Category 17 was the occasion for our 18th BJCP study group session. Only six categories left to study — over 75% of the way through our rubric. A fun category with some interesting variety despite the common thread running through them.
We convened for session #17 to cover Category 9, Strong European Beer. Only (“only”) three styles to cover, but all of them pretty heavy hitters.
Study session #16… meet Category 16: the Dark British Beers. Very small group tonight (only four!) as we contended with a nasty winter snow storm that forecasts predicted would start to peak more-or-less smack in the middle of our study session. But we had enough to move ahead. And by that, I mean that we […]
Like our study session for Categories 6 & 8, session #15 was double-booked with a club meeting. Only this club meeting was not a supplement to the study group, but rather the study group format was tweaked to accommodate the meeting. And so it goes. Our modified format? Score an Old Rasputin at home and […]
Study session #14 was originally going to be dedicated solely to Category 14 (Scottish Ale), but a couple of factors came into play that allowed us to double up. First, other than a couple examples of 14C. Scottish Export, our coordinator for the night was having a real bear of a time finding any beers […]
Our study group’s thirteenth session, and a night over-loaded with two categories and a small club meeting. And perhaps it was that pre-game of an informal club meeting that helped, but we had pretty good attendance, and all but one of the styles represented.
Category 22. Strong American Ale. That was study group #12. “Looks like a light crew tonight.” “Well, more for us.” “I don’t think this is a category where that statement equates to a good idea.”
BJCP study group session number 10 convened around the Category 4 beers. But there was a little bit of a cliffhanger going into it as some last-minute shuffling happened when our scheduled coordinator had to back out. Nevertheless, we’re a scrappy and resourceful bunch, and we pulled it off with a complete complement.
Filed under “Best Laid Plans” and/or “Improvising” — our ninth study group session, intended for Category 19 (and coordinated by yours truly) got re-purposed, more or less at the last minute, for a… very special training session: Judging the 2017 GMM Style Challenge beers: 20C. Imperial Stout
At the confluence of my homebrewing and BJCP study group work, I found that I needed to deepen my knowledge of raw ingredients. Because hops are de rigueur pretty much all the time, I feel like I’ve gotten fairly well-acquainted with a number of varietals. And I spent most of my 2016 brew sessions experimenting […]