After a hot scoop from my good friend Matt Chrispen over at Accidentalis (who also received word), I just learned that I’ve officially leveled up to National rank in the BJCP! Almost exactly two years from when my record was officially opened, it is amazing to think I have made it so far in just a few years, though most of it was waiting for my tests to be scored 🙂 The written exam is very much the beast that folks proclaim, so TBD if I will ever consider doing it again (and again) to level up to the Master rank, but I will give it a few years and see.
I will admit, one of the reasons I have been working toward advancing my ranks is that I wanted the authority to finally challenge some of the crusty old-school judges who do entrants a disservice through lazy judging. Maybe you have seen them yourself: they have been judges for decades, but somehow are still only Recognized, yet they throw their “authority” around and bully the younger judges even though they have not revisited the guidelines since before the 2008 edition was released. Can you tell I am a bit salty? 😉
Cheers to everyone that helped me along the way, see y’all at some competitions! 🍻
jfdyment says
Congratulations, Derek!
Saikat Roy Chowdhury says
Congratulations…!!
Jonathan L says
Hahaha, crusty!! I couldn’t agree more man. I experience this at my homebrew club and ultimately is why a bunch of us left and are forming are own club. I hope we remember this and never become those dudes. Congratulations!! I’m just starting out to study for the online exam.
Taylor says
Congrats dude!
Lyne Noella says
Way to go, Derek!
Anudeep Mutyala says
Hi Derek! Congrats on sharing your achievements. I passed the BJCP tasting exam with a judging score of 82 and I have 3 points in judging. They categorized me as a Recognized judge. Just wondering, how much score and competition points does it take to get a Certified BJCP rank.
Thank you,
Anudeep
Derek Springer says
Congrats on passing the judging exam with a good score! I believe you need 5 judging points and a tasting score of 70+ to reach Certified. Just get a couple more points and you should advance automatically!