When I talk to craft beer fans, they are often surprised to learn a few things about me; I’ve never brewed beer, I am not a Cicerone or BJCP (Beer Judge Certification Program) Craft Beer Judge, and I look exactly like the logo on this website. The last one shouldn’t be too shocking but it often is. The other two items always surprise people but I’ve tried to be up front that I am a craft beer enthusiast just like you. I’m not a brewer and I have no special credentials or certifications. So I was really excited when I was asked to participate in the 2018 King of Ohio event as a craft beer judge.
Since I have not gone through the BJCP program, I judged a category alongside someone that is a certified BJCP craft beer judge. This ensures that the results are reliable and accurate. More about the process will be covered later in this article.
2018 King Of Ohio Details And Results
The 2018 King Of Ohio event took place on October 20, 2018 at the Smokehouse Brewery in Columbus, Ohio. It featured beers from over 60 breweries.
Each year this event focuses on a specific style and this year it was Belgian-style beers. There’s a wide range in Belgian-style beers so I knew it would be a tough competition to judge but also a lot of fun to try a huge variety of beers from across the state.
The entries were broken down into 6 categories: Wits & Pales, Blonde & Golden Strong, Saisons, Dark Strong & Dubbels, Tripels, and Sours. I judged the Blonde & Gold Strong category along with two other judges.
A winner and runner up was picked for each category. The 6 winners moved onto the final judging table where a Best of Show was selected.
2018 King Of Ohio Winners
Wits & Pales Winner – Fretboard Crazy Train / Runner Up – Fifty West Doom Pedal
Blonde & Golden Strong Winner – Royal Docks Daemonium / Runner Up – MadTree Stutze
Saisons Winner – Rockmill Petite Saison / Runner Up – Akronym Tres Saison
Dark Strong & Dubbels Winner – Toxic Brew XXXX / Runner Up – Yellow Springs Carpet Nap
Tripels Winner – Paradigm Shift Neighbor Girl / Runner Up – Three Tigers Triple OH Seven
Sours Winner – Noble Creature Chelsette / Runner Up – Urban Artifact Beipiaosaurus
Best Of Show Rockmill Petite Saison
Everyone in attendance was impressed with the high level of quality across the board. This event was proof that Ohio’s craft beer continues to grow, expand, and improve.
And I have to point out that Cincinnati breweries had a really great showing as Fretboard won their category and Fifty West, MadTree, and Urban Artifact all finishing as Runner Ups.
I have to thank Rick Armon of the Ohio Beer Blog and Pat Woodward of Pat’s Pints for organizing this event. They know beer and have once again organized a great event that highlights the best of Ohio.
Craft Beer Judging: The Process
Being my first experience as a craft beer judge, I was anxious to see how the event was conducted. After all of the beer was separated into categories, the judges were placed at tables in a room separate from where the beer was poured.
Each beer must be sampled blind to ensure that the brewery’s reputation isn’t a factor in the scoring. Each category has their own set of judges and a steward that pours and delivers the beer.
The judges are served about 3 oz of each beer; one at a time. Each judge completes a Beer Scoresheet for each beer. The scoresheet breaks the score into 5 section.
BJCP Judging Categories
Appearance (up to 3 points)
Flavor (up to 20 points)
Mouthfeel (up to 5 points)
Overall Impression (up to 10 points)
The score from each are added up to provide a total of up to 50 points.
Each category is judged based on the BJCP Style Guidelines. The judge is required to know these guidelines and look for elements that are true to style as well as off style.
There’s also a list of Descriptors for the judge to check off as well as a few other rankings.
After each sample was judged individually, the group discussed their thoughts and scores. This helps to make sure that the judges are using similar measures for determining their scores. And it helped me learn more about the style and process.
Once all the entries in our category were scored, the top three beers were determined. The judges got another sample of all three of these to taste side by side. The group discussed these three and a winner and runner up were selected.
As stated earlier, the winner of each category moved on where the Best Of Show was selected. Only BJCP certified judges were used during this final stage which means I wasn’t included. But that meant I had time to meet some of the other judges and sample beers that weren’t included in my assigned category.
My Thoughts On Being A Craft Beer Judge
Most craft beer fans are constantly judging the beer they drink. It’s impossible not to compare a beer to others that we have had and to our own drinking preferences. But that isn’t what this is about.
It takes a lot of hard work and appreciation for beer to judge it against the BJCP Style Guidelines and not against your own preferences. Beer judging events aren’t designed to find the “best tasting” or “most popular” beers. They are designed to determine which beer is brewed closest to the guidelines.
The BJCP Style Guidelines were originally created for homebrew competitions and over the years it has become widely accepted to use them for just about every beer judging event out there. Using these guildelines for homebrew events makes a lot of sense because it gave everyone a common language and goal.
And now, these same guidelines are used to see if commercial brewers are able to use their skills to produce a beer to a specific style.
Questions I Had Prior To The Event
Since I had never participated in an event like this, there were some concerns and questions I had leading up to the day of the competition.
Does “palate fatigue” impact the results?
Trying beer after beer can be fun but your tongue and brain can take a beating. I was concerned that early samples would be judged differently than those towards the end.
This is a real concern among judges. Not only does your palate get tested but there’s no denying the impact that the alcohol can have. And since a judge is trying the same style over and over, it’s easy to get overly sensitive to specific flavors.
That is where a veteran judge is able to continually refer back to the BJCP Style Guidelines to determine their thoughts and opinions of a beer.
Do bold beers win because they stand out?
Similar to palate fatigue, I wondered if beers with a stronger flavor profile had an advantage over softer beers. I love all types of beer but the reality is I love big, bold flavors in my beer.
And it is true that standing out can be a huge positive for a beer during the judging process. However, it can also easily work against a beer. If the bold flavor is outside of the style guidelines then it won’t get a good score.
In the end, it isn’t about what beer the judge likes or doesn’t like but rather if it falls in line with what is expected from that style.
What happens when a judge is able to identify the beer?
Many of the beers submitted are beers that I’ve had in the past so I wondered what would happen if I was able to identify the beer during judging. Luckily, I had not tried any of the beers in the category that I was assigned to so this wasn’t an issue.
During the judging process, I talked about this exact issue with those that are very experienced. Their feedback was really interesting as they said that most judges are able to look past this as an issue and focus on the style guidelines. In addition, when attempting to guess what the beer might be, they’ve found that they are often quite wrong. Proving that the blind tasting process is crucial to the judging process.
How To Become A Craft Beer Judge
While I can now say that I’ve been a craft beer judge, I was an assistant of sorts to the process. The real beer judges guided the process and ensured that the winner was the beer that represented the style most accurately.
If you are interested in becoming a craft beer judge, there’s a lot of great resources available. It takes a lot of hard work but those that have passed the test are among a small group that know beer on a deeper level.
There are three basic steps to becoming a BJCP Craft Beer Judge
- Entrance Examination
- Beer Judging Examination
- Written Proficiency Examination
Each step is increasingly difficult. The second phase specifically tests your ability to taste and judge beer. But if you love craft beer and desire to learn more about each style then this program might be for you. And you’ll be invited to judge events which is a lot of fun.
Learn More On The BJCP Website
Read More: How Hops Are Used To Sell Beer
Final Thoughts
I’ve often thought about becoming a BJCP Certified Beer Judge as well as a Cicerone. To date, I haven’t dedicated the time to achieving either. After experiencing a competition from the side of the craft beer judge, I have a greater respect for the process than ever before.
It takes a lot of work and dedication to do what they do. I’m not sure if I’ll pursue a BJCP certification at this point but I do feel confident that the beer judging experience is something I really enjoyed.
Regardless of which beers win awards, there’s no replacement for trying a beer yourself. If a brewery has become known for winning awards, you can count on their ability to make high quality beers and be able to use ingredients to achieve the flavor they desire.
I hope to be a craft beer judge in the future so I can continue to learn about beer styles and if you ever get the chance to be involved in beer competition, I highly recommend you take the time to do it.