BJCP Styles - A Study Guide

Here are the BJCP Styles 2008 version listed as on the BJCP website. In an effort to learn more about each style in hopes of eventually becoming a certified judge, I will locate all the information I can on each style and write an article. In each article I will include as much information about brewing the style as I can. I'll also try to give a thorough description as possible, taking information from different sources on the internet. I'll have to include the information from the BJCP style guidelines pretty much verbatim because this information is used for the questions on the BJCP exam, but you should be able to find other information not presented on the BJCP website.

This will be an ongoing effort until finished, so please check back often, especially if you are studying for the BJCP exam.

The Beer Style Guidelines


1. LIGHT LAGER
2. PILSNER
3. EUROPEAN AMBER LAGER
4. DARK LAGER
5. BOCK
6. LIGHT HYBRID BEER
7. AMBER HYBRID BEER
8. ENGLISH PALE ALE
9. SCOTTISH AND IRISH ALE
10. AMERICAN ALE
11. ENGLISH BROWN ALE
12. PORTER
13. STOUT
14. INDIA PALE ALE (IPA)
15. GERMAN WHEAT AND RYE BEER
16. BELGIAN AND FRENCH ALE
17. SOUR ALE
18. BELGIAN STRONG ALE
19. STRONG ALE
20. FRUIT BEER
21. SPICE / HERB / VEGETABLE BEER
22. SMOKE-FLAVORED AND WOOD-AGED BEER
23. SPECIALTY BEER

The Mead Style Guidelines


24. TRADITIONAL MEAD
25. MELOMEL (FRUIT MEAD)
26. OTHER MEAD

The Cider Style Guidelines


27. STANDARD CIDER AND PERRY
28. SPECIALTY CIDER AND PERRY

Understanding the BJCP Styles

As we explore the BJCP Styles, there are a few things we must understand about the guidelines:

• A style is not defined by one single beer. In general, a range of properties can describe each style and any beer falling within this range is stylistically accurate. When studying the style, try to get an appreciation for the full range of beers that may fall within the guidelines for that style.

  Pay special attention to the wording of the guidelines. Modifiers are used to add information about different characteristics of the style. Look at the phrases which signify the magnitude of a characteristic, such as "little or no", "light to somewhat medium", "low to moderate", etc. These may seem ambiguous but they are written to give you a range to go by instead of an absolute value.

  When the BJCP wants you to understand that a descriptor is optional, you will see words such as "may have", "can contain", "might feature", "is acceptable", "is appropriate", or "is typical". Since these characteristics are optional within the range of possible properties in the style, they are not required. When a characteristic is required, you will see phrasing such as "must" or "should" in the description. And conversely, when a characteristic or flaw should not be present (probably because it often is), you will see phrases such as "is inappropriate" or "no" or "must not".



• Some styles will require additional information from the brewer to help the judges evaluate your beer and compare it with the rest of the flight. Make sure you read the guidelines carefully and be sure to include the proper information when requested. This information is usually mandatory and the omission may result in a beer, mead, or cider that is mis-judged.


• There is a place for supplemental information about your beer and this is where you should enter the nature of an experimental entry which may not fit in the guidelines. It is also the place to put unusual ingredients which may not allow the beer to fit into the normal category for the base beer brewed. The supplemental information allows the judges to understand what you intended to do in your experiment or to understand and look for additional flavors you may have intended to be in your beer. This is especially true for meads which will always require special information to be entered on the entry form.


• Some beers may have different style numbers than they had before. Be sure you read the guidelines and place your beer in the appropriate category.


• When judging the color of a beer, you will be evaluating the color density of the beer more than the hue or tint. Understanding this, here is a chart which may help you when judging a beer's SRM:

  Color Descriptor	SRM Value
  Straw	2 - 3
  Yellow	3 - 4
  Gold	5 - 6
  Amber	6 - 9
  Deep amber / light copper	10 - 14
  Copper	14 - 17
  Deep copper / light brown	17 - 18
  Brown	19 - 22
  Dark brown	22 - 30
  Very dark brown	30 - 35
  Black	30 +
  Black, opaque	40 +



• Beer styles are constantly evolving. Check the BJCP style guidelines often to find updates. These updates may include new commercial examples of a style, so in case you need an excuse to try a new beer, this may be it.

Information for the BJCP Styles page was adapted in part from the preface to the BJCP Style Guidelines on the BJCP website BJCP.org.

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