I was given my first set of Tasting BJCP Exams to grade in February of last year (2024). I am currently grading my eleventh set after almost a year. I took the Tasting Exam again last year and received a score of 91. This moved me up to Master rank.
The quality of scoresheets might vary. Some are quite terrible, while others are better. As far as I’ve been able to tell, the extremely good ones are rare. Sometimes I wonder why some people choose to take this test if they didn’t even bother to go over the fundamentals.
Even the better-performing scoresheets often have trivial mistakes. It always surprises me that I find them so often because some of them are so simply fixed.
Use of ranges (even proctors do that!)
The BJCP guidelines provide ranges for aroma, flavour, mouthfeel, and appearance. Since they are meant to describe beer styles rather than individual beers, this makes sense.
The purpose of BJCP Scoresheets is to characterize a beer, not the style category. The aroma of a beer cannot be described as “low to mid malt aroma” since it is impossible for a beer to have two levels of strength simultaneously. That is basic physics. It ought to be obvious.
Nevertheless, I often see beer descriptions on scoresheets that make extensive use of ranges. I noticed that a number of National-level proctors also use them. It truly got to me. It should be so clear, yet it’s clearly not.
The use of ranges to describe a beer is illogical. The beer color shouldn’t be described as “yellow to deep gold“, try instead something like “deep yellow color, bordering on gold“. Instead of “low to none hop aroma“, try “very low hop aroma, almost impercetible“.
Ranges will negatively impact the Descriptive Ability score. However, utilizing ranges will also result in lower Perception Scores since the grader will not be able to match them with the quantifiers provided by the exam proctors.
Waste of spaces in the Overall section
The overall section of the scoresheet should not be used to recap the most important features of the beer. They should have already been covered in the other scoresheet’s sections. There is really no need to duplicate them.
In the Overall section you should provide:
- Feedback on the beer’s pleasantness. A beer could be tasteful, delicious, or challenging to drink.
- Technical feedback. Technical comments about off-flavors and the brewing process, along with suggested fixes.
- Style feedback. This could be challenging. You are required to highlight the key aspects of the beer that fit (or don’t fit) the style guidelines.
This already crams a lot of information into the little space designated for the overall impression. Reiterating what you already stated in the other sections will take up valuable space for no reason. Don’t do that.
Use the space you have been given wisely. Comments like “Thanks for sending this beer!” or “Keep on brewing!” are pointless. This is not a competition; it’s an exam.
The picture below shows the Overall part of a BJCP scoresheet I wrote. I got a Master score on this feedback (the beer was an American Stout).
Listing tons of descriptors without intensities
Scoresheets at the National or Master level should provide a lot of descriptive detail. In a previous post, I discussed how to increase your vocabulary related to beer (link).
However, I frequently come across a lengthy list of descriptors without relative intensities while evaluating exam scoresheets. While this could be sufficient to obtain a National score (most likely, Low-National) in Descriptive Ability, it won’t be enough to move it up to the Master rank.
It is challenging yet essential to elaborate on descriptors strengths and relate them to one another in order to convey the complex aroma that beers often have.
Instead of writing “Mid malt aroma, bready, bread crust, bread crumbs, toasted bread”, try something like “Mid malt aroma with a prominent bread crust note upfront, light nuances of bread crumbs, and a light touch of baked toast in the background“.
Avoid writing lengthy descriptor lists. With accurate phrasing, less really is more.
Don’t repeat yourself in the Flavour section listing the same descriptors of the Aroma. Try to highlight what changed compared to the nose. Describe the aromas that come forward and the ones that are less apparent. Often a citrus aroma feels kind of sweet in the nose but sharper in the aftertaste when the bitterness of an IPA kicks in.
The picture below shows the Aroma part of a BJCP scoresheet I wrote. I got a Master score on this scoresheet for Descriptive Ability (the beer was a Czech Premium Pale Lager).
Not addressing all the components in each section
While grading exams, I often find myself penalizing completeness because the examinee forgets to describe all the characteristics listed under the title of each section. This shouldn’t be that hard; you just have to write something for every word listed.
Not addressing all the aspects of each section will reduce your score on Completeness, which is the most simple score to bump up to Master level without much effort. You just need to pay attention.
Neglecting to mention a characteristic of flavor or aroma will also affect the Perception score. A missing descriptor can’t be matched to the proctor’s.
The picture below shows the Flavour part of a BJCP scoresheet I wrote. I got a Master score on this scoresheet for Completeness (the beer was a British Golden Ale). Flavour decriptions are tricky. In this one, I almost forgot to address the overall balance.
Using quantifiers that are not specific
Always quantify the intensities with specific words. Don’t write “some esters“, “obvious hops aroma“, “apparent malt aroma“, “dominated by hops aroma“. Some, obvious, apparent, dominated are not quantifiers.
Use the regular ones: high, mid-high, mid, mid-low, and low. “A hint of” or “a touch of” could also be effective. “Dominated by hops aroma with high intensity notes of…” is an alternative. Your description should always include a quantifier.
Phrases like “this beer has prune esters” or “esters are appropriate” are devoid of quantifiers. Your Perception and Descriptive Ability scores will suffer as a result.
It seems trivial, but you woulnd’t believe how frequently I found missing quantifiers in the scoresheet I graded.
Don’t forget to check the checkboxes!
There are two of them, you need to check them both.
The one on the bottom of the Scoresheet is not difficult to fill in but is easy to forget. I suggest checking them again rapidly at the end of the exam. It will only take a few seconds.
The one on the left is more challenging as it includes descriptors in addition to off-flavours. Since most examinees forget to check the alcoholic, astringency, esters, and phenols checkboxes, I would advise you to tick them as you write and to always double-check them before passing to the next beer.
You can indicate whether or not the descriptor matches the style. It’s not mandatory, but it will be considered a style feedback (which is a good thing).
