Reading list

Where the real material lives

This course teaches how to use the BJCP's documents. These are the documents. Everything here is public and free to read, apart from the books.

Read these four first

BJCP Scoresheet Guide
The rubric the Judging Exam graders mark by, section by section. If you read one thing before the tasting exam, read this.
Sample scoresheets
Six exam scoresheets the BJCP holds up as very well done, and two it holds up as the opposite. A model and an anti-model.
Judge Procedures Manual
How a judge is expected to behave at a table. The source for the programme and ethics questions on the Entrance Exam.
The free practice exam
On the same portal as the real Entrance Exam. The genuine interface and question style, at no cost.

From the BJCP

Beer Style Guidelines, 2021 The standard every beer is judged against. Open book for the Entrance Exam, closed for the Judging Exam. page Online Beer Entrance Exam study guide What the 180 questions cover and in what proportions. page Beer Exam Study Guide The long guide to all three beer exams, with a group study course. page Exam Scoring Guide How the graders turn six scoresheets into an exam score. page Beer faults The BJCP fault list: what each tastes like and what the brewer can do. page Judge ranks The score and experience points each rank needs. page Membership guide What being a BJCP judge involves once you have a rank. page Education library Presentations and member-written training aids, including one on common mistakes in the tasting exam. page

Competition paperwork

Beer scoresheet The real sheet. Print a stack and write on paper before exam day. PDF Judge instructions The one-page reminder handed to judges at a competition. PDF Cover sheet What goes back to the brewer on top of the scoresheets. PDF Competition handbook How a sanctioned competition is organised and run. page All competition forms Flight summary, bottle identification, the checklist sheet and the rest. page

A short shelf

Eight titles from the BJCP's own reading list, which runs to more than sixty. The heading beside each is the one the BJCP files it under. A library copy is fine.

Title	Author	Filed under
Tasting Beer	Randy Mosher	Judging
Evaluating Beer	Charlie Papazian and others	Judging
The Oxford Companion to Beer	Garrett Oliver, editor	Communicating about beer
How to Brew, 4th edition	John Palmer	Brewing technology
Yeast	Chris White and Jamil Zainasheff	Brewing technology
Designing Great Beers	Ray Daniels	Recipe formulation
Brewing Classic Styles	Jamil Zainasheff and John Palmer	Recipe formulation
Brewing Better Beer	Gordon Strong	Recipe formulation

The BJCP's full reading list has the style-by-style books, the brewing science texts and the history.

Links checked on 1 October 2026. The BJCP reorganises its site from time to time; if one is dead, the document will still be findable from bjcp.org.