Beer Judging
How do we judge beer?
We judge beers according to the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) style guidelines. These guidelines are an invaluable tool to the homebrewer in determining the qualities and characteristics desired in different styles of beers as well as some idea of how to achieve these goals. These are also the guidelines used in the majority of homebrew competitions.
According to the BJCP website, the purpose of the Beer Judge Certification Program is to:
- Encourage knowledge, understanding, and appreciation of the world's diverse beer, mead, and cider styles;
- Promote, recognize, and advance beer, mead, and cider tasting, evaluation, and communication skills; and
- Develop standardized tools, methods, and processes for the structured evaluation, ranking and feedback of beer, mead, and cider.