For anyone that's been stopping by the blog the last few months, there hasn't been much activity here. Chock it up to being busy; sometimes I just feel like there aren't huge happenings to talk about. New brewery openings are few and far between (but there are some exciting ones coming soon). In this exciting time of lots of craft independent breweries already operating in the islands, there's too many new releases to write about each one, so
Instagram and
Untappd do a great job of sharing what I'm drinking.
With the summer beginning, there's a lot more time to drink new beers and study what makes them amazing. If you have a basic interest in beer and want to learn the complexities of styles and how to describe that new favorite, I invite you to come to the free beer judging classes being offered by Cindy Goldstein of HOPS Homebrew Club and the Hawaiian Craft Brewers Guild. With the assistance of local BJCP Judges, Certified Cicerones, brewers, and enthusiastic hobbyists, they're offering an invaluable service to teach about the exam, content, and judging beer. These sessions are held monthly leading up to the tasting exam on October 13, 2018. In order to take this tasting exam, you must first pass the online exam, details of which can be found on the website below.
What is the BJCP? The Beer Judge Certification Program is the recognized standard of how to rate, describe, and educate about beer and beer styles. Ranked judges are present at homebrew and brewery competitions to ensure a judged beer is true to style and determine which are the best examples. Even if you don't plan on taking the exam or judging competitions, the course and style guidelines are the perfect resource to help you learn more about what you already like and maybe help you discover something new. Tonight's first session was held at Honolulu Beerworks in Kaka'ako. Future ones will rotate around to other breweries on O'ahu.
It's not all work and reading from manuals. The class has a tasting component, which is important to develop your palate, nose, and eye. Tonight's first session was broken up with three beer style tastings. The first was the classic Saison; a Saison Dupont was paired with the local Pia Mahi'ai from Honolulu Beerworks to show a clear example, a local take, and the differences and similarities of the two. Later in the session we talked about a Weissbier and finally a Foreign Extra Stout. These classes are being taught for free; the only cost is paying for the beer and tips as necessary.
For more information, to request the syllabus, sign up for emails, or receive information about the next session on June 7th, please email hops@hawaii.rr.com.
The
first weekend in November saw the culmination of months of planning by
members of the HIP Fermenters Homebrew Club that meets at Homebrew in Paradise in Kalihi. The second annual competition and festival was held
at the store with entries from Oahu, neighbor islands, and the mainland.
This year's competition was the first to be BJCP certified, which led
to new opportunities for entrants and judges. 
For
those of you that follow me or read regularly, you know that I had been
taking advantage of the free BJCP judge classes offered this year.
Along with half a dozen others, I took the tasting exam last month at
Aloha Beer Co., after having passed the online entrance exam. While
we're all still waiting for our results, we had a chance to put our new
skills to the test at this competition. 
There
were two judging days, Thursday November 1st, and Friday November 2nd.
We had morning and afternoon sessions dividing the entries by style into
flights to be judged individually, with those over a certain score
advancing to a best of show round. The judging organization this year
was planned by Paul Wheeler, who did an excellent job with time
management so no one got too tired or drunk. For those interested, a
beer is judged on certain criteria matched to the BJCP style guidelines.
It's not a question of if it's good or bad in the judge's opinion, but
how well does it fit a style. There were so many excellent entries, it
was a shame to have only had a cup or two! Thursday I did porters &
stouts in the morning, then a mixed category including wheat beers in
the afternoon. Friday morning I got to do German styles that included Mรคrzen,
Schwarzbier, and Altbier. No single judge gets to rate the beer;
instead two or three come up with a consensus average score for the beer
after discussion and sometimes deliberation. It was invaluable learning
from the pros.
Best of Show was done on Friday
afternoon, and I was happy to sit in on that panel as well. This is
done differently: instead of filling out a scoresheet with notes, it's a
simple flight of all Best of Show beers tasted together. Each judge
narrows it down to around three beers, where then the entire panel
shares which were best and eventually ranks the top three placers. Our
group had one clear winner that we all liked, but second and third
required discussion and opinions of each judge. All the winners
will/have been posted here. 
Special
thanks to Square Barrels for the burgers & fries on Thursday, and
Waikiki Brewing Company for the pizza and BBQ on Friday! 
The
"hard work" being done, Saturday was a time to enjoy food, beer, and
awards. Learn to Homebrew Day is a national celebration of homebrewing.
With events all over, it's a great time to learn about the hobby and
watch people at their craft. There were demonstrations, leftover
homebrew tastings including notes from the judges about each, beer
donation by Beer Lab Hawaii, and tons of food contributed by members.
Awards were given out including medals sponsored by the American Homebrewers Association and swag also donated by them. 
