BJCP Judge Qualification COurse

[brenmurph]

Whoa, wait a minute I was holding you traninee BJCP judges in such high regard, The Knights Templar, the Rosicrucians if you will, keepers of the malt
Are you telling me a few multiguess questions and you get a certificate
post some of the questions, see if we know the answers

I'm presuming therll be a moderator supervising the actual online exam, so no cheating...If we really want good judges / trainee judges we need to moderate the computer based online exam in the clubs interesst so we know they know their stuff.

Would be easy for me and a few mates from the club to pass if we put our heads together wouldnt it? So Interested in how the online exams are going to take place.
I think it was mentioned at the bJCP course that it isnt easy.

[Eoin]

Would be easy for me and a few mates from the club to pass if we put our heads together wouldnt it? So Interested in how the online exams are going to take place.
I think it was mentioned at the bJCP course that it isnt easy.

If the online sample is any indication then it won't be too hard to be honest. I've passed that with no study and in about 2 minutes.

[mr hoppy]

Everyone passes that one, but it doesn't seem that hard. I got 18 out of 20 - one of the two I should have got (beta vs alpha amlayse) and the other I misred.

I'd imagine it's slightly different with 200 questions in 60 minutes though.

[Eoin]

Everyone passes that one, but it doesn't seem that hard. I got 18 out of 20 - one of the two I should have got (beta vs alpha amlayse) and the other I misred.

I'd imagine it's slightly different with 200 questions in 60 minutes though.

So it's a sample that is not representative of the actual real test? I'd find that bizarre to say the least.

[Ciderhead]

Whoa, wait a minute I was holding you traninee BJCP judges in such high regard, The Knights Templar, the Rosicrucians if you will, keepers of the malt
Are you telling me a few multiguess questions and you get a certificate
post some of the questions, see if we know the answers

Don't belittle, the black helicopters will get you!!

Congrats dunkel! Has anyone else passed?

hey big brother, .iss off and enjoy your holidays ya sad .astard

[brenmurph]

Learning should not be about ones ability to pass a test, it should be about having a Learning Outcome.

Re our club producing our own Judges, we really need to ensure that our standards are high so 3 things:

1    If the exam can be passed without hardly studyin we need a different exam coz its a joke to pretend that we know how to judge
2. If we are taking an online exam, we need a moderator or two to ensure that no one cheats.
3. We need to study, learn, practise and then sit a TOUGH exam to prove we know what we are doing, otherwise we will soon be caught out when we go outside of our club to judge other's beers and will be criticised.

[Eoin]

Learning should not be about ones ability to pass a test, it should be about having a Learning Outcome.

Re our club producing our own Judges, we really need to ensure that our standards are high so 3 things:

1    If the exam can be passed without hardly studyin we need a different exam coz its a joke to pretend that we know how to judge
2. If we are taking an online exam, we need a moderator or two to ensure that no one cheats.
3. We need to study, learn, practise and then sit a TOUGH exam to prove we know what we are doing, otherwise we will soon be caught out when we go outside of our club to judge other's beers and will be criticised.

I think you are underestimating your public here. I can guarantee you that your average guy down the boozer would not know that DMS had a vegetal character or the types of malts that are suitable in a Scottish Heavy, both of which were questions on my sample test. Did you look at the test? It's easy for us, but I think we're passing because we know our shit.

[brenmurph]

Im not sure what is meant by "misunderstanding the public".

All im sayin is that if the sample test is a true reflection of the real test and everyone thats done it is pasin then why are we botherin doin a BJCP course.

Im speakin as an experiences teacher and highly qualified trainer who has undertaken extensive academic, vocational and CPD study continuously over past 17 years. I was surprised by some earlier comments that the sample exam is easy and everyone is passin...
Any course, challenge or goal we undertake should reflect a desire to be the best at what we are learning and the exam ( like any goal) should reflect hard work and a deserved reward when we acheive / pass our goal.

I Know a lot about beer, but theres an endless amount to learn yet. I'm an expert in Nutrition, however when I attend a seminar like tuesday in Bewleys leopardstown, I am put back in my place quickly by the international presenters, at how much I dont know.

In summary if we are doing the BJCP or further we can do it for the personal satisfaction of boasting about passin an easy online exam or we can challenge ourselves and become the best possible and get rewarded by a deserved LEARNING OUTCOME, not a piece of paper.

Im very surprised that BJCP may appear to have a sample exam that can be passed without any formal training, just an interest in homebrewing. In this case the course / exam should not lead to qualified trainer status, however maybe a confidence building stepping stone to the next level which I think is a practical formal exam?

[Eoin]

Im not sure what is meant by "misunderstanding the public".

All im sayin is that if the sample test is a true reflection of the real test and everyone thats done it is pasin then why are we botherin doin a BJCP course.

Im speakin as an experiences teacher and highly qualified trainer who has undertaken extensive academic, vocational and CPD study continuously over past 17 years. I was surprised by some earlier comments that the sample exam is easy and everyone is passin...
Any course, challenge or goal we undertake should reflect a desire to be the best at what we are learning and the exam ( like any goal) should reflect hard work and a deserved reward when we acheive / pass our goal.

I Know a lot about beer, but theres an endless amount to learn yet. I'm an expert in Nutrition, however when I attend a seminar like tuesday in Bewleys leopardstown, I am put back in my place quickly by the international presenters, at how much I dont know.

In summary if we are doing the BJCP or further we can do it for the personal satisfaction of boasting about passin an easy online exam or we can challenge ourselves and become the best possible and get rewarded by a deserved LEARNING OUTCOME, not a piece of paper.

Im very surprised that BJCP may appear to have a sample exam that can be passed without any formal training, just an interest in homebrewing. In this case the course / exam should not lead to qualified trainer status, however maybe a confidence building stepping stone to the next level which I think is a practical formal exam?

Underestimating your public was what I said, not misunderstanding.
I think we're a very knowledgeable bunch and the questions are not something you would answer without an extensive knowledge of brewing rather than an "interest in homebrew".
The lack of "formal" study is irrelevant, I think we do lots of informal studying and at the end of the day BJCP can't be that hard, it's about recognising off flavours in beer and understanding why they exist and also understanding what flavours and characteristics belong in a beer if it's to style, if you do a few of them you learn that pretty fast.

[mr hoppy]

Not saying that. More of an effort to keep focussed for an hour than for two to six minutes, and I might have got lucky with the questions which is less likely with 200 questions.

There's a tasting test and a written exam as well.

Also, just to be clear everyone passes the sample test regardless of their score. Apparently the pass mark for the real thing is a secret but it used to be 60%.

[Eoin]

Not saying that. More of an effort to keep focussed for an hour than for two to six minutes, and I might have got lucky with the questions which is less likely with 200 questions.

There's a tasting test and a written exam as well.

Also, just to be clear everyone passes the sample test regardless of their score. Apparently the pass mark for the real thing is a secret but it used to be 60%.

ahhh so if you make a stones of it then you pass too? So it's bullshit then?

[Ciderhead]

Put your handbags away now girls

I have been brewing for over 5 years now and its an obsession, but you can't beat the practical.
Club Brewdays in 10 mins show 10 days worth of chat on here.
At the Alltech gig Tim O' Conner had 5 synthesized off flavours, I can now tell you with a degree of confidence what Metallic or TCP tastes like, and this was only an intro.
I am fairly practical and would know what an engine looks like whether its diesel or petrol, why it wasn't running properly or whats is wrong with it, but don't ask me to strip it to the engine block and put it together again. 
You will only get that from the practical element of the BJCP course.

[brenmurph]

I sat the Tim O rourke course / masterclass/ workshop. Excellent it was too. I hope Padraic has planned to bring some of his teaching ideas and sample off flavours into our BJCP course days. I'm sure he will. On the BJCP days it may be good to have more tasting challenges ( which we done at the end of the last day). Cant beat the practice. I have an oxidised wine left out in the sun for six months...thatll wake them up next day

[Ciderhead]

you can buy these commercially
http://www.siebelinstitute.com/products-a-books/sensory-training-kits?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=18&category_id=6
but I think Tim mentioned somewhere else which was cheaper?

[mr hoppy]

ahhh so if you make a stones of it then you pass too? So it's bullshit then?

Well, you can go back in and see how many you got right - so, not completely.