Beer Judging 101 & 201 Seminar Recap

It’s the final day of SF Beer Week and it’s pouring cats and dogs. The big event of the day is the Celebrator party happening in Oakland later on in the evening. I briefly considered going but opted against it instead. To survive SF Beer Week, Sammy and I have been moderating our drinking and events by going to an event one day and not going the following day. I didn’t plan on this but I was sick for one day, had nothing planned on another and had a non-beer event to go to on another. In the end, my liver thanked me for the respite.

I had initially planned for Sunday to be an “off day” to allow me to rest and catch up on my blogging but after some consideration, Sammy and I headed over to the Englander in San Leandro to help out www.beerbybart.com friends Gail and Steve run their Beer Judging 101 event. As with many SF Beer Week events, their BJCP 101 and 102 classes sold out close to the last day. Having never been to the Englander, I was amazed by the large selection of beers they had on tap and vowed (fist shaking to the sky) that I would be back. I had a job to do that day and enjoying the Englander wasn’t part of the job description.

Grand Master-level BJCP judge Dave Teckam would be leading the class. He has a very casual demeanor and is a wealth of beer information. If anything, his demeanor helped to set a relaxed atmosphere in the class that fostered discussion. It really was like a beer school in that Dave stood in front of the group with a pointer stick in hand and his white boards behind him chalk full of beer information while workshop attendees were seated in tables according to rows.

Having been given very little instruction as to what our roles would be, Gail and Brian set about marking cups and pouring beers while Sammy and I doled them out to the workshop attendees. Eventually, we pre-counted the necessary number of cups, marked them when applicable and handed them out. It was a smooth going operation, if I must say so myself. Sammy was a huge help in organizing how things worked out. Having done our fair share of events ourselves, we’re familiar with figuring the flow of things.

I did my best to listen to what Dave had to say during the 101 class but having to work, I missed out a lot on what he said. In the pieces and parts I did catch, I admired his ability to explain things as well as foster discussion from the class. Public speaking is definitely a learned skill and being knowledgeable about your topic helps determine your comfort level. While I learned some new things regarding beer and beer tasting, I think I may have learned a bit more about public speaking.

The big surprise of the 101 event was the final pairing. I admit that I didn’t see the beers being poured but I noticed a difference between them. They were both big beers, malty but one was decidedly more hoppy than the other. The big reveal was that the final pairing was the same beer, 5 years apart. One beer was a 2004 Sierra Nevada Bigfoot while the other was the 2009 Bigfoot. This revelation elicited a collective, “Whoa!” from the class. I did a mini-Bigfoot vertical a few weeks ago at the homebrew shop but I knew what I was getting into then. When you do a blind tasting like this, the big reveal has a bigger effect.

Dave believes that 5 years is the optimal age for a Bigfoot. Any longer and you start to see a degradation in flavors. The 2004 had a noticeable alcohol note with a complex malty flavor while being mellower and exhibiting slight sherry and oxidation notes. The 2009, by comparison, was bright, hoppy and robust in its flavors. Of course this was because it was the fresher beer. Dave said the best way to age your beer would be to keep them out of light and in a place that is consistent at 50º-55° F, much like a wine. Now inspired to age beers, I will have to back to BevMo and pick up a case of 2009 Bigfoot. Which reminds me, I found it miraculous that Dave, Gail and Brian were able to find enough 2004 Bigfoot for the class. It’s not like you can hit up your local Safeway or BevMo and ask for it. They must’ve called in some favors to pull that off. In the end, I think the reaction of the class was worth it.

The 201 class was a little more in-depth with the knowledge. You didn’t need to have signed up for the 101 class to attend but I think having a slight background helped out. Even then, Dave approached it all as if you didn’t know. Sammy and I stayed long enough to taste some sour beers but we had to cut out. The NBA All-Star game was going to be on that night and I wanted to catch it with some friends.

On the way home through the rain, Sammy and I discussed on how much we got out of the experience. We both agreed that it was totally worth while to have helped out Gail, Brian and Dave. It further inspired me to improve my own BJCP judging abilities to move up a rank. If anything, being a more informed, more skilled judge should help me educate and hopefully turn people on the wonderful world of craft beer. Even in our short time within the craft beer community, we have been shown a warmth and acceptance I had not anticipated. I’m hoping to be able to share that with more of my friends in the future as well as give back to the community that has already given me so much.

No related posts.