Let’s keep this Certified Beer Server ball rolling

You might recall from my post on January 31, that I was really eager and motivated to finish studying and take the exam. Well, as you might’ve guessed based on the dates of my posts, I hadn’t been in such a hurry to finish anymore. There was a huge gap between lessons 12 and 13. Looking back, I’m mildly ashamed and kind of embarrassed about the amount of time that I let go by. More on that in a minute. Anyway… Then I learned that the Cicerone® Certification program is planning on changing the Certified Beer Server exam in 2016—so we gotta get this thing done!

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

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

Time to get to work

One of the reasons I started this site was to motivate me by accountability to finish this exam! Yes, WordPress has given me quite a beating this past year. Nonetheless, here it is, 8 months after my first post on Beer Exam School, 3 months since I really started studying, and I have a long ways to go. But I got a job at a brewery!

 

Manchester Central Library, March 2010 by Ricardo on flickr

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

Let’s set Certified Cicerone® apart from wine sommelier

Beer is a highly specialized and diversified product, and trends change rapidly. A beer cicerone, specifically a Certified Cicerone® or a Master Cicerone®, is a highly skilled and knowledgeable professional. Yet they are often described in reference to wine sommeliers. I propose a new description for Cicerone, one that stands on its own, independent of other beverage professionals.

Banner for beer cicerone vs. wine sommelier.

Welcome to Beer Exam School!

Beer Exam School is the blog I will use to help me study for the Cicerone Certification Program, Certified Beer Server exam.

My name is Nathan Pierce. Since quitting my air quality planning job about a year ago due to, shall we say “irreconcilable differences” with management, I’ve been planning to start a brewery here in the Monterey area (California). To learn more about beer and to enhance my resume, I am going to take the exam for Certified Beer Server.