Great stuff, Jen. Couldn't agree more re all the commercial example memorization. I'd go further and will complain vociferously about memorizing all the BJCP data (and attenuation rates?! Why?) Where will I ever be that I can't just check the Style Guidelines on my phone if for some odd reason I needed to do that. Like...maybe if I was kidnapped by a Grandmaster 300 BJCP judge, tied down, and quizzed about BJCP quants with my life on the line? Anyway, I learned a lot about the relationships of some styles by memorizing some of that material, but the idea that you may, or may not, be someone with an MC level of knowledge about beer based on whether you've memorized that material is beyond silly. Frankly, the CCP would probably have twice as many MCs and ACs (the program's most powerful advocates in the wild) if they lowered those requirements. Ha, I just remembered you actually work for them now, so maybe I'm complaining to the right person for once. Anyway, I'm going to go listen to that podcast you recommended -- please keep the sensory learning recs coming. I feel that few people in the beer game are up to speed on sensory, so it's difficult to know what to read/listen to/ etc. Cheers!
Great stuff, Jen. Couldn't agree more re all the commercial example memorization. I'd go further and will complain vociferously about memorizing all the BJCP data (and attenuation rates?! Why?) Where will I ever be that I can't just check the Style Guidelines on my phone if for some odd reason I needed to do that. Like...maybe if I was kidnapped by a Grandmaster 300 BJCP judge, tied down, and quizzed about BJCP quants with my life on the line? Anyway, I learned a lot about the relationships of some styles by memorizing some of that material, but the idea that you may, or may not, be someone with an MC level of knowledge about beer based on whether you've memorized that material is beyond silly. Frankly, the CCP would probably have twice as many MCs and ACs (the program's most powerful advocates in the wild) if they lowered those requirements. Ha, I just remembered you actually work for them now, so maybe I'm complaining to the right person for once. Anyway, I'm going to go listen to that podcast you recommended -- please keep the sensory learning recs coming. I feel that few people in the beer game are up to speed on sensory, so it's difficult to know what to read/listen to/ etc. Cheers!