Axe what goes into becoming a certified judge?
There are two components to your beer judge status, test scores and points.
First there is a web based test that you can take at any time. 180 multiple choice questions on beer styles, brewing processes and ingredients, and the BJCP (Beer Judge Certification Program) to be completed in an hour. You are simply graded pass/fail with no numerical score, and you can attempt the test up to once a day.
Once you pass that test you're considered Provisional and not yet an official judge. Provisional status allows you to sit for the Judging Exam, wherein you're served six beers blind and asked to fill out a score sheet for each one as if it were a competition. You have 90 minutes to complete all six, and your scoresheets are then graded by highly experienced judges. A score of 60 is needed to pass and become a Recognized judge.
At this point you're considered an official judge and can begin judging at BJCP sanctioned competitions. From there you can get up to the rank of Certified with a score of at least 70. This is where points come into play, as you accrue points as a judge for judging or otherwise working behind the scenes at competitions. So in addition to the 70 you need to accrue 5 points total from working competitions, half of which has to come from actual judging and not other work.
To advance further you need to take a second written exam, consisting of multiple choice questions about judging and five written essays. What makes this exam tough is that the material covered by multiple choice is information that all judges are expected to know, so you don't gain any points for correct answers, you just lose points for wrong ones.
The three levels beyond Certified are National (minimum score of 80 on the Judging Exam, minimum composite score of 80 taking the average between Judging and Written, 20 judging points), Master (80/90/40) and Grand Master (80/90/100).
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