I'm wondering if there are folks out there that have taken the Better Beer Scores online course and subsequently passed the BJCP exam? Testimonials? I read the ones on the the Craft Beer U site but none mentioned exam success that they attribute to the course. It looks like a pretty good and convenient program.
Hello Pinski,
I'm one of the three partners that make up Craft Beer U along with Charlie Gottenkieny and Jonathan Aronson. True, we do have some testimonials posted on our site and plenty of other satisfied students and alumni of Better Beer Scores. However, we have yet to receive much data from alumni regarding their success taking the actual BJCP exam due to the very limited availability exam spots (in fact, I wasn't able to secure a spot myself locally until April
2013). Because of the scarcity of exam spots in the near future, we record all class sessions and make them available, along with other resources, to our students and alumni via our website for 1 year after their course ends for study/review purposes.
We are in contact with our alumni to report to us their exam results, but at present, very few have actually taken the exam. None have received their scores yet (to my knowledge). I will check with my partners and post back.
My opinion, albeit a bit biased, is that you are not going to get a better BJCP exam prep experience anywhere, whether you are taking the exam under the "old" way or the new. We are acutely aware of the changes in the exam procedures and have already taken steps to incorporate them into our curricula.
A side effect of Better Beer Scores is students reporting significantly increased beer evaluation skills and further depth of craft beer and brewing-related knowledge.
Give it a whirl! Plus, you get a 20% discount for being an AHA member.
Cheers and thanks,
Geoff