• May 19, 2016

    The board voted unanimously to approve new staffing for the Education and Training Directorate starting June 1, 2016. Bruce Buerger was approved as Director, with Randy Scorby, Amanda Burkemper, and Julie Lawson as Assistant Directors.

  • May 13, 2016

    The board unanimously to approve a proposal to remove pin ordering from the BJCP web site, as the page is confusing to new judges and was intended to allow existing judges to order pins when the Recognized and Certified pins were created. Since those pins were introduced over 10 years ago, all judges who wanted one are assumed to have ordered one.

  • March 8, 2016

    The board discussed a member proposal to create a service award named after BJCP founder Pat Baker. After discussion, the board adopted by consensus the creation of the Pat Baker Lifetime Achievement Award: For Significant, Sustained Service to the BJCP. An award design and awarding criteria are needed before the award will be given; it is envisioned as a rare award not given at specific intervals.

  • March 7, 2016

    The board voted 7-0 to approve the 2016 budget.

  • March 5, 2016

    The board voted 7-0 to accept the 2015 financial report from the Treasurer.

  • January 9, 2016

    The board voted 7-0 to approve an election committee for the 2016 elections, appointing Mike Dixon as chair with members Dennis Mitchell and Jim Wilson.

  • December 20, 2015

    The board discussed allowing outside groups with worthy benefits to promote these services to members. The board agreed by consensus to allow this, with the president reviewing the requests, and that the list of members should not be given to outside organizations (consistent with the privacy policy). Any mailings to members would be conducted by the BJCP, not outside groups. The board also discussed and rejected (by consensus) a request from one of these outside groups to allow beer reviewers in magazines to get CEP points.

  • December 1, 2015

    The board voted 7-0 to approve Dennis Mitchell as a new Assistant Exam Director, replacing Ryan Thomas.

  • November 30, 2015

    The board voted 7-0 to approve Ryan Thomas as an Exam Director replacing Tom Cannon, who will retire from the staff after completing his currently assigned exams. The board recognizes and commends Tom on his long service to the organization.

  • November 30, 2015

    The board voted 7-0 to approve a proposal from member Mirella Amato to collaborate on an Aleist mobile device application, and forward the information on to interested members.

  • November 30, 2015

    The board considered a proposal by the Competition Director to create BJCP-logo cups, medals, and other competition supplies for sale to competitions. The board rejected this proposal by consensus, not wanting to be in the business of finding and maintaining suppliers, inventory, and fulfilment partners for these products.

  • November 25, 2015

    The board held a long discussion about whether charging for beer reviews was allowable under the bylaws. The discussion was instigated by a business offering such a service and promoting itself using the BJCP name, logo, and use of BJCP ranked judges. The consensus was that charging for evaluations is fine as a private transaction but that a judge could not demand payment for judging in a homebrew competition. The BJCP requested the external site clarify that they were not associated with or endorsed by the BJCP, and that they prove to use that they were using ranked judges (which they did). The board directed this situation be discussed by the Ethics Committee for potential future action, such as making bylaw changes to require that adherence to technical standards for judging be a condition of membership.

  • September 26, 2015

    The board held an in-person meeting at the GABF. Several proposals were voted on and several issues discussed. Dennis Mitchell was approved as Assistant Communication Director, 6-0. An exam protest fee of US$25 was approved in concept, awaiting an update on the process and how payments would be made, 5-0. A limit on open exams was approved in concept, allowing only one exam of each type to be open at a time for a single judge; implementation awaiting actual text of the policy, 5-0. A senior mead judge rank was approved in concept, requiring a tasting score of 80 and 20 experience points; a pin design and implementation plan are needed, 4-0. A member proposal from the NHC was discussed to allow judges who are certified under the 70/30 split but would be national under the 50/50 split to have a way to become national; the board voted 4-0 to redirect to the exam directorate with the advice that the current policy is acceptable. The board discussed a member proposal from the NHC to extend the written exam time beyond 90 minutes; the board voted 4-0 to redirect to the exam directorate with the advice that the current time limit is appropriate. The board voted 4-0 to establish an Ethics Committee to begin work in defining a judge Code of Conduct, to update the judge procedures manual, to establish a peer review committee, and to define an escalating disciplinary process; Sandy Cockerham was appointed as chair. A discussion was held on an exam directorate proposal to remove the requirement that feedback on the exam (and elsewhere) be required to address specific technical fixes involving recipes and processes unknown to the judge; the motion was tabled with a 3-1 vote in favor of adoption.

  • September 23, 2015

    The board voted 7-0 to approve an exam directorate proposal to revise the mead exam with an online portion and a 6 mead tasting portion similar to the beer exam, starting in January 2016.

  • September 19, 2015

    The board voted 7-0 to provide a $5 discount for competition registration to active BJCP members, starting at the beginning of 2016.

  • September 16, 2015

    The board discussed a "must be present to win" rule in use at a competition at the request of several members. The board agreed by consensus to recommend a competition rule change or clarification, not a specific policy, to address disallowing this limitation.

  • August 10, 2015

    The board voted 7-0 to approve proposals to allow service credits to those who contributed to the newsletter (from the Communications Director), and also those who translate non-English exams (from the Exam Directors).

  • August 3, 2015

    The board approved by consensus a project to work on ways to address judges with disabilities being able to work within the program. Neil Spake and John Haven were assigned to the project under the supervision of Ryan Thomas.

  • June 18, 2015

    The board voted 7-0 to approve Brian Joas as a new Exam Director, replacing Frank Barickman.

  • June 11, 2015

    The board voted 5-0 to approve Bruce Buerger as a new Assistant Education Director.

  • June 9, 2015

    The board held an in-person meeting at the NHC, agreeing to several actions: seek proposals for funding projects, investigate trademarking the BJCP logo, increase communication with the exam directorate, investigate adding assistant regional representatives to the organizational structure, recruiting more web site help (content managers), expand the communications directorate based on skill gaps.

  • May 6, 2015

    The board approved by consensus the release of the 2015 Style Guidelines, and to have the exam program use them by November 2015, and competitions to have them as optional until 2016 when full phase-in is completed.

  • May 6, 2015

    The board approved by consensus an experiment with Regis University to investigate the use of alternate grading and feedback models for the beer tasting exam, and to see whether there was a partnering opportunity with higher education or other professional programs. Ryan Thomas was appointed to lead the project.

  • March 31, 2015

    The board voted unanimously to accept the 2015 budget plan submitted by the Treasurer, and to amend the Competition Refund Policy at the recommendation of the Competition Director, Treasurer, and President.

  • March 23, 2015

    The board voted unanimously to adopt a proposal from the Education Director to restructure the sensory kit offering, keeping pricing the same.

  • March 5, 2015

    The board voted unanimously to accept the 2014 Treasurer report.

  • February 4, 2015

    The board voted unanimously to approve up to $600 for an exam proctor travel expense for an exam in Mexico.

  • December 29, 2014

    The board discussed Siebel flavor kits being discontinued, and requested the Education Director investigate alternatives and formulate a plan.

  • December 24, 2014

    The board voted unanimously to approve the grader incentive plan.

  • December 23, 2014

    The board voted unanimously to approve the appointments of Brian Eichhorn and Jim Koebel as new Assistant Exam Directors.

  • October 24, 2014

    The board discussed and agreed to the development of a grader incentive plan.

  • September 6, 2014

    The board discussed and rejected a member proposal to allow for 0.5 judging points and 0.5 stewarding points to be awarded on a single day for people who judge one session and steward another. Since one full judging point is awarded for that service today, and judging points are harder to obtain, it seemed like a step backwards. Judges can freely choose to steward a session and accept the single judging point for the single session that day, consistent with existing rules.

  • September 2, 2014

    The board discussed and ultimately rejected a concept to deny sanctioning to competitions that restrict entries to certain classes of entrants (such as women only). The BJCP does not run competitions, and competitions are free to create unique experiences as long as they are consistent with established competition rules.

  • July 24, 2014

    The board voted unanimously to adopt a logo and naming policy.

  • April 25, 2014

    The board voted unanimously to adopt a Competition Refund Policy co-authored by the Competition Director and Treasurer, to accept a recommendation from the Exam Directors to raise the price of the Written Proficiency Examination from US$15 to US$25, and to increase 2014 funding for Siebel kits by US$10,000 from program reserves.

  • April 22, 2014

    The board voted unanimously to adopt a new pricing structure for subsidized Siebel kits, setting the price for exams at US$50 and the price for members at US$100.

  • March 22, 2014

    The board voted 7-0 to approve exam directorate staffing changes proposed by exam director Steve Piatz. Susan Ruud and Charlie Gow retired. Jim Wilson moved from AD to ED. Sandy Cockerham moved from AD to Asst Director. Gail Milburn added as a second Asst Director. Bill Bopp, David Lytton, and Josh Weikert added as new ADs.

  • February 18, 2014

    The board voted 7-0 to pass along the US$30 price increase from Siebel for tasting kits, raising the price to members from US$50 to US$80 as of March 1, 2014. The board also voted 7-0 to approve James Golovich as a new Assistant IT Director with a focus on server infrastructure.

  • January 29, 2014

    The board voted 7-0 to accept the 2013 financial report from the BJCP treasurer, to appoint a 2014 election committee, to adopt a new exam proctor reimbursement policy, to formally adopt BJCP election policies, and to authorize the BJCP president to sign the 2014 AHA BJCP Support Agreement.

  • January 14, 2014

    The board voted 7-0 to accept new BJCP Bylaws that were proposed in November 2013, and discussed in December 2013.

  • November 26, 2013

    The board voted 7-0 to approve funding for third-party mailing software in support of the new member communications strategy.

  • November 19, 2013

    The board voted 7-0 to appoint David Teckam as regional training coordinator.

  • October 23, 2013

    The board voted 7-0 to approve a budget and plan for increasing regional training, including adding a regional training coordinator as an assistant eduction director.

  • September 24, 2013

    The board voted 7-0 to approve a plan for rehosting the BJCP web site onto a commercial service, hiring a third-party site for designing the new web site, and migrating the content from the current web site to the new one.

    The board voted 7-0 to approve an offer of assistance from the AHA to provide electronic exam scanning and routing, and paying for expenses related to providing grader training, with the goal of increasing exam throughput.

  • August 28, 2013

    The board voted 7-0 to approve a plan for improving member communications, including appointing Jeff Sanders as Assistant Communications Director, selecting a third-party mailing service, splitting roles among the communications directorate, increasing social media use, creating a newsletter, and providing more regular updates to the membership.

  • July 18, 2013

    The board voted 7-0 to approve plan to increase exam directorate staffing in preparation for increasing the monthly exam quota. Approved Frank Barickman as a new Exam Director, and Sandy Cockerham, Don Blake, and Eric Jones as Associate Exam Directors.

  • March 29, 2013

    The board rejected a proposal by the Competition Director to prohibit direct compensation or reimbursement of judges by competitions.

  • March 14, 2013

    The board approved additional flexibility for the exam directorate: payments to graders are allowable, up to $10 per exam; a second Assistant Exam Director is authorized. The use of these are at the discretion of the Exam Directors.

  • March 9, 2013

    The board voted 7-0 to approve Andy Hejl as a new associate exam director.

  • February 21, 2013

    The board voted 7-0 to appoint a 2013 election committee, to use substitute election procedures due to outdated bylaws, to promote Mike Lentz from associate exam director to exam director, to designate Steve Piatz as managing exam director without grading duties, and to appoint Ryan Thomas and Agatha Feltus as associate exam directors.

  • November 9, 2012

    The board rejected a proposal by the Competition Director to require that only BJCP members can register competitions.

  • October 18, 2012

    The board approved guidelines for proctor travel expense reimbursement at the request of the Exam Directorate.

  • October 9, 2012

    The board voted 7-0 to accept the recommendation of the Exam Directors to appoint Brian Joas as a new Associate Exam Director.

  • June 24, 2012

    The board approved the appointment of Randy Scorby as the new Education Director.

  • March 21, 2012

    The board by a vote of 7-0 authorized the implementation of the new exam program, with an implementation schedule to be determined by the Exam Directorate.

  • January 17, 2012

    The board authorized the purchase of BJCP banners by regional representatives to attend events and functions.

  • January 9, 2012

    The board voted 6-0 to authorize $1564 from reserves to pay for start-up costs associated with testing and launching the new online exam.

    The board voted 6-0 to increase the service credit allotment for the Assistant Exam Director position, retroactively.

    Authorized budgeting for new pin purchases, expenses related to internationalization including translations, rehosting of the web site, and NHC judge reception costs. Indicated approval for expenses related to proctor travel for exams.

  • November 27, 2011

    The board authorized a new plan for creating an online examination under the direction of Scott Bickham and the Exam Directorate.

  • September 23, 2011

    The board voted to waive exam fees on an exam set where the payments were misplaced by an exam director.

  • September 12, 2011

    The board approved guidelines for exam directors to support exams given to examinees with physical limitations.

  • June 24, 2011

    The board approved the appointment of Jim Wilson and Frank Barickman as new Associate Exam Directors, replacing Gordon Strong.

  • May 29, 2011

    The board approved the Treasurer's plan to use Budd Bay as the BJCP's embroidered merchandise supplier.

  • March 13, 2011

    The board approved the appointment of Mike Lentz as a new Associate Exam Director.

  • January 18, 2011

    The board voted to accept the 2010 financial report.

    The board authorized payment of an IRS penalty of $1120 for failing to file a required schedule. (Note: this penalty was contested and subsequently reversed.)

    The board approved a payment of $63.52 to reimburse proctor travel expenses for an exam.

  • January 13, 2011

    The board adopted a proposal by the Treasurer to require all payments to the BJCP to be made by electronic payment only (PayPal, not checks).

  • December 16, 2010

    The board voted 7-0 to accept the recommendation of the Exam Directors to accept the resignation of Pete Garofalo as Associate Exam Director and replace him with Dave Justice.

  • August 11, 2010

    The board voted 7-0 to increase the CEP budget by $3000 to cover the cost of distributing additional off-flavor kits.

  • July 14, 2010

    The board authorized the investigation into a new two-tier exam system under the direction of Kevin Pratt.

    The board authorized free international shipping for off-flavor kits for exams.

    The board rejected an idea to create sub-ranks or additional rank identifiers within existing ranks.

    The board agreed to investigate changes to the Apprentice rank to add limits and restrictions.

  • March 3, 2010

    The board voted 7-0 to appoint Mike Dixon and Susan Ruud to the Election Committee, to approve the election schedule as outlined in the Election Center, and to waive the election procedures as stated in the Bylaws in favor of a web-based voting mechanism as has been used in elections since 2003.

  • January 14, 2010

    The board voted 7-0 to accept the treasurer's 2009 Financial Report.

    The board voted 7-0 to change the fee structure for competitions and exams. The exam fees were held at the same level, but the amount the administrator can retain was increased from 20% to 30%. The competition registration fee was reduced from $35 to $30. The changes were made due to an improved financial position and continued program growth.

    The board voted 7-0 to allow members to purchase Siebel off-flavor kits at a cost to them of $50, with the BJCP subsidizing the rest. The kits have a list price of approximately $180, although the BJCP's cost is lower. A new web application (similar to the nametag ordering application) must be developed before the program can be launched. Orders will be routed to the CEP Director to be placed with the kits used for exam prep courses. Siebel will continue to do the fulfillment of the orders for us. This cost will be included in the 2010 budget.

  • October 23, 2009

    The board voted to investigate electronic conferencing capabilities for real-time board meetings.

  • May 28, 2009

    The BJCP Board authorized an increase of $2500 in the 2009 Legal Fees budget to cover potential contingencies.

  • May 26, 2009

    The BJCP Board authorized accepting a web advertisement from the AHA. Further, the board discussed policies around web advertising and decided to evaluate any future requests on a case-by-case basis, with only accepting advertisements from organizations providing services to BJCP members. Advertisements should not be a major focus on the web site, and should not be something done solely to generate revenue. If revenue is gained incidentally, then that is acceptable.

  • April 25, 2009

    The BJCP rejected a proposal to terminate the BJCP's relationship with outside counsel McLane, Graf, Raulerson & Middleton, to stop any legal actions associated with (1) attempting to recover funds from convicted felon William R. Slack and (2) participating in any subsequent legal proceedings regarding fulfillment of the imposed sentence on the aforementioned Mr. Slack.

  • December 3, 2008

    Approved the appointment of Kevin Pratt as Associate Exam Director replacing David Houseman, and the appointment of Scott Bickham as a new Exam Director.

  • September 19, 2008

    The BJCP Board authorized an increase of $5000 in the 2008 Legal Fees budget to cover contingencies in ongoing litigation.

  • August 12, 2008

    The BJCP Board approved staff appointments of Mike Dixon for Communication Director, Joe Gerteis as Assistant CEP Director and Charlie Gow as Associate Exam Director, and to accept the resignation of Joe Dougherty as Assistant Communications Director.

  • July 25, 2008

    The BJCP Board approved a revision of BJCP Competition Policies to require people receiving staff points to take an active role in some aspect of the competition. The BJCP Board also approved an update of the approved competition reporting software list to remove non-compliant products.

  • July 24, 2008

    The BJCP Board approved an increase in GMSR credits for the Exam Directors.

  • July 14, 2008

    The BJCP Board approved a proposal by the BJCP Treasurer to open a federally-insured interest-bearing business checking account and move the bulk of the liquid BJCP assets (less our financial reserve) into it.

  • July 11, 2008

    The BJCP Board approved a proposal by the CEP Director to terminate the pilot testing of the vocabulary application and begin work rehosting it as an open-source wiki-based solution on a site providing better control over the validity of the technical content.

  • May 14, 2008

    The BJCP Board has approved the mead exam recommendations made by the Mead and Cider Committee, and transfers the responsibility for the rollout of the mead exams from the Mead and Cider Committee to the Exam Directorate. Further, the Board approved the fee schedule for mead certification exams as follows:

    • The exam fee for someone not already a BJCP member is $50. This fee applies to the first exam taken, which may be of any type authorized by the BJCP.
    • The exam fee for a BJCP member is $30 for a full exam. This applies to any subsequent exam taken, even if of a different type than originally taken to join the BJCP.
    • Partial retakes are authorized only for the beer exam, and only for existing BJCP members who have previously taken the full beer exam. The exam fee for a partial retake of the beer exam is $15.

    The board approved the appointment of Joe Dougherty as Assistant Communication Director, and transferring the responsibility for web site maintenance from the Communications Directorate to the IT Directorate.


  • Apr 21, 2008

    The BJCP Board has voted $5,000 to fund the printing of beer color guides, which will be provided to all active judges at no cost.

  • Mar 28, 2008

    The BJCP Board has authorized an official mailing address for BJCP correspondence, which will be used as the permanent master address, with communications being forwarded as necessary to the appropriate person(s).

    Beer Judge Certification Program, Inc.
    5115 Excelsior Blvd., #326
    St. Louis Park, MN 55416

  • Jan 14, 2008

    Voted 7-0 to accept the Treasurer's plan for establishing a permanent BJCP mailing address.

  • Dec 18, 2007

    The BJCP Board has voted 5-2 to adopt the proposed 2008 budget.

  • Oct 4, 2007

    The BJCP Board has voted 7-0 to supplement the existing CEP budget with an additional $1,000 from reserves, to cover increased costs of the flavor kits being produced for the program.

  • Sep 14, 2007

    The BJCP Board has voted 7-0 to allocate $2,500 out of reserves to fund a judge reception at the 2008 NHC. Similar in nature to what was done in Denver this year, the event will feature two judge training events. BJCP judges who are attending the conference and judging in the competition will be admitted for free (on a first-come, first-served basis as long as this budget holds out).

  • Sep 5, 2007

    Voted 7-0 to increase the budget for pins by $4,000 from reserves, in anticipation of ordering new member pins.

  • May 21, 2007

    Approved clarification of the BJCP Privacy Policy by a vote of 7-0 Approved creation of an Assistant Communication Director position by a vote of 6-1.

  • May 17, 2007

    Approved publishing of certain facts regarding the former Treasurer on the website, to keep members informed.

  • Apr 27, 2007

    Approved a comprehensive budget policy by a vote of 7-0.

  • Apr 18, 2007

    Approved by a vote of 7-0 to establish a $5,000 Emergency Reserve in the BJCP treasury to cover emergencies, and requiring five votes, rather than a simple majority, to spend any of the emergency reserve.

  • Apr 14, 2007

    Approved BJCP name badges for issue at no cost to all current active judges and future judges who pass the exam by a vote of 7-0. Voted 4-3 to allow members to order a name badge once a year, but only if they have moved.

  • Apr 6, 2007

    Voted 7-0 to allocate $400 from reserves for development and test costs associated with a new color guide for members.

  • Jan 14, 2007

    Voted 6-1 to approve a test of an experimental scoresheet at MCAB and AHA NHC 2nd Round. This is a scoresheet designed with mostly checkboxes with less room for comments. The intent is to see if this design can speed up judging at certain competitions of this nature while still providing adequate feedback to entrants.

    If the tests are successful, this may become a regular part (although optional) of the Sanctioned Competition Program.

  • Dec 30, 2006

    Adopted the 2007 budget proposal.

  • Dec 21, 2006

    Approved a committee, headed by Jamil Zainasheff, to investigate creation of new beer color guides for use at competitions. Members with suggestions are invited to send them to the chairman.

  • Dec 14, 2006

    Approved using the same election procedure for 2007 Board elections as was used last time, and appointed an election committee.

    Approved establishment of a committee, headed by Pete Garofalo, to do a comprehensive review of the Bylaws and propose changes to streamline all BJCP rules and procedures. Changes will be subject to review and approval by the Board and the membership, and are likely to be established in the second half of 2007. Members with suggestions are invited to send them to the chairman.

  • Dec 4, 2006

    Appointed Mike Heniff to Assistant CEP Director, replacing Ted Hausotter.

  • Nov 27, 2006

    Approved the formation of a Grant Committee by a vote of 5-2.

  • Aug 9, 2006

    Approved a comprehensive privacy policy.

  • Aug 7, 2006

    Approved retroactive service credits for many past volunteers who had gone unrecognized under past administrations.

  • Aug 1, 2006

    Approved service credits for John Tull for the exam grading spreadsheet tool. Approved plan for exam and competition directors to provide recommendations for policies in their directorates.

  • Jul 19, 2006

    Approved a plan for expedited pin ordering and grand master rank recognition.

  • Jul 16, 2006

    Reappointed existing directors and committee chairment, awarded service credits for the Merging Competition Programs committee.

  • Jul 1, 2006

    Adopted rules for board discussions, board voting, and mailing list maintenance.

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