we perceive the color and the hue/tint of a beer can be affected by a number of factors such as lighting and backdrop. Therefore, it’s very difficult to correlate qualitative measurements of color directly to quantitative measurements.

Just know that beer can be classified by color, and by darkness.

Five color descriptors and an example of each:

Check out the Wikipedia article on Standard Reference Method for a wider range of color representations on the screen.

The SRM ranges shown above are from the BJCP Style Guidelines 2008, but generalized for the 5 descriptors in the Certified Beer Server syllabus.

Perceived bitterness

After observing a beer’s color, let’s see how it tastes.

Actually, I like to describe aroma second, because, after looking at a beer, we’ll smell it before we taste it. But aroma has only a qualitative measurement, so the Certified Beer Server syllabus describes it in the “character” descriptor. Therefore, we’ll describe aroma below when we talk about beer character.

Flavor is also so varied and nuanced that is has mostly qualitative descriptors. We discuss a variety of flavors in the character section.

In the meantime, let’s cut straight to one aspect of flavor that is very popular in beer: bitterness.

Certified Beer Server syllabus qualitatively generalizes perceived bitterness with the following 5 categories of bitterness:

1. Low
2. Moderate
3. Pronounced
4. Assertive
5. Highly assertive

Each of the qualitative descriptors above correlates to a quantitative range on the International Bitterness Units (IBU) scale. The scale for IBU ranges from 0-100+. We don’t need to know IBU values for the Certified Beer Server exam, but I’m including the information in case you want to further advance your knowledge.

Popular Science has a pretty informative explanation of IBUs. It demystifies and debunks a lot of misinformation that I’ve heard going around. Basically, IBUs measures the concentration of bittering compounds in beer.

Not all tongues are the same. Bitterness can be perceived differently from person to person.

Additionally, perceived bitterness doesn’t correlate directly to IBUs. The way we perceive bitterness is affected by the amount of malt in the beer, so if you have 2 beers with the same IBU, the more malty beer won’t seem as bitter.

Just know that beer can be classified by perceived bitterness and by actual bitterness.

Five descriptors of bitterness and their corresponding IBU:

The IBU ranges shown above are from BJCP 2015 Style Guidelines, but generalized for the 5 descriptors in the Certified Beer Server syllabus.

Alcohol content

While still tasting the beer, we can perceive a general feeling for the amount of alcohol in beer. The amount of alcohol can vary from beer to beer.

Qualitatively, we can use the following 5 descriptors of alcohol content:

1. Lower
2. Normal
3. Elevated
4. High
5. Very high

Alcohol content can also be quantitatively measured. There are two measurements, both are expressed in percent:

• Alcohol By Volume (ABV)
• Alcohol By Weight (ABW)

Alcohol By Volume is the more common measurement.

Five descriptors for alcohol content and their corresponding ABV:

The ABV ranges shown above are from the BJCP 2015 Style Guidelines, but generalized for the 5 descriptors in the Certified Beer Server Syllabus.

Beer character

Another assessment of beer is the beer character. This one is qualitative, but has no quantitative measurements. It’s sort of the overall description of a beer.

For this exam, we’ll cover 6 parameters of beer character.

Here they are in the order that you will experience them:

1. Appearance
2. Aroma
3. Flavor
4. Perceived bitterness
5. Mouthfeel
6. Aftertaste

We’ll discuss how these are perceived and how to evaluate these later on in section III. Beer Flavor and Evaluation. For now, we’ll just try and give basic definitions.

Appearance – For appearance, we’re just trying to get an overall visual assessment of the beer before you really get into the smell and taste of it. Color is kind of part of it, but that’s covered more in the qualitative measurements above.

Get an overall impression of the beer from any visual cues you can pick up such as color, hue, clarity, or viscosity.

Aroma – “Whether the drinker sniffs or not,” says Michael Jackson, “much of what we think we taste is actually experienced through our potent and evocative sense of smell.”

We can’t list all of the aromas. Randy Mosher says humans can perceive 10,000 different aromas.

Flavor – Different kinds of flavor include sweet, sour, salty, bitter, umami (“deliciousness” can also be perceived as meatiness), and fat.

According to Mosher, fat is “the most recently discovered member of the taste family, having been added only with the discovery of its receptor in 2005.” He also admits that “it’s not clear if this receptor plays any role at all in beer tasting, as beer is a fat-free product.”

Beyond that, the variety of flavors that can be perceived in beer is limited only by experience and imagination. Michal Jackson’s Great Beer Guide has a “Lexicon of flavors & aromas” that gives a good variety with explanations of why we perceive these flavors in beer.

For example, the perception of cloves in beer, he explains, “arises from phenols created in fermentation.”

Perceived bitterness – Bitter flavors are nature’s way of protecting us from food poisoning. For most people, bitterness is an acquired taste. In beer, we consider bitterness as a good thing.

Hops provide beer’s bitterness as well as flowery aromas and flavors.

On the other hand, astringent bitterness can signal a bad beer.

Mouthfeel – Mouthfeel can encompass a variety of sensations including temperature, carbonation, viscosity, and cooling or burning sensations.

Common mouthfeel sensations from beer are described as crispness or dryness, palate fullness, richness, oiliness, and more.

Aftertaste – Aftertaste refers to perceptions after you have swallowed the beer.

If you swallow a beer and it’s just gone, it doesn’t have any aftertaste.

On the other hand, flavors, aromas, and mouthfeel can linger or even change long after the beer is swallowed.

I love what Jackson says about tasting beer:

“Enjoyment of beer does not demand some special tasting talent. All it requires is an open mind, an interest in beer, and an eagerness to find aromas and flavors without fear of mockery.”

Summary

This lesson is really important. The information presented in this lesson is the building blocks for the next few lessons. It’s really important to memorize this information. It will make the next few lessons a lot easier to understand and absorb.

In the next section we’re really going to hit beer styles hard. We’ll pull together everything we learned from the last two chapters and get cozy with history, characteristics, and flavor attributes of styles by region.

It’s a big section. Let’s do this!

Flashcards for this section

Based on the reading materials mentioned and my notes above, here are my flashcards for this section.

There are a lot of flashcards for this section. Some of it seems redundant, because it’s a lot of intricate details presented in different ways. I did it this way to help us better learn these little details that will be so important for our future ability to understand beer styles.

What’s the difference between qualitative measurements and quantitative measurements?

What 4 parameters define beer style?

1. Color (C)
2. Perceived bitterness (PB)
3. Alcohol content (ABV)
4. Character

What does SRM stand for?

Standard Reference Method is a quantitative measurement for color.

What does IBU stand for?

International Bitterness Units is a quantitative measurement for bitterness.

What does ABV stand for?

Alcohol By Volume is a quantitative measurement for alcohol content. It is expressed in percent.

Which of the 4 parameters that define beer style can be measured only qualitatively, not quantitatively?

Beer character has only qualitative measurements, not quantitative measurements.

5 descriptors of color

1. Straw
2. Gold
3. Amber
4. Brown
5. Black

SRM range for straw color

SRM: 2-4

SRM range for gold color

SRM: 6-7

SRM range for amber color

SRM: 10-18

SRM range for brown color

SRM: 19-30

SRM range for black color

SRM: 35-40

5 color descriptors with corresponding SRM number and a style example for each

5 descriptors of perceived bitterness

1. Low
2. Moderate
3. Pronounced
4. Assertive
5. Highly assertive

IBU range for low perceived bitterness

IBUs: 0-30

IBU range for moderate perceived bitterness

IBUs: 20-40

IBU range for pronounced perceived bitterness

IBUs: 35-75

IBU range for assertive perceived bitterness

IBUs: 50-100

IBU range for highly assertive perceived bitterness

IBUs: 80-120

5 bitterness descriptors with corresponding IBUs and a style example for each.

5 descriptors of alcohol content

1. Lower
2. Normal
3. Elevated
4. High
5. Very high

ABV range for lower alcohol content

ABV: <4.5%

ABV range for normal alcohol content

ABV: 4.5-6.0%

ABV range for elevated alcohol content

ABV: 6.1-7.5%

ABV range for high alcohol content

ABV: 7.6-10.0%

ABV range for very high alcohol content

ABV: >10.0%

5 alcohol content descriptors with corresponding ABV and a style example for each

5 qualitative descriptors for color, perceived bitterness, and alcohol content

6 parameters of beer character

1. Appearance
2. Aroma
3. Flavor
4. Perceived bitterness
5. Mouthfeel
6. Aftertaste

The post 012. Style parameters appeared first on Beer Exam School.

Beer is perhaps more varied than wine. BJCP Style Guidelines lists more than a hundred different styles of beer, many of which have been around for centuries—or longer! And each of those styles have stories as varied as the cultures from which they originated.

I had a really difficult time knowing what to study for this section. The syllabus isn’t very descriptive about what we should know.

Primary reading material for this section was found in Tasting Beer; an insider’s guide to the world’s greatest drink by Randy Mosher. Much of the materials in this lesson is a book report on Tasting Beer, chapter 1, “The Story of Beer.”

Don’t really focus on memorizing key details in this section, but rather think of it as an overall understanding of how beer styles evolved differently in different areas.

Anyway, this section seems mostly about the historical origins of styles. In the next section we’ll learn the different parameters to evaluate style. After that, we’ll get to know approximately half of the beer styles defined by BJCP.

Gosh, I’m really starting to doubt my knowledge of this section. We’ll see how I do when exam time comes.

The historical development of beer styles

The development of beer styles was first driven by available ingredients, equipment and water.

Initial drivers of beer style

Beer “has ten thousand years of history, with gods, goddesses, heroes, and songs to celebrate its glories,” writes Mosher.

The first known documentation of beer was around 3000 BC, from the Sumerians who had “an expansive vocabulary of ingredients, brewing vessels, and beer types.”

From then on, cultures throughout the eastern hemisphere had a wide variety of beers made from their predominant local ingredients.

Scrapings from a Bronze Age burial, for example, show ingredients of barley, honey, cranberries, meadowsweet and bog myrtle.

The Dyonesians had poppy pods, and the Scythians had hemp. The Finns and Hungarians had juniper, while heather was common in the British Isles.

Hops weren’t introduced until around the year 1000 in Bremen, Germany.

Elsewhere around the region, brewers were using “gruit.” The contents of this herbal mixture are mostly unknown. The main ingredient, however, was bog myrtle, an herb with flavor characteristics not unlike hops.

While the church required brewers to buy and use “gruit” in their beer, Bremen was further away, beyond the reach of the church.

Hops have a great flavor that offsets the malty-sweetness of beer. (We’ll learn more about that in part III.) Hops also act as a preservative in beer, keeping beer good for months rather than weeks. So this new hopped beer was able to be exported to other areas. By 1600, all English beer and ale had hops and eventually hoppy beer was the norm in all of northern Europe.

It’s interesting that, according to Mosher: There is a line south of which grapes grow well and becomes the dominant drink. North of this, ancient Romans encountered enthusiastic beer drinkers at the fringes of their empire.

Even after beer gained popularity across northern Europe, “parts south, such as Italy and Spain, had little or no beer culture.”

Brewing dominated in German states, Flanders, the Netherlands and England. Beer styles developed and evolved in these areas, and gave way to all the classic styles that we know today.

Several factors that changed beer styles

While geographic characteristics played a role in the development of beer, styles were later refined and differentiated by technology, regulation, culture, and consumer appeal.

Technology

Public works projects in England in the 1600s opened access to distant markets and ingredients for beer.

Industrial developments of the 1700s and 1800s made great advancements in brewing.

Steam engines were developed for mines around 1700, and many decades later they were adapted to make large-scale brewing possible.

Also in the late 1700s, the thermometer was adopted for brewing, followed not much later by the hydrometer.

In the mid-1800s brewers were starting to use single-cell yeast cultures. By the mid-1900s it was the norm.

Artificial refrigeration was first used in a commercial brewery in Germany in 1873.

Various equipment introduced throughout the 1800s greatly improved roasting of malts.

Louis Pasteur’s “Études sur la Bière” (Studies on Beer), published in 1876, demonstrated the causes of—and prescribed methods for preventing—beer spoilage. The work had widespread affects across the beer world.

Regulation and taxation

Different types of regulation affected beer development in different ways. Perhaps the two most well-know beer regulations are the German beer purity law of 1516 called Reinheitsgebot, and Prohibition in the U.S.

Depending on the source, the Reinheitsgebot was either a food safety law or a famine preventative measure. Perhaps either was an inside racket.

Modern-day northern Germany was rich with varied beer styles. When Bavaria became part of Germany, beer styles were restricted by the Reinheitsgebot. Many local beer styles were lost. A few, like Kölsch, Berliner Weisse, and Düsseldorfer Alt, survived and are still popular today. Others, like Grätzer, Lichtenhainer, and Broyhan, barely survived the passage of time.

Lucky for us all, Belgium never had a beer purity law. Probably Affligem Nöel is the first beer that I really fell in love with. Even to this day, I have an infatuation for that beer, but I digress.

Beer styles in Belgium have never lost the use of ancient spices, herbs, and sugars.

“Coriander, orange peel, cumin, grains of paradise (a pungent, peppery spice), and many kinds of sugars find their way into Belgian beers, often in quite subtle ways,” writes Mosher. “For a beer lover seeking new experiences, Belgium is a wonderland of the highest order.”

As for Prohibition, the U.S. is not the only country to have outlawed beer. There’s not enough space here to talk about it comprehensively.

Prohibition in the U.S. started in 1920 and ended in 1933. Before Prohibition, there were thousands of breweries in the U.S. There was a resurgence of breweries after Prohibition, but consolidation reduced the number to a low of 44 breweries in 1979.

Now we’re back to more than seven thousand breweries—and quite a diversity of beer! But if we had the number of breweries per capita that there was before Prohibition, we would have more than 30,000 breweries in the U.S. today.

Culture and consumer appeal

Pilsner was invented in Plzen, Bavaria and made that little town famous. Limited competition brought about by the Reinheitsgebot helped solidify Pilsner’s widespread popularity.

Various accounts describe the rise in popularity of Porter and Pale Ale. Whatever the case, England’s influence was broad. Many of the practices and preferences in England spread across the world via the British Empire and beyond.

British colonists brought their love of beer to North America. But, according to Mosher, malt didn’t grow well in much of the colonies. Alternatives such as molasses, dried pumpkin, and walnut tree chips were used, but not with much success. By 1800, spirits were consumed 10 times as much as beer in volume. In terms of alcohol, it was about 200 times as much!

The frontier was scarce of infrastructure. It was difficult to transport ingredients or the finished product across long distances over land. So whiskey, rum, and other spirits continued to be much more popular than beer in America.

However, America wasn’t completely devoid of beer. Wherever German or Dutch immigrants were, there was beer, too. American Dreams of beer grandeur come from names that are recognizable to this day: Pabst, Busch, Schlitz.

Summary

Regional beer styles were initially established as a result of local ingredients, equipment, and water.

Beer styles evolved differently by region based on technology, regulation, culture, and consumer appeal.

As commerce became more globalized, beer styles spread across the world.

Some styles have remained pretty much the same for decades.

Other beer styles evolve with advancements in technology and science.

In the next section we’ll get into the parameters that define the different beer styles, to see what sets them apart from each other.

Flashcards for this section

Based on the reading materials mentioned and my notes above, here are my flashcards for this section.

3 primary drivers in the development of beer styles

1. Available ingredients
2. Equipment
3. Technology

When was the first known documentation of beer?

The first known documentation of beer was around 3000 B.C. with the Sumerians.

When and where were hops introduced into beer?

Hops were introduced into beer around the year 1000 in Bremen, Germany.

In what part(s) of the world did beer dominate and become the styles we know today?

Beer gained popularity across Northern Europe in Germany, Flanders, Netherlands, and England.

What were 4 primary factors in the refining of beer styles?

1. Technology
2. Regulation
3. Culture
4. Consumer appeal

2 scientific instruments that were adopted in brewing in the 1700s

1. Thermometer
2. Hydrometer

What major advancement in brewing happened in the 1800s?

Single-yeast cultures were first used in beer in the mid-1800s.

By the mid-1900s it was the norm.

When and where was refrigeration first used in commercial brewing?

Refrigeration was first used in commercial brewing in 1873 in Germany.

What was published in 1876?

Louis Pasteur’s “Études sur la Bière” (Studies in Beer) was published in 1876.

It had widespread affects across the beer world because it demonstrated the causes of beer spoilage and how to prevent it.

What is the Reinheitsgebot?

Reinheitsgebot is the German beer purity law of 1516.

It limited the ingredients allowed in beer.

Many beer styles from Northern Germany were lost from the Reinheitsgebot.

What did Prohibition do to the number of breweries in the U.S.?

Before Prohibition, there were thousands of breweries in the U.S.

After Prohibition, there was a low of 44 breweries in 1979.

Where was Pilsner invented?

Pilsner beer style was invented in Plzen, Bavaria (Germany).

Where were Porter and Pale Ale invented?

Porter and Pale Ale beer styles were invented in England.

The post 011. Understanding beer styles appeared first on Beer Exam School.

Piles of Books by Michael Coghlan on flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)

I’m on a roll! I’ve been studying lots and kicking out my notes to share with you. I hope they are helpful. Send me an email and let me know. And if you have questions about any of the materials, leave them in the comments below the specific lesson. I’ll try to answer any questions I can, or maybe we’ll hear the answer from someone else reading along.

So let’s look at the reading list for part 2.

The first step is to get my study materials together

Today I’m going through the materials to find any recommended books, articles, or whatnot. Here are the materials that I’ll need to study for the Certified Beer Server, Part II. Beer Styles.

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.

For the basic information and cultural background, the Cicerone® Certification Program recommends Michael Jackson’s Great Beer Guide by Michael Jackson. I ordered this book for myself. Feel free to order your own copy from the link here, or check out my study notes throughout this site.

For a little bit about the history and culture of each style, they recommend mostly the style descriptions from All About Beer Magazine. More on that below.

As for the actual style descriptions, we’re going use the descriptions from the Beer Judge Certification Program. The Brewers Association also has comprehensive style guidelines. However, the Cicerone® Certification Program refers to the BJCP styles because they change less often.

Keep in mind that we need to know only the styles referenced in the Certified Beer Server syllabus. We’re not going to need to memorize all 73 pages of the BJCP Style Guidelines or the entire All About Beer website.

Reading list for Certified Beer Server, Part II. Beer Styles

• Cicerone® Certification Program. “Certified Beer Server Syllabus.” http://cicerone.org, September 1, 2016. PDF.
  Check to see which styles we need to know.
• Jackson, Michael. Michael Jackson’s Great Beer Guide. New York: Dorling Kindersley, 2000. Print.
  Check out the basic info and cultural background for each style.
• All About Beer Magazine. Styles. http://allaboutbeer.com. Accessed February 2015.
  Check out the bits about history and culture of each style.
• Beer Judge Certification Program, Inc. BJCP 2015 Style Guidelines; Beer, Mead, and Cider Style Guidelines with Special Ingredient Descriptions. http://www.bjcp.org, 2015. PDF.
  Know the descriptions for each style we need to learn.

So we need only a few resources for the Certified Beer Server syllabus, Part II: Beer Styles. But those sources have are packed full of material that we need to cover. (Go here for reading materials for part I.)

I realized early on that it takes quite a bit of work to look at the syllabus, dig through the suggested reading materials, and gleam what I’ll need for the Certified Beer Server exam. This would be much easier if the materials were collected together in one place and I could just read through it.

I know the Cicerone® Certification Program has a study guide for sale, but it’s like 200 bucks! It does include the price of the exam, but I’m already paying for the exam and I can just get these materials to study on my own. So I’d rather do it this way.

It’s pretty neat to see that this certification is already helping me gain employment. I can hardly wait to pass the exam and start using this information to bring excellent beer service to craft beer lovers.

Let’s get to work! First lesson of Part II: Understanding beer styles and where they came from.

Join Beer Exam School

Study along with me–let’s pass this exam!

Sign up for the email list:   Enroll me in Beer Exam School!

The post 010. Reading list for Certified Beer Server (part 2) appeared first on Beer Exam School.

Manchester Central Library, March 2010 by Ricardo on flickr (CC BY 2.0)

I’ve already been busy

It’s not like I’ve been slacking off. I keep pretty busy with MicroBrewr and, well, pretty much just MicroBrewr Podcast and the website.

The line between hobby and work is kind of blurry. I call it research toward one day starting a brewery of my own. It’s been occupying more than full-time hours for several months. Yet it doesn’t pay the bills.

I got a job

I got a letter from the landlord saying to get out ‘cause he was selling the place. I doubled-down on job applications. I did have help from my girlfriend. But when I saw a still-unopened brewery in her neighborhood in the San Francisco East Bay, I pestered them. And it paid off.

I am very stoked.

I mean, maybe I shouldn’t say anything until I actually sign my W-4 and whatnot.* But I will say it was the one job that I wanted.

Certified Beer Server helped me

After sending messages on Facebook, emailing my resume, snail-mailing my resume, stopping by the site several times—although it was mostly empty—emailing my resume again, more Facebook stalking… You get the idea…

I got a phone interview. Then an in-person interview. And the job offer!

My boss-to-be did say he likes that I am already studying for the Certified Beer Server exam. And he said all employees will need to pass the exam within 90 days of being hired.

So I better get to work on this!

Time to get to work

I am still committed to finishing my study notes on this site, well, because I’m that way. And because I want to help others.

Even though it’s just a 60-queston online exam, and some people tell me that I could probably pass it right now, that’s not good enough for me.

First, the syllabus intimidates me.

Second, I don’t want to just pass with the 75% minimum just to have the certificate. I want to ace that exam. I want to really know the material.

Last, it has been pretty hectic pulling together all of the study resources. The Cicerone® Certification Program lists study resources and recommended reading—and it’s scattered all over the place.

If I can bring it all together in one place and help others, rawk on!

And I gotta do it within 90 days of being hired…

* UPDATE: Yeah, I shouldn’t have spoken until I had received the written notice that California law requires when an employee is hired. After 3 half-shifts over about one month, my supervisor cut off communications. When I kept asking about the work schedule, pay dates, and other things, you know, required by law, they said “it’s not a good fit” and “it’s not working out.” They gave me a check for my hours worked, no withholdings.

Nonetheless, I’m carrying on! I have applied for several positions for which Certified Beer Server certification is required or “highly recommended.” It seems like “currently studying for” isn’t good enough. Gotta get this done. Let’s go!!!

Join Beer Exam School

Study along with me–let’s pass this exam!

Sign up for the email list:   Enroll me in Beer Exam School!

The post Time to get to work appeared first on Beer Exam School.