[gsandel]

This morning I recieved this e-mail:

Congratulations on passing the BJCP Entrance Exam; you are now a BJCP Provisional Judge!  You will be emailed a passing certificate that you will need to show to the administrator of the BJCP Beer Judging Exam.  You must take the Beer Judging Exam within one year of passing the Entrance Exam or start over.  Good luck!

Which is strange because I took the exam in early April (on a whim) during my lunch hour, without studying or without reference materials....it was hard and as I expected, I failed (what I thought was miserably).

Then I got this explanation:

Hello, You should have received an email informing you that you passed the BJCP Entrance Exam.  This may come as a surprise, so let me explain.  We did some detailed statistical analysis that led us to make a final tweak of the passing threshold, and all exams were rescored against this target.  You were just below passing when you took the exam, but that score now passes.  Congratulations!

So, it is official.  I am a Provisional Judge (now looking for a tasting exam seat in Denver area) with the distinction of passing with one of the lowest scores ever!  I am the opposite of Gordon Strong!

Thanks BJCP for lowering your standards just enough to let me slide by to continue my unbroken streak of mediocracy!

Sincerely,
Mr. C-

[theDarkSide]

Grading on a scale...gotta love it.   I got a 17 on a Physics exam in college and that was a passing grade.  One kid got a 100%...bastard.  If it wasn't for him, my 17 probably would have been an A. 

[Pinski]

  That's funny. Congratulations!
Hey man, you gotta start somewhere.

[gsandel]

Don't get me wrong, I am very, very pleased that I (probably) don't have to take that monster exam again.  I felt like the whole exam was filled with trick questions with the changing of one word of a question having an impact on the answer.  The exam was designed to make you think about each question....there were very few low hanging fruits where you just absolutely KNEW the answer.  Kind of like Monty Python's Holy Grail at the Bridge of Death....

What is your name?: Gary
What is your quest?: To become a Certified Beer Judge.
What is time temperature curve for optimal performance of Brettanomyces Bruxellensis and how is this effectively manipulated by the Trappists in the lower regions of Belgium?: Ummmm Blue? No Yel.....arrruuuuuggghhhhh!

[gsandel]

Correct Answer: There are no higher regions of Belgium!

[tomsawyer]

The word is mediocrity.  But somehow that seems to fit.

Congrats!  And good luck on the tasting exam.  If you haven't done it before, volunteer to be a judge or steward at a brew contest.  Thats the best practice for the exam.  That and try at least one of the listed commercial examples of each style just to give yourself an idea of what everything tastes like.

[redbeerman]

Congrats!  It's all up from here!

[gsandel]

The word is mediocrity.  But somehow that seems to fit.

Yeah, I am an idiot! 

Have been a steward for a couple of NHC 1st rounds.  It has been my only chance to taste some flaws that I haven't (yet and hopefully never) experienced in my beers.  I was proud of myself for being able to identify some of the things the experienced judges were picking up.

Judging in competition is difficult, but yet, the judges usually come to the same conclusions and close scores with a surprisingly high occurence.

[Pinski]

The word is mediocrity.  But somehow that seems to fit.

Yeah, I am an idiot! 

Mediocracy is a situation which can occur in a democracy in which mediocre people prevail. The society is then subordinated to a quasi-egalitarian ideology in which words and ideas are redefined by mediocre people, to be convenient for mediocre people. oh, and those that cut and paste from Wikipedia

[Hokerer]

So, it is official.  I am a Provisional Judge (now looking for a tasting exam seat in Denver area) with the distinction of passing with one of the lowest scores ever!  I am the opposite of Gordon Strong!

Had a buddy in college that didn't know, until he walked onto the stage, whether he was graduating or not.  2.0 average required and he ended up with a 2.0016.  Thirty years later he's still doing just fine.

[tom]

(now looking for a tasting exam seat in Denver area) Mr. C-

I think there is one in Ft. Collins this month.

[tomsawyer]

The word is mediocrity.  But somehow that seems to fit.

Yeah, I am an idiot! 

Have been a steward for a couple of NHC 1st rounds.  It has been my only chance to taste some flaws that I haven't (yet and hopefully never) experienced in my beers.  I was proud of myself for being able to identify some of the things the experienced judges were picking up.

Judging in competition is difficult, but yet, the judges usually come to the same conclusions and close scores with a surprisingly high occurence.

Sounds like you have enough experience then, now start looking up adjectives and do that commercial beer homework.  Its tough but its for a good cause.

And to make you feel better I got a 60 on the tasting portion of my first exam.  I didn't take my own advice obviously.

[weithman5]

Had a buddy in college that didn't know, until he walked onto the stage, whether he was graduating or not.  2.0 average required and he ended up with a 2.0016.  Thirty years later he's still doing just fine.

2.0 and go!!!. incidentally, the movie mediocrity is quite funny if you ever get a chance to watch it.

[punatic]

When I was in college I was bummed when I got my first B (Calc 3).  I had an 89% average in the class.  90% was needed for an A.  The professor would not budge.  Up to that point I had a 4.0 average.

A mentor and good friend told me not to be bummed.  He said it was the degree not the GPA that mattered.  He said, "Eventually you will come to realize that 'D' means 'Done!'  Even if you get a D you pass and you're done with that class."

Sage words.

All I can say is I'm glad I don't enter my beers in competition any more!   

[theoman]

Correct Answer: There are no higher regions of Belgium!

First of all, congrats! Second, I disagree with that answer. There ARE higher regions in Belgium. But, the only Trappist brewer to utilize brett is Orval, and they would certainly not be considered to be in the lower regions. So, one possible correct answer is that none of the Trappist breweries in the lower regions use any form of Brett. Another possibility, and one that I don't know for sure, is that the variety of Brett used by Orval is not Bruxellensis.

As for the temperature curve, I have no idea.