Demystifying the BJCP Exams: Tips and Tricks for Earning Master-Level BJCP Exam Scores

Hitting a wall trying to improve your Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) exam score? Interested in taking a BJCP exam for the first time and want to ace your first exam? Join BJCP president and Grand Master II Judge Dennis Mitchell as he discusses the tips and tricks for mastering the BJCP exams that he has learned from his own exam-taking and exam-grading experiences. In his time as an exam grader and former associate exam director, Dennis has graded more than 750 BJCP exams and has seen the exceptional, the good, the bad, and the ugly of exam submissions. His practical exam advice has helped others improve their exam scores and helped some to reach the Master judge rank. In this session, you will learn how to navigate the BJCP exam process, understand how exams are graded and what graders are looking for, receive tips and tricks for maximizing your BJCP exam score (on all BJCP exam formats), and learn best practices for exam preparation.

Learning Objectives

• Understand and navigate the BJCP exam process;
• Get to know how the exams are scored;
• Discuss how to study and practice for the BJCP exams;
• Learn how to optimize your BJCP exam scores in pursuit of higher BJCP ranks

About Speaker

Dennis Mitchell served as president of the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) and represented the Mountain/Northwest BJCP region. He has served various other roles in the BJCP, including vice president, treasurer, Mountain/Northwest regional representative, communications director, assistant communications director, associate exam director, exam grader, and style guidelines reviewer. He is a lifetime member of the Arizona Society of Homebrewers (former vice president and competitions director), a former AHA Governing Committee member, and a three-time Final Round National Homebrew Competition medalist. Dennis was one of the quickest judges to reach the BJCP Grand Master rank, doing so in 433 days from taking his first BJCP exam. He dreams of sitting in English pubs and drinking fresh pints of real ale.