• President's Report for 2006
    by Gordon Strong

    2006 was a very good year for the BJCP with record activity in many program areas. We are experiencing strong growth in active judges, and are building a solid international presence. Our financial position is sound, and we have made many improvements in governance. Our major activities were in the following areas:

    • Running program operations
    • Recognizing service
    • Enhancing existing products and services
    • Developing new policies
    • Improving program governance structures
    • Working on new projects

    Recognized service

    We recognized significant service to the BJCP in several ways this year:

    • Russ Wigglesworth was presented with a unique service award and the only Honorary Grand Master rank.
    • Past directors, committees, including those from the early days of the BJCP, were given credits for their service.
    • Service credits were given to John Tull for his work on a spreadsheet tool to assist exam graders and to field testers for the new BJCP exams.
    • Past officers and staff were finally listed on the web site, along with information about the BJCP's history, formation and accomplishments through the years.

    Personnel Changes

    We had new people take on responsibilities in several staff positions. Thanks go to all who have served and to those who continue to volunteer their time for the organization.

    • Mike Heniff replaced Ted Hausotter as Assistant CEP Director.
    • John Tull replaced Ed Wolfe as Exam Committee Chairman.
    • Susan Ruud replaced Todd Snyder as Exam Administrator.
    • Tom Cannon replaced Scott Bickham as Eastern Exam Director.
    • Chuck Bernard replaced Tom Cannon as an Assistant Exam Director.
    • Jamil Zainasheff was appointed the first Assistant IT Director.

    Policies

    The BJCP Board established several new policies this year including:

    • Privacy policy
    • Exam policy for Electronic Devices
    • Rules for Debate and Voting
    • Rules for Agenda Discussion
    • Board Communication Policy
    The last three policies were established for internal board operations. New committees were created to take a more detailed look at BJCP policies in 2007. The Election Committee and Rules Committee will both be recommending changes.

    BJCP and the AHA

    The BJCP continues to enjoy very good relations with the AHA as two independent organizations with complimentary goals. Our merged AHA/BJCP Sanctioned Competition Program has been very successful. The BJCP continues to support the AHA National Homebrew Competition and Conference. Several talks at the AHA NHC received CEP credit.

    The AHA provided meeting space and time for the BJCP to hold a member's meeting at the NHC. It was well-attended and generated some good discussion on future items for the BJCP to consider. Our semi-annual report was presented, and the goals for the coming year were discussed.

    A live version of the popular Zymurgy Commercial Calibration column was held, and resulted in an extensive Advanced Judging Q&A section being added to the BJCP Forum.

    International

    We continue to build an active BJCP chapter in Australia with 37 active judges. Twelve competitions and two exams were held in Australia. Bravo, Mates!

    Among active judges in other countries, we have 76 in Canada, 8 in South Africa, one in the United Kingdom, and one in Switzerland. We understand that an exam in New Zealand is planned for 2007.

    Directorates

    The transition of Program Administrator duties is almost complete. Russ Wigglesworth is currently handling pin fulfillment for National pins and above. Our longtime pin maker, Don McKee, is retiring and is currently filling his last order for the BJCP. Russ is searching for a new pin maker who can meet our high quality standards.

    The Exam program had another very active year, the second busiest in our history (and the busiest in almost a decade). The busy exam schedule is driving new membership; almost 90% of exam takers this year were new members!

    The program passed a major milestone when Dan Selis of San Diego, California became the 4000th BJCP judge. Dan took the exam in San Diego on November 11th.

    An interim version of the Exam Study Guide was published, which corrected errors and gave the correct list of questions at the time. The exam itself was updated several times based on the work of the Exam Committee. Please see our web site for the new question formats.

    The Competition program was also quite active, with its busiest year ever! The merged competition program has been working very well. New versions of competition materials were published this year based on the merged competition program. The Judge Procedures Manual and Competition Handbook were completely updated.

    The Continuing Education program was active at the AHA NHC, sponsoring several classes. A vocabulary application is nearing completion, as are off flavor and water chemistry kits.

    The Information Technology program rolled out applications supporting the merged competition program, a new change-of-address and password change system, and many database updates. We are actively seeking current email addresses for all members; be sure to let us know when they change.

    The Communication program unveiled a major web site facelift, continued to expand the use of the BJCP Forums, and increased the content available on the web site.

    Committees

    Committees are generally used to tackle new projects and to make major revisions to existing program products, services or operations.

    One committee (The Merged Competition Programs Committee) finished its work, resulting in a fully merged AHA/BJCP Sanctioned Competition Program, revised scoresheets and competition materials, and new web applications.

    Three committees (Exam Committee, Legal Committee, Mead and Cider Committee) continue their work. Their reports are contained elsewhere on this page.

    Three new committees (Election Committee, Color Guide Committee and Rules Committee) have been formed to address new issues. The Election Committee, headed by Ed Westemeier, is running the 2007 election and recommending revisions to outdated election rules in the Bylaws. The Color Guide Committee, headed by Jamil Zainasheff, is developing a new color guide for judges. The Rules Committee, headed by Pete Garofalo, is reviewing, documenting and expanding our Bylaws, policies and procedures.

    Finances

    The BJCP has rebuilt its financial position after the unfortunate events of 2004 where the treasury was not turned over to the incoming treasurer. We have a healthy surplus, and are actively seeking projects and programs to spend this money on our membership. We want the money to be spent on products or services that improve judge skills or provide meaningful benefits for our members. We have several projects that should deliver results this year; our intent is to provide these additional items to judges at no cost.

    Our major income sources are examination and competition fees. With record growth in these areas, our income continues to go up. As we continue to evolve the organization and automate our operations, our expenses have gone down. While we generally budget to break even in yearly operations, our expenses invariably are lower than forecasted. We intend to use our budget surplus to fund new projects that are aligned to our organization's mission. We have implemented several of these ideas in the past, and want to do more in the future.

    Our past treasury balance before 2004 has still not been recovered. We continue to pursue legal action to the extent of the law. We have retained counsel who is coordinating with criminal investigations at the local, state and federal level. On advice of counsel, we are not releasing additional information beyond what has been stated in the Legal Committee report. We hope as you all do that we see justice rendered and restitution made. Once the matter has been concluded, we will be able to give you a full report on the entire incident. Until that time, we continue to request your patience.

    Our financial health no longer depends on our unrecovered balance, so we are free to increase our investments in the organization. We will fund our legal efforts as long as they appear to be making progress. After that matter is closed, we will have a better idea of our future needs and be able to budget accordingly. Until then, we are maintaining a reserve to allow us flexibility to address unanticipated or newly emerging needs.

    We have instituted several financial reforms, including active oversight (monthly) and more frequent reporting (quarterly). We have improved policies and procedures, and have taken out a surety bond to protect our interests. Two signatures are required on expenditures above $500. We have confirmed our tax-exempt status.

    Looking Forward

    At the 2006 AHA Conference, I stated the goals for the coming year included:

    • Completing current committee work (exam, mead/cider, legal)
    • Identifying fresh initiatives requiring committees
    • Improving governance and transparency
      • standardize and document policies
      • publish plans, status and activities of committees/directorates
      • improve efficiency of internal operations
      • clarify roles and responsibilities
    • Expand member services
      • identify and fund projects benefitting all judges
      • educational and reference tools
      • professional standards
    • work on more international judge programs
    • Expand web presence
      • continue development of new applications
      • review static information for clarity and correctness
      • move towards portal concept, add more dynamic information
    • Continuous improvement: keep looking for things to do better

    To this list, I would also add:

    • Improve reference library
      • more original content
      • better links to external content
    • Involve membership more in program
      • increase forum use
      • expand committees and activities where members can contribute

    Some of the expected projects for later in this year include:

    • Testing of alternate checkbox-based scoresheets for sensory evaluation
    • Electronic form versions of key judging forms
    • A program for scoresheet review and increased feedback to judges
    • An online judge self-assessment system
    • Increased training materials for judges
    • Expanded web content including more original articles and web links

    We have quite a few active projects at the moment, and need to allow some of them to complete before adding additional workload. We are executing on most of the goals outlined last Summer, and we continue to work towards being a more open, helpful, and member-driven organization.

    We continue to seek additional ideas and help from our membership. You can contact your regional representative, post a message on the BJCP Forum, or send an email to JudgeNet. As we identify new positions where we need additional volunteers, we will seek out help. The best way to get involved in the BJCP is to volunteer to become a grader (if you have an exam score over 80) or to join the BJCP Forum and follow our discussions.

    Please read the detailed reports from each of the directorates and committees for more information about our current operations and projects.

    Here's to a great 2007!

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  • BJCP Financial Report for 2006
    by Al Boyce

    Prior Balance - 1/1/2006 $14,485.68
    2006 Income $21,476.52
    2006 Expenses $13,988.25
    Current Balance - 12/31/2006 $21,973.95

    The financial report broken down in more detail:

    BUDGET ACTUAL NOTE
    INCOME
    A BJCP Examination Fees 13,225 13,400 a
    B BJCP Contest Certification Fees 7,000 7,576.68 b
    C BJCP Merchandise Receipts 250.00 484 c
    E Interest (PayPal) 5 16.20 d
    E Misc. Income 0 0
    E Returned Checks 0 0
    Total 20,480 21,476.52
    EXPENSES
    1 AHA SCP Fees 1,000 1,000
    2 BJCP Grants 1,500 500 e
    3 Continuing Education Program 5,000 2547.73 f
    4 Legal Fees 5,000 3352.82 g
    5 Merchandise (for resale) 0 0
    6 Miscellaneous 750 321.09
    7 Office Supplies 750 849.40 h
    8 PayPal Fees 300 247.12
    9 PO Box Rental 50 0
    10 Postage 1,000 1326.70 i
    11 Printing 100 666.39 j
    12 Recognition Pins 5,000 2694.55 k
    13 Reimbursement: Exam Graders 750 344
    14 Shipping: Merchandise 50 38.45
    15 Surety Bond 100 100
    16 Telephone 50 0
    19 Website & Domain Renewal 0 0
    Total 20,400 13,988.25
    Prior Balance - 1/1/2006 14,485.68
    Income 21,476.52
    Expenses 13,988.25
    Current Balance - 12/31/2006 21,973.95 l
    Checks Outstanding 3,516.55
    Account Balance Showing 25,490.50
    Receivables Outstanding 0

    Notes to Financial Report:

    a 41 exams given - 3 scheduled exams were cancelled. Took in 97% of projected revenue.
    b Income from 226 competitions was actually collected in 2006. Increase attributed to combined AHA/BJCP Sanctioned Competition program, ease of registration thru website, and payment thru PayPal.
    c Some Certified/Recognized pin sales, but mostly due to liquidation of BJCP hats and shirts bought for 2005 AHA NHC in Baltimore. Took in 189% of projected revenue.
    d Dividends from PayPal checking account. $11.20 more than projected. (177 competitions paid via PayPal, only 44 paid by check. We received the last of AHA-paid competitions in 2006: 22. 16 AHA competitions were free per the terms of the SCP agreement.)
    e Only one BJCP grant was applied for (and granted) in 2006 - for MCAB XIII. A "Waters of the World" presentation by CEP Director Kris England was held for those present - a copy of the PowerPoint slides was made available on the BJCP website. This left $1000 worth of grants unspent. Spent 33% of projected amount.
    f The CEP purchased ingredients for custom-made BJCP FlavorActiv Sensory Evaluation Kits, to be distributed in 2007 by the CEP. This left $2452.27 unspent in the treasury - spent 51% of projected amount.
    g The attempt to recover the pre-2004 treasury employed a law firm to assist in the effort in 2006. $1647.18 of allocated funds remained unspent - spent 67% of projected amount.
    h The bulk of the money for Office supplies was spent on printer toner in January, April and November, and SMTPIt Software in November. Spent 113% of projected costs.
    i Exam processing moved from Todd Snyder to Susan Ruud in February, so $71 was spent in shipping the BJCP printer to her. The BJCP continues to have more international exams, and there is increased postage involved with sending exams and new member kits to those countries. Finally, the cost of postage rose in 2006. Spent 132% of projected amount.
    j Printing costs in 2006 exceeded projections as exam sets were copied at retail locations rather than being donated. Spent 666% percent of projected amount.
    k An attempt was made to get "caught up" with recognition pins for National, Master and Grand Master promotions in 2006, but the sculptor could not meet our demand. Spent 54% of projected amount.
    l Overall, the BJCP took in 104.8% of projected revenue, and spent 68.6% of budgeted expenditures, for a net gain of $7,488.27.

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  • New National and Above Judges for 2006

    Congratulations to our new "senior" judges who advanced in 2006.

    Region Name State Rank Date
    Mid-Atlantic Gordon Strong OH Grand Master III 1/5/06
    Mid-Atlantic Roxanne Westendorf OH Master 2/26/06
    Mid-Atlantic Rob Westendorf OH National 6/13/06
    Midwest Steve Bradt KS National 4/28/06
    Midwest Dan Morey IL National 4/30/06
    Midwest Paul Edwards IN National 7/11/06
    Mountain/NW Paul Dey WY Master 9/7/06
    Mountain/NW Brian Thatcher WA National 1/8/06
    Mountain/NW Abe Goldman-Armstrong OR National 3/31/06
    Mountain/NW Richard Mincer WY National 6/5/06
    Mountain/NW Denny Conn OR National 7/12/06
    North Steve Piatz MN Grand Master II 7/12/06
    North Kris England MN Master 2/21/06
    North Rob Miller BC National 1/28/06
    North Jonathan Crist MN National 2/21/06
    North Ira Edwards AK National 7/18/06
    North Phil Kitkowski MI National 9/21/06
    North Paul Dienhart MN National 9/21/06
    Northeast Steve Stroud MA Grand Master I 7/25/06
    Northeast George De Piro NY Master 10/12/06
    Northeast Todd Snyder NY National 2/1/06
    Northeast Annie Whyte VT National 9/21/06
    South Stephen Law OK National 4/30/06
    South Jonathan Goudy TX National 6/5/06
    South Steve Kolodziej TX National 6/5/06
    South Bruce Thomas TX National 6/5/06
    South Ron Montefusco AL National 8/17/06
    South Julie Jones NC National 10/14/06
    South Robert Gulley OK National 12/21/06
    West Todd Crockett CA National 3/31/06
    West Rich Martin CA National 3/31/06
    West Brian Schar CA National 3/31/06
    West John Abbott CA National 10/30/06
    West Drew Beechum CA National 10/30/06

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  • Competition Director's Report for 2006
    by Dave Houseman

    This was the first full year of the joint AHA/BJCP Sanctioned Competition Program. There were 222 sanctioned competitions in 2006, up from 203 in 2005, with an increase in the number of entries in many competitions.

    There have been competitions in South Africa, Japan, Canada, and Australia as well as the US; the BJCP has become a truly international organization.

    All registrations were through the on-line registration system as well as the filing of organizer reports.

    The BJCP exited 2006 with only 8 outstanding delinquent organizer reports for 2006, one hold-over from 2005 and 4 from 20004.

    We have implemented a policy to withhold sanctioning for any competition, organizer or club with outstanding delinquent organizer reports since the beginning of 2004. This policy has been successful in having a number of aging delinquent reports filed.

    But ultimately, each member has to follow-up with organizers to ensure that the reports are filed, so that you all receive the credit that has been earned. Contact the organizer if you don't receive notification of credit for judging, stewarding or staffing a competition within a reasonable amount of time.

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  • Exam Directors' Report for 2006
    by Steve Piatz and Tom Cannon

    In 2006 the BJCP exam was administered in 43 locations, including two in Australia. In 2005, the exam was administered in 36 locations.

    There were a total of 381 examinees taking the exam in 2006 versus 304 in 2005. Of these 381 exams, only 38 (12%) were retakes so the BJCP added 343 new judges to our membership roster.

    The exam program implemented several changes to the BJCP exam in 2006 based on the work of the Exam Committee. A summary of these changes can be found on the BJCP web site. The BJCP Study Guide was also revised to reflect changes in the exam over the years. While still an interim document, much outdated material was removed. The BJCP web site remains the most current source for the latest exam changes.

    A written policy on the use of electronic devices during exams was created and posted on the BJCP web site. The new privacy policy spells out how personal data collected during the exam process is handled.

    Susan Ruud took over as Exam Administrator in 2006. She continues to process exams and pins in a very timely manner. Late in the year, we instituted email notifications of results in addition to the paper mailings. Judge records are now created as soon as the Personal Information Forms are received; this allows judges to get competition invitations sooner, and also allows us to look for your retroactive points.

    The following table lists all 50 people who helped the exam program in 2006 by grading or reviewing exams. They are listed along with the number of exams they processed, and the role they performed (grader, lead grader, associate exam director, exam director). It is amazing how much work was done by so few people.

    Last Name First Lead Second AD ED Total Exams
    Asebrook Eric 12 12
    Beechum Drew 9 9
    Bennett Bruce 12 12
    Bergsman Jeremy 10 10
    Bernard Chuck 82 82
    Bickham Scott 17 17
    Boyce Allan 21 21
    Cannon Tom 12 180 192
    Conn Denny 11 11
    Craze Andy 9 9
    Curtis John 14 14
    Dennis Scott 35 35
    Dexter Jim 5 5
    Dey Paul 8 8
    Dickey Paul 15 15
    Dixon Mike 13 7 20
    England Kristen 12 17 29
    Farnsworth Paul 12 12
    Farrell Phil 10 10
    Folsom Alan 7 7
    Formanek Joe 12 12
    Garofalo Peter 7 115 122
    Gow Charlie 23 7 30
    Harsh David 7 7
    Hastings Roxanne 5 5
    Hausotter Ted 7 7
    Heniff Mike 8 15 23
    Houseman Dave 6 54 60
    Karnowski Tom 12 12
    Litrenta Andy 20 20
    Lorton Greg 6 6 12
    McKenna Steve 7 7
    Miller Rob 7 7
    Mitchell John 11 11
    Nesdoly Mark 14 10 24
    Perilloux Calvin 8 17 25
    Perrin George 7 7
    Piatz Steve 201 201
    Pratt Kevin 17 14 31
    Ruud Susan 6 19 25
    Schmidlin Tom 5 5
    Schwind Brian 6 6
    Shick Paul 10 10
    Strong Gordon 8 58 66
    Swearengin Jeff 15 15
    Teckam David 20 20
    Tull John 10 6 16
    Waltman Dennis 5 5
    Westemeier Ed 8 15 23
    Wilson Jim 12 28 40
    Winnie Mike 9 5 14
    Zangari Beth 48 6 54
    Zien Peter 72 72

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  • Exam Committee Report for 2006

    BJCP Examination Committee was originally tasked with revising the BJCP Exam to meet a series of goals. These mission components were to:

    • maintain comparability of knowledge requirements
    • maintain or improve upon reliability and validity of exam scores
    • create a more accessible and transparent examination format by reducing writing demand and making more explicit the question requirements and grading standards
    • simplify the grading process

    In addition to these primary mission objectives, in 2006 the Examination Committee was tasked with updating the Exam Study Guide in order to make the process of keeping the study guide in sync with any format changes that are implemented in the exam itself.

    For 2006, the following tasks were completed:

    • Implemented changes to Section 1 in administered exams.
    • Field tested alternative item formats for Section 2.
    • Implemented the style sheet changes to Section 2 in administered exams.
    • Updated the website continuously to reflect changes in the exam.
    • Continued to develop alternative item formats for Section 3.

    In late 2006, the Examination Committee Chairperson role was transferred from Ed Wolfe to John Tull. Under this new leadership, the primary goal for 2007 has been defined as refocusing the group on a clear set of objectives that will lead toward completion of the exam revision within the year. This may require a roll-out of several changes to the exam as well as additional field testing of any proposed changes to make the transition as smooth and effective as possible while still meeting the objectives of the committee.

    Overall, 2007 should be a great year for moving forward towards completion of this committee's primary responsibility of revising the BJCP exam. The committee will actively update the study guide as we roll out changes so the BJCP membership at large will be aware of exam expectations in advance and can properly prepare for the exam as it will be given to them.

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  • Continuing Education Program Report for 2006
    by Kris England

    The anticipation and excitement that surrounded the forming of the CEP was both massive and absolute. To summarize all of the judges' comments about the program, "It's about damn time!" So, it's nearly two years later; and where are we?

    Firstly, we have all become disappointed with the lack of forward momentum. The belief was in creating the program the membership would jump on board and welcome any and all CEP opportunities with open arms. We sincerely believed that the membership would be as eager as we are about creating their own continuing education classes. We created the outline for the CEP and based it to be member driven. We now realize that this is not up to BJCP member expectations. This is not the fault of the membership but ours alone. We are taking steps to make the CEP more member-friendly and proactive. We now believe that the programs provided need to be designed for the membership so that there is a unified method and content available. It's a simple change of view but it's one that should enable us to provide better education and products to the CEP. We are very excited about the things we have in store for BJCP members in 2007 which I will address below.

    2006 Wrap-up

    NHC 2006

    The CEP and NHC did a great job of teaming up to give current BJCP judges the opportunity to earn credit for seminar attendance. I have already started communicating with the AHA to set up for this year's NHC. We learned a ton from last year and we will be implementing a few changes to increase the quality and the flow of the seminars for the attendants. As I see it, this is a continuing annual partnership where only good things come out.

    Beer Judging Lexicon (Vocabulary)

    The beer judging Vocabulary Project of the CEP is nearing completion. It's a massive task that has been ongoing for over a year. We are currently reaching the end of this first of three (mead and cider being the other two). These next two lexicons will combine nicely with upcoming mead and cider specific tests. The wiki-based web application is being 'tweaked' out, We are sure this format will enable us to allow for swift updates and keep this as a living document.

    FlavorActiv

    The trial process for the BJCP Flavor kits, containing 10 flavors/aromas, has now commenced. Of the 20 kits purchased, approximately 10 will be used on a trial basis to gauge the level of authenticity and the actual 'use' of these chemicals (e.g., how representative are these chemicals for the 'things' judges actually find in beer). The trial process consists of numerous panels of high ranking 'experienced' BJCP judges tasting samples and filling out an evaluation sheet on the quality of said samples. The evaluation sheets are crucial to our testing process. They are engineered so they can easily kick out data points for which we can gauge the effectiveness of these as a teaching tool. After the trial process, the CEP will then be giving the remaining kits to BJCP prep classes which register as BICEP courses. These will either be handed out by a 'lottery' system or by a competition whereby organizers will submit ideas for BREWs, Special BREWs or BICEP series. The best ones will receive a kit.

    Waters of the World

    The testing and research of these kits is complete, however the kits are on hold for now until the shipping and handling logistics are completed. These kits will allow members to conduct side-by-side water tastings of world style waters and compare them to classic examples.

    2007

    Brews and BICEPS

    We feel that one of the biggest problems keeping people from actually creating and/or participating in BREWs and BICEPS is their requirements. Very few people have the time to put in a three hour BREW session when one or two hours will do. When we designed these aspects of the CEP program they made complete sense ... on paper. In the real world, they just don't work. This year we will be re-tooling the BREWs and BICEP requirements. We will be dropping a lot of the cumbersome rules that we have seen just muck up the waters for a would-be organizer. We will make them more straightforward and simple to give and participate.

    To improve the BICEPs aspect, we will be creating a CEP approved list of courses that will be available on the CEP website for BICEP organizers to review/use and download. We will be including, updating, categorizing and improving the best of the already vast information available. We will also be using a web-based membership poll to gauge at what level of participation judges see themselves committing and ideas they may have.

    Beer Character DB

    This is an idea that I've been tossing around for a while and just got kicked to the front after a conversation with a buddy that gives classes at a local liquor store. It's kind of a spinoff on the FlavorActiv 'flaw' kits. We have our guidelines that give good commercial examples of the individual styles. However, what we don't have is a source of beers that showcase specific ingredients (e.g. hops, malt, yeast, etc). This database of commercial examples will allow judges and brewers the opportunity to taste ingredients in good commercial examples in which they are not familiar. Examples could include Bell's Two Hearted Ale for Centennial hops, New Belgium Fat Tire for Biscuit malt and Orval for Brettanomyces, among many others.

    Newsletter

    More towards reaching out to our membership, we will be putting out a bimonthly or quarterly newsletter that will be addressing everything that is CEP. We will have BREW examples, articles on different judging aspects and many other tidbits of things that will make the CEP program what we know it can be. It is our hope that this highlights the best of education being given and inspires more to follow.

    Self-assessment

    One of the aspects that we think will be of great use to our membership is an online self-assessment test that one may take to see judging areas where they are lacking or what they might specifically need to work on. This will be a MAJOR project, but one that is quite straightforward. We are holding off on starting this project until we have a better idea of where the 'study guide team' is on their task. Basically, it makes no sense to start this until we know what to include on it.

    DVDs

    This was one of the aspects that we pitched at the initiation of the CEP but from lots of research it is not something that we need to focus on at the moment. Firstly, it will be very expensive to get started. Second, there are other more pressing things that need to take precedence over the DVDs. Lastly, although we can certainly make this worthwhile, it will require a massive time commitment and many 'technical' hands to pull it off. So, the idea is there, the initial plans are made but it will stay in the closet for maybe another year or so.

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  • Mead & Cider Committee Report for 2006
    by Gordon Strong

    The Mead and Cider Committee has completed much of the high-level work required to integrate new mead and cider exams into the BJCP Program. The following items were determined or completed:

    • The BJCP program includes mead and cider, in addition to beer
    • The existing BJCP beer exam is not affected by this effort
    • The existing BJCP style guidelines are not affected by this effort
    • Mead and Cider exams and study materials are separate; they will not be tested together
    • There is no pre-requisite for taking a mead or cider exam
    • Mead and Cider exams will be graded and scored in written and tasting sections
    • Mead and Cider exams will not count towards program (rank) advancement
    • Passing grade for a Mead or Cider exam is 60; any who pass the exam will get a pin and certificate
    • Two new ranks were created: Mead Judge, Cider Judge. The criteria for these ranks is simply to pass the mead or cider exam. No experience points are required.
    • All scoresheets have been revised to include the new ranks (not in use yet)
    • Existing BJCP judges passing a mead or cider exam will get an endorsement on their judging record, and may check the additional Mead Judge or Cider Judge box in addition to their BJCP rank
    • Non-BJCP members passing a mead or cider exam will become BJCP judges and get an ID assigned
    • Non-BJCP members passing a mead or cider exam will get the Mead Judge or Cider Judge rank
    • Mead and Cider pin designs have been completed, and will be similar to the Recognized and Certified pins
    • New certificates have been created for Mead Judge and Cider Judge
    • CEP credit will be given for existing judges who pass each Mead or Cider exam. The points received will be scaled based on the overall score (0.5/1/1.5/2 points for score of 60/70/80/90). Judges may receive the CEP credit once for each type of exam.
    • The BJCP Database has been revised to include the new ranks, certificates and exam types

    The exam format will be similar to the beer exam, but shorter (approximately 7 questions and 3 beverages). The questions will likely include the same program/ethics question as the beer program, 1 troubleshooting question, 1 terminology question, 1 technical/process question, and 3 style questions. The exam will likely be given in a 2 hour period.

    The format of questions will be generally similar to beer questions to the extent practical.

    The Mead exam will be jointly sponsored with the International Mead Association, and will carry the logos of both organizations. Members of the IMA will help with the exam questions and study materials.

    The Mead Subcommittee and Cider Subcommittee will both be formally launched in January 2007 to create the question pool and study materials for each exam. Their work is the main effort of the exam, and will be reviewed by the main Mead and Cider Committee. Susan Ruud will lead the Mead Subcommittee and Kevin Pratt will lead the Cider Subcommittee.

    Other administrative items to complete include determining how exams will be administered and graded, and how the exams will be handled by the Exam Program. The mead and cider exams will be included in any IT project involving the exam program.

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  • Legal Committee Report for 2006
    by Dave Sapsis

    The BJCP legal committee continues to work on recovering the treasury dating from 2004. Ongoing developments have included a broadened scope of investigation and charges, new evidence, and increased vigilance on the part of law enforcement officials. While it would appear that the wheels of justice turn slowly, the committee in charge of the investigation takes the task seriously and are working toward a sound resolution.

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  • Information Technology Report for 2006
    by Gordon Strong

    In 2006, we continued to execute the strategic plan developed in 2004. Work continued on enhancing both the legacy Filemaker database system and the new web-based application infrastructure. Our web-hosting solution, graciously provided by Beer, Beer & More Beer, continues to be both rock-solid and high-performance.

    All legacy web-based applications are now migrated to our common web system. The voting system and the password lookup application were migrated this year. A new Competition Registration System was implemented in support of the merged AHA/BJCP Sanctioned Competition Program. This system included a registration application, PayPal support, an administration/approval system, an RSS feed to Zymurgy, and a dynamic calendar. A new password-protected Change-of-Address application was developed, including a new change password feature. 

    The BJCP database was enhanced to support new BJCP requirements, including the CEP program, the forthcoming Mead and Cider exam program, and the new Privacy policy. Access to all BJCP databases are now password-protected. The Exam module was reworked in preparation for the new exam registration system.

    New features added to the BJCP database system included methods for improved communication with members such as email notification of exam results, judge credentials, and promotions. Automated routines were written to obtain email addresses from competition organizers, to check organizer reports for retroactive points, to search for and process promotions, to cancel competitions, and to document bad emails.

    Data in the database systems continued to be scrubbed and validated. Past retroactive points were assigned to all members, and correct judge email addresses were obtained from competition organizers. Additional support for Australia was added to the system, including recognizing provinces. Multi-user data entry continues to operate smoothly, with five people sharing the data entry tasks once handled by a single person. Web-based applications continue to work well in capturing and validating data once entered manually.

    This coming year we intend to develop a new exam registration, administration and management system including adding PayPal support for exam fees. A CEP Vocabulary application will be completed and rolled out. We will continue our long-range plan to migrate applications and data to the web platform, and to support emerging requirements identified by the BJCP board and other directorates.

    From a personnel standpoint, Jamil Zainasheff was appointed Assistant IT Director, recognizing his long service and important role in developing and maintaining most of our new web-based applications. Ed Westemeier helps out managing most of our non-application web infrastructure, the BJCP Forums, and our mailing lists and aliases under the new Board Communication Policy. He was responsible for the well-received facelift given to our web site this past year. 

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  • Communication Report for 2006
    by Ed Westemeier

    The website was reasonably active, with an average of nearly 12,000 unique visitors per month. 75% of visitors go directly to the site (by entering the address or using a bookmark/favorite). 13% link from a search engine, and 11% link from another website. We began a continuing effort to upgrade the website with an improved look and feel, allowing easier navigation with fewer clicks. The overall service and speed of the website hosting server has been nothing short of outstanding. We are extraordinarily grateful to our host, Beer, Beer & More Beer, who donate the use of the web server.

    2006 was the first full year for the BJCP Member Forums. Nearly 250 users have registered, and over 860 posts have been made. Thanks to careful monitoring, the forums have been 100% spam-free. There is some really good information on the forums already, and it's a great place to get judging-related questions answered.

    We received and approved 12 requests to use our copyrighted style guidelines in books, software, websites, and media. We try to make it easy to get such approval, and requests are handled expeditiously.

    For the coming year, the priorities are to continue improving the website and to encourage more member participation in the forums. We also got the first of a series of podcasts recorded, thanks to James at Basic Brewing.

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