Beer Judge Certification Program

The Beer Judge Certification Program or BJCP is a non-profit organization formed in 1985 "to promote beer literacy and the appreciation of real beer, and to recognize beer tasting and evaluation skills." It has been described in the press as a "hands-on ... study program designed to teach aspiring beer enthusiasts about the essence of any kind of beer". The BJCP certifies and ranks beer judges through an examination and monitoring process. Membership is limited to beer judges who have taken the BJCP exam.

The BJCP has three functions within the US beer community. First, it provides a standards-based organization supplying qualified judges to both amateur and commercial brewing competitions designed to promote the appreciation of beer styles and their accurate production by brewers. The BJCP tracks members' participation as judges, organizers, or stewards in BJCP-sanctioned brewing competitions and awards continuing education units for participation.

The BJCP also publishes style guidelines categorizing beer, mead, and cider styles. These guidelines are used in both the examination of Judges by the BJCP and, voluntarily, by brewing competition organizers; the BJCP also encourages prospective test-takers to study the available literature on styles and brewing. New style guidelines were released in May 2015. As well as better addressing world styles, the 2015 BJCP Style Guidelines comprise three separate documents for beer, mead, and cider styles, allowing them to be updated on different schedules.

Finally, the BJCP organizes a program of beer examinations wherein test-takers complete a series of written questions regarding brewing, beer styles and judging and then perform four beer judging exercises.

Judges are ranked within the certification program based upon a combination their score on a standardized certification test and experience points received for participating in sanctioned competition program events, in BJCP exams, or continuing education program events. The ranks include Apprentice, Recognized, Certified, National, Master, Grand Master (with incremental levels, for example Grand Master I, Grand Master II, etc.), and Honorary Grand Master. The BJCP also certifies judges in mead, and a similar cider certification is currently under development.

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