Return-Path: judge-owner at synchro.com Received: from srvr20.engin.umich.edu (root at srvr20.engin.umich.edu [141.212.2.26]) by srvr5.engin.umich.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8) with ESMTP id CAA25705 for ; Sat, 15 Aug 1998 02:21:26 -0400 (EDT) Received: from synchro.com (cccox.ne.mediaone.net [24.128.144.90]) by srvr20.engin.umich.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8) with SMTP id CAA21689 for ; Sat, 15 Aug 1998 02:21:25 -0400 (EDT) From: "JudgeNet - the beer judge digest" To: "Digest Recipients" Reply-To: "JudgeNet - the beer judge digest" Subject: Digest for the period 8/14/98 - 8/15/98 Message-ID: Date: Sat, 15 Aug 1998 02:00:03 -0400 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Hops: 1 Table of contents ------------------------------------------------------ Certifiable judges and maintaning interest in homebrewing (George_De_Piro at berlex.com) -------------------------------------------------------- From: George_De_Piro at berlex.com Date: Fri, 14 Aug 1998 09:41:03 -0700 Subject: Certifiable judges and maintaning interest in homebrewing Hi all, Jeff laments his competition's ability to attract an adequate number of judges, writing, "...trying to get enough judges, particularly commited (sic) before the competition..." Well, heck, Jeff, maybe more judges would be available for your contest if you weren't so busy locking them up in psychiatric hospitals! Sort of gives new meaning to the rank "Certifiable" (um, I mean "Certified"). Seriously, it is not true that interest in homebrew contests (and homebrewing) is waning everywhere. Here in the NY City area we have more judges than ever before, with classes going on to improve judging skills. People are quite enthusiastic. It takes *effort* to maintain this level of excitement. My club works hard to keep the membership entertained (we have to compete with the social possibilities of NY City; that's no small opponent!). We have found that educational programs like 10 week BJCP prep classes and the soon-to-start Advanced Sensory Perception Workshop are well received by club members and local beer geeks (some of which have joined both the club and the BJCP after attending the classes). I think the BJCP needs to start doing some of this stuff in a more formal way if it is to fulfill its mission statement and remain a vibrant organization. The BJCP is *lucky* to have a homebrew club in NYC that is so enthusiastic about educating the masses. It can't count on individuals or clubs forever, though. The BJCP needs to start doing this stuff for itself. I think a great way to improve judging skills would be for the BJCP to sponsor Advanced Sensory workshops like the one we are about to have. Beer spiking kits containing 12-14 chemicals can be obtained for less than $250. The BJCP can purchase a number of these kits (perhaps they'd be cheaper being sold in bulk to a nonprofit group) and distribute them to members in various geographic locations who could then hold classes for area beer geeks. These classes need not be limited to BJCP types. I have found that a great way to build interest in the BJCP (and homebrewing) is to invite "outsiders" to the classes. The class we are about to start will be like "Dr. Beer" on steroids. It will be ~6 weekly sessions and we will do threshold testing, learn about various types of taste panels, etc. It's something every BJCP judge should have to do. In fact, I think that the people completing this class should earn a judging point or two. Classes like this would not involve more testing or much more paperwork. The BJCP has plenty of cash in the kitty, so what's stopping us? Remember: the more people there are that appreciate good beer, the more good beer there will be for all of us to choose from! The key is education. Have fun! George De Piro (Nyack, NY) Return-Path: judge-owner at synchro.com Received: from srvr20.engin.umich.edu (root at srvr20.engin.umich.edu [141.212.2.26]) by srvr5.engin.umich.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8) with ESMTP id CAA25705 for ; Sat, 15 Aug 1998 02:21:26 -0400 (EDT) Received: from synchro.com (cccox.ne.mediaone.net [24.128.144.90]) by srvr20.engin.umich.edu (8.8.8/8.8.8) with SMTP id CAA21689 for ; Sat, 15 Aug 1998 02:21:25 -0400 (EDT) From: "JudgeNet - the beer judge digest" To: "Digest Recipients" Reply-To: "JudgeNet - the beer judge digest" Subject: Digest for the period 8/14/98 - 8/15/98 Message-ID: Date: Sat, 15 Aug 1998 02:00:03 -0400 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Hops: 1 Table of contents ------------------------------------------------------ Certifiable judges and maintaning interest in homebrewing (George_De_Piro at berlex.com) -------------------------------------------------------- From: George_De_Piro at berlex.com Date: Fri, 14 Aug 1998 09:41:03 -0700 Subject: Certifiable judges and maintaning interest in homebrewing Hi all, Jeff laments his competition's ability to attract an adequate number of judges, writing, "...trying to get enough judges, particularly commited (sic) before the competition..." Well, heck, Jeff, maybe more judges would be available for your contest if you weren't so busy locking them up in psychiatric hospitals! Sort of gives new meaning to the rank "Certifiable" (um, I mean "Certified"). Seriously, it is not true that interest in homebrew contests (and homebrewing) is waning everywhere. Here in the NY City area we have more judges than ever before, with classes going on to improve judging skills. People are quite enthusiastic. It takes *effort* to maintain this level of excitement. My club works hard to keep the membership entertained (we have to compete with the social possibilities of NY City; that's no small opponent!). We have found that educational programs like 10 week BJCP prep classes and the soon-to-start Advanced Sensory Perception Workshop are well received by club members and local beer geeks (some of which have joined both the club and the BJCP after attending the classes). I think the BJCP needs to start doing some of this stuff in a more formal way if it is to fulfill its mission statement and remain a vibrant organization. The BJCP is *lucky* to have a homebrew club in NYC that is so enthusiastic about educating the masses. It can't count on individuals or clubs forever, though. The BJCP needs to start doing this stuff for itself. I think a great way to improve judging skills would be for the BJCP to sponsor Advanced Sensory workshops like the one we are about to have. Beer spiking kits containing 12-14 chemicals can be obtained for less than $250. The BJCP can purchase a number of these kits (perhaps they'd be cheaper being sold in bulk to a nonprofit group) and distribute them to members in various geographic locations who could then hold classes for area beer geeks. These classes need not be limited to BJCP types. I have found that a great way to build interest in the BJCP (and homebrewing) is to invite "outsiders" to the classes. The class we are about to start will be like "Dr. Beer" on steroids. It will be ~6 weekly sessions and we will do threshold testing, learn about various types of taste panels, etc. It's something every BJCP judge should have to do. In fact, I think that the people completing this class should earn a judging point or two. Classes like this would not involve more testing or much more paperwork. The BJCP has plenty of cash in the kitty, so what's stopping us? Remember: the more people there are that appreciate good beer, the more good beer there will be for all of us to choose from! The key is education. Have fun! George De Piro (Nyack, NY)