BJCP Ranked Judge?

[smkranz]

@Saccharomyces

I would like to add as that local contests are not like NHC where there are Grand Masters all over the place.  As a Certified, I used to run flights. There would be people from Recognized all the way down to non-BJCP judges on my flights.  Becoming a ranked BJCP judge is a process for most people.  I stopped judging because I did not like having to judge really bad beer, a few of which I had to disqualify from judging due to concerns over contamination.  Sure, there are good beers and great beers being judged at most contests, but a lot of beer is submitted to contests by beginning brewers for judges to debug so to speak.  You would not believe how poor sanitation is in some home breweries.  You know that sanitation is going to be low when a repurposed bottle still has the original brewery’s label on it and the claimed beer style is not the style on the label.  That should disqualify a beer, but a few slip through the cracks.

If you’re interested in getting back into it, the MALT Turkeyshoot is coming up.  It will be a virtual/remote comp where 1st round entries are judged in judges’ homes, and judges on the same flight will communicate via the platform of their choice, on their own schedule within a 2 week window.  They can also choose to judge together at the same location.  I am planning to host such a location and judge together with another club member who is an experienced brewer with judging experience but is not a ranked BJCP judge.