Prospectus

One path, two exams

BJCP certification has two gates and they test different things. Knowing every style will not get you through a 15-minute scoresheet, and writing a tidy scoresheet will not get you through 180 questions in an hour. So the course works the knowledge first, at your own pace, then calibrates the craft in four sessions with the club.

BJCP Judge Prep

Self-paced · four sessions with the club

One path through both BJCP exams: the knowledge the online Entrance Exam tests, worked at your own pace, then the craft the in-person Judging Exam tests, calibrated in four sessions with the club. Perception and description cannot be calibrated against your own palate, which is what the sessions are for.

1 Foundations The certification path, the scoresheet, the competencies, and sensory routine. 9 lessons

2 Ingredients and process Malt, hops, yeast, water, and the brew day end to end. 8 lessons

3 Off-flavours Naming a fault, its cause, and a fix the brewer can act on. 5 lessons

4 Styles All 98 entries by family. The exam’s largest subject area. 25 lessons

5 Exam readiness Timed sets at the real pace, marked to the real pass mark. Then sit the BJCP online exam in your own time and report the date on your status page. 11 lessons

6 Fault kit session Spiked and blind. Naming faults from the glass, not from a page. in person

7 Scoresheet guide session A first shared scoresheet, scored independently then compared. What the BJCP expects a scoresheet to say, and how to say it in fifteen minutes. in person

8 Scored sensory session Several beers, each scored against the panel. Telling neighbours apart in the glass, with your scores recorded so you can see your calibration move. in person

9 Check-in: six beers, fifteen minutes each The mock exam at real pace: six beers, fifteen minutes each at most, closed book, against a proctor consensus, every scoresheet held to what the BJCP expects of a judge’s record. in person

4 of these modules run with a facilitator, in person around Greater Wellington or by webinar if you cannot get there. They are not optional extras: perception and description cannot be calibrated against your own palate, and the modules after them stay locked until a facilitator signs them off.

What the exams actually are

	Entrance	Judging
Format	Online	In person
Length	180 questions, 60 min	6 beers, 90 min
Books	Open	Closed
Pass	116 (64%)	70% plus 5 experience points earns Certified; 60 to 69 Recognized

Passing the Entrance Exam does not make you a judge: it qualifies you to sit a Judging Exam, and that result lapses after two years. Which is why the programme coordinates timing rather than everyone sitting it whenever.

Getting a place

Sign in with your email. Club members use the same account as the club site; anyone else gets one on first sign-in.
Register. An admin approves you, or straight away if the club invited you.
Work through the material, book the in-person sessions, and sit the mock exam. The club confirms exam candidates from there.