Online Exam Tips

• The BJCP Entrance Exam (online exam) is based on the BJCP Exam Study Guide, and many of the questions come right out of there
• The styles tested are from the 2015 BJCP Guidelines
• There is a 20 question practice exam available for free at: http://bjcp.coursewebs.com/
• Write this exam ASAP so you can judge homebrew competitions for practice
• You can buy the 3for2 package that gives you three attempts, do this and just take a shot to see where you need to study
• Here is a presentation from Victor North, that provides a good Intro to the BJCP
• Here is a blog post that goes over the exam and gives some more specific tips: http://barleypopmaker.info/2014/07/23/5-tips-for-passing-the-bjcp-online-entrance-exam/
• The online exam is PASS/FAIL, so don’t obsess about perfection, just focus on getting through it so you can begin practicing scoresheets

Tasting Exam Prep Tips

• Practice filling out scoresheets for all kinds of beers, especially ones that aren’t world class examples
• I highly recommend that everyone read the BJCP Scoresheet Guide before the exam so you have an idea what the graders are looking for
• My blog post has lots of tips, including a breakdown of an exam that I scored 82 on
• My blog post has lots of links at the bottom, but here are a few favourites:
  • Scoresheet deconstruction, BarleyPopMaker Tips, BlueRibbonBrews Template, BlueRibbonBrews Tips, Brewnology Podcast Episode 4

Tasting Exam Outline

• Exam consists of writing scoresheets for 6 beers, with 15 mins given per beer
• Bring mechanical pencil, erasers, and other writing items you want
• Only basic calculators can be used, no smartphone apps
• This is a closed book exam, referring of the guidelines is not allowed
• The exam only covers categories 1-26, specialty categories are not included
• Be prepared to write neatly and firmly to ensure the graders can read your writing clearly when scanned, also do not write to the edges or on the back of the pages