National Homebrewers Conference seeking beer/cider for judge training

The 2016 National Homebrewers Conference will be held in Baltimore from June 9-11, 2016. The conference is the largest gathering of homebrewers in the world, and this year is expected to draw over 4,000 avid beer, mead, and cider makers.

The Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP), who provides for certifications and guidelines on the judging of beer, mead and cider, will be holding a series of events before, during and after the conference. These events include exams, a Judges’ Reception, grader training, and an all Members Meeting, considered to be the largest annual gathering of BJCP judges of all ranks.

The BJCP is enlisting Maryland’s commercial brewers, meadmakers, and cidermakers to be a part of the events.

For the Judges’ Reception: the BJCP is interested in presentations from Maryland beer brewers, cidermakers, and meadmakers on topics of their choosing. Many of Maryland’s brewers, cider and meadmakers have homebrewing roots, and the BJCP’s judges could greatly benefit from lessons learned. Additionally, the BJCP’s 2015 guidelines include numerous new style definitions from emerging and historic styles that Maryland commercial brewers, cider and meadmakers are now producing. Presentations should be 20 to 30 minutes long, and if possible, include a sample. In the past, brewers have brewed multiple versions of a style, such as Kentucky Common, and presented on the origin of the style, flavor profiles, and variations. Presenters will be compensated for the cost of their samples. This is your chance to highlight your talents, and gain some free publicity as well. Many judges will visit local producers as a result of this event.

For the Exams: there will be beer tasting, cider tasting, and mead tasting exams during the conference. Part of the exam process includes judging of the beer, cider, or mead samples provided. The BJCP is interested in samples of beer, cider, or mead that producers would be interested in highlighting as an example of the style. At the end of the exam, the samples tasted are revealed. Many new and experienced judges will look for and hunt down these beverages as a result, providing low cost advertising and bolstering sales.

For the Members Meeting: the BJCP typically serves a keg of beer, or samples of mead and cider for those in attendance. The meeting updates members on progress within the program, and provides members an opportunity to provide candid feedback over a couple of hours. The BJCP provides advertising of the beverages and information to all in attendance. The BJCP is interested in samples of beer, cider and/or mead to be served at the Members Meeting. Many BJCP program members, who are having a final night out, will track down the beverages served either in bottle, can, or being served at a local bar, providing low cost advertising and boosting sales.

If you are interested in highlighting your beer, cider or mead by playing a role in BJCP events, please contact Jeff Sanders, BJCP Events Coordinator, at jeff.sanders@dynamicshift.com or 410-570-6026 for more information.