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BJCP Written Exam with 2021 Style Guidelines

There were many changes in the 2021 BJCP Style Guidelines that impact our answers to questions on the BJCP Written Exam starting this month. The majority of changes were to the Commercial Examples and modifications to OG, IBU and SRM of many beers within the 83 beers that may be included in the exam on Question S0. Describe, compare and contrast three styles.

There was a name change from Trappist to Monastic in the new guidelines. There is one set of beers within question S0 that includes Trappist Single which is now called Belgian Single. My guess is that set will be avoided to minimize confusion until it is updated on the BJCP Exam Study Guide .

There were many commercial examples that were removed from the list. Even though Fantome is discussed in the Saison section, it is no longer listed as a classic style. Stone IPA, Rogue American Amber, and Chuckanut Dunkel Lager were all removed just to name a few.

beer filled mug on table — Photo by Engin Akyurt on Pexels.com

To add further confusion about what the difference is between Marzen and Festbier, the 2021 BJCP Style Guidelines makes an error and includes Paulaner Oktoberfest in both as Commercial Examples. Festbier is a lighter beer in color than Marzen and is what is now traditionally served during Oktoberfest in Munich. Since Paulaner first created the lighter version in the 1970s to be “more poundable” (per the brewer), I would recommend this as an example of Festbier and not Marzen.

The BJCP Written Exam Prep Course has been updated to accommodate changes from 2015 to 2021. Changes were made to the quizzes to make sure that the OG, IBU and SRM are all still within the parameters and the Commercial Examples were updated. Changes were also made to the T14. Recipe and Process as the SRM for German Pils is now 2-4 and the FG for Marzen is now 1.010-1.014. All exams from August 1, 2021 including the BJCP Written Exam will use the 2021 BJCP Style Guidelines. Check out the Prep Courses for help on the exams.

2021 BJCP Style Guidelines

Brewing

With changes to the 2021 BJCP Beer Style Guidelines come changes to the way that we need to prepare for the exams. The new exam will use the new guidelines starting August 1, 2022. So far, there haven’t been any changes to the BJCP Study Guide. The BJCP Study Guide provides the most comprehensive review of the questions on the BJCP Entrance, Tasting and Written Exams.

set of opened books on table — Photo by Dominika Roseclay on Pexels.com

Focusing on the BJCP Written Proficiency Exam, answers to two questions will need to be addressed and or modified from the way we answer those questions today. These questions are:

Beer Styles Questions(S0. Describe, compare and contrast these three styles: style-1, style-2, and style-3.) and,
Recipe and Procedure Question (T14. Provide a complete ALL-GRAIN recipe and procedure for brewing a(n) <Style>.)

The BJCP occasionally modifies the Style Descriptions and Target Parameters that change what may have been a correct answer on past exams.

At minimum, there are changes to the the finishing gravity of Märzen and the color of German Pils that will require finessing the way we memorize target parameters for the Recipe and Procedure Question. Given the changes seen on these two beers, we can expect to also make changes to the typical values for the original gravity (OG), IBU, ABV and color (SRM or textual description) within the Beer Styles Question.

I’ll be updating the BJCP Written Exam Prep course in the coming months to match the 2021 BJCP Style Guidelines for exams after August 1, 2022

BJCP Written Exam – How to maximize your score!

Brewing

Are you qualified to sit for the exam?

You must have a minimum score of 80% on either the current Beer Judging Exam or the tasting portion of the Legacy Beer Exam in order to take the BJCP Written Exam.

When are the exams scheduled?

Individual exams and quarterly exams are listed on the BJCP Website. For individually scheduled exams there is minimum of six and maximum of twelve people. However, for the quarterly exam it can be just one person. To administer the exam you must be on the active grader list.

What is the exam format?

The exam is a 90 minute hand written exam that consists of the following questions:

(20) BJCP Ethics, Level and Judging Process Questions worth zero points (points deducted for incorrect answers)
(2) Beer Style Questions worth 20 points each
(1) Recipe And Procedure Question worth 20 points
(1) Beer Characteristics Question worth 20 points
(1) Ingredients or Brewing Process Question worth 20 points

BJCP Written Exam - Beer Style Question — BJCP Written Exam – Beer Style Question

How do I get a good score on the BJCP Written Exam?

Study by writing out your answers by hand. Practice writing for 90 minutes.
Ensure your hand writing is legible
Manage your time by knowing how long it takes you to write each complete answer
Ensure you answer all parts of the question while you are developing your answers
Learn the BJCP Style Guidelines
And of course, take our BJCP Written Exam Course

What is in the exam prep course?

Tips and tricks for maximizing your score
Question overviews and tactics for answering
BJCP Flashcards for learning the material in the most efficient way
Sample answers

Check out the BJCP Written Exam online exam prep class and sign up for the free overview at the beginning of the class!

BJCP Written Exam Prep Course is LIVE

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Our complete eLearning class to prepare you for the BJCP Written Exam has been published! This class will take you through everything you need to know to excel on the exam and maximize your score to move up to BJCP National or Master.

The first part of the class will take you through an overview of the questions on the exam and the prerequisites to sit for the exam. This is all part of the free preview. We’ll then go through each question in detail and provide tips and tricks along with sample answers. Additionally, we’ll provide you with links to custom study materials that will help you master all of the information that you’ll need for the exam.

For those of you that previously signed up for the T14 Recipe and Process Question prep course in the last 90 days, you’ll now have access to the complete exam prep course as a thank you for signing up!

We’ll be working on a class for the BJCP Entrance Exam next so please add your email to our list to be the first to know when that is published. We promise zero spam.

BJCP Written Exam Question T14 Recipe and Process

Brewing

There is one T14 recipe and procedure question on the BCJP Written Exam. First, you are required to provide a brief description of the style, the target parameters including the batch size, OG, FG, IBU, and SRM. Second, you will need to list the ingredients, why they are appropriate to the style and how you calculated them. Lastly, you will then need to describe the brewing process from start to finish with rationale for why each aspect of your process was appropriate.

T14. Provide a complete ALL-GRAIN recipe and procedure for brewing a(n) ______*

*Styles may include:

Belgian Tripel

Doppelbock

American Porter

Irish Stout

Märzen

American IPA

Weissbier

Strong Bitter

Festbier

Czech Premium Pale Lager

German Pils

Double IPA

T14 Recipe and Process Question from the BJCP Written Exam

How much time should I allocate for the T14 recipe and process question?

Allocate about 20 minutes for this question of the 90 minutes that you have for the completed exam. Manage your time by knowing how long it takes you to write out a complete answer. Study by writing (and rewriting) until you have memorized each answer with legible handwriting.

What is the best way to maximize my score?

Ensure you answer all parts of the question while formulating your answer. Take the exam prep class via the link below. Read How to Brew by John Palmer.

We’ve put together an eLearning class for all of the questions in the exam to help you maximize your score. Click the link below to head over to the Exam Prep Classes so that you can Master the BJCP.

BJCP Written Exam Course

Making beer at home Homebrewing 101

Brewing

There is nothing quite like catching a buzz from homebrew you cooked up in your kitchen and then stored in a cool dark closet for a couple of weeks. Here is how to get started on making beer at home.

There are some basic pieces of equipment that are necessary to make your first batch. Your first batch will be what we call an extract batch and you’ll buy a recipe kit from a homebrew shop. This is the simplest and least expensive way to get into brewing. You will do some boiling, mixing of ingredients, chill the hot liquid down to room temperature and then add some yeast to ferment the liquid and make alcohol. Making beer at home is as simple as that. The active time in the kitchen is around three to four hours. You’ll then watch the CO2 bubbles for two weeks in the fermenter and then a couple more weeks of magic in the bottle while it carbonates. You’ll be sampling your new hobby in less than a month. A normal batch is five gallons which translates to about two cases of beer.

Make beer at home

Here’s what you’ll need to get started:

A (minimum) five gallon pot preferably of the stainless steel variety, if you have a 7.5 gallon pot that would be best but at a minimum we need to be able to get two to three gallons of water in a pot and then add the the ingredients to perform a partial boil. More on that later.
Two cases (24 per case) of 12oz, brown bottles. The kind that require a bottle opener, not the twist type. You can use bigger bottles, too, if that is what you have.
A starter homebrewery system
An extract recipe kit

There will be many options when you go online (or to your local homebrew shop). I’ll walk you through the best place to start.

(The below may include affiliate links where we may be compensated a small amount if you decide to purchase. Thanks!)

I would start with this basic Home Brewing Kit from MoreBeer ! This will get you all of the equipment you need to get started.

A typical starter homebrew kit for making beer at home.

If you don’t have any bottles laying around or you don’t want to scrape off the labels and clean them, I would recommend getting two cases of bottles. You’ll be able to reuse these for future batches. Buying bottles also reduces the risk of contamination and an unpleasant first experience.

Lastly, you need to figure out what kind of beer you want to make. Take a look at this list of extract kits. There are varying degrees of complexity here. We’re going to stick to an ale as a lager beer will require a lower fermentation temperature than you probably have at the moment. Maybe stick with English or American style beers for now. Pale Ale, Amber, Porter, Stouts are good places to start.

This is a Sierra Nevada clone extract homebrew kit

Order your extract beer kit

When you figure out which beer will be your maiden batch, there are a couple of options. Here are my recommendations:

Select “DME”, this is Dry Malt Extract and is a little easier to deal with for batch one. We can upgrade to Liquid Malt Extract (LME) on a future batch.
Yeast. For this batch let’s stick with dry yeast. I’ve had good luck with Fermentis.
Grab some Wyeast Yeast Nutrient.
The grain bag, hop bag, and sanitizer comes with the Home Brewing Kit so skip those.
You will need 4oz of Priming Sugar to carbonate the beer.
We talked about bottles, so skip those and the bottle caps are included in your Home Brew Kit.
We aren’t making a yeast starter so you can skip the Propper Yeast Starter.
And lastly, we aren’t kegging yet so no need for a tap handle.

These are the specifics of what options you should select when buying your recipe kit

That’ll get you ready for your first day of making beer at home! Check out the resource page for helpful books along your journey.