On Wednesday June 6th we had our first BJCP Training Class here in Orlando. We had 12 people in attendance, and covered the basics. We started with a little crash course in how to Steward a Judging session starting with an overview of the paperwork. We talked about the necessary items required to have on hand including mechanical pencils, erasers, flashlights, and bottle openers. We then went over what makes a well filled out form, and how to use descriptive terminology and not vague descriptors.
Afterwards we sampled three IPAs. We sampled a wonderful homebrew example, and then followed it up with a Bell’s Two Hearted Ale, and then Alpine’s Duet. These were great for people to see what a commercial example is of an American IPA, and it also gave everyone the opportunity to get their feet wet with filling out the forms.
We plan on having these classes once a month. Next month we are going to start with another category, and now that we have covered the basics, we will most likely be able to knock out two categories in one night.
I want to personally thank Ed Allen, and John Sather for coming out and helping guide all of us students through our first class. I look forward to seeing what next month brings for us.
For more information on BJCP Judging, please visit the official BJCP website.
