…so what ??
And what is a Certified Cicerone ® (promounced Sis-uh-rohn) anyways ?
Basically a Certified Cicerone is to the beer world what a “sommelier” is to the wine world. Merriam Webster defines the latter quite simply as “a wine steward”. Other definitions elaborate on this and describe a sommelier as a “trained and knowledgeable wine professional, who specializes in all aspects of wine service as well as wine and food pairing”. Since the exponential growth in the craft beer industry, there has been a need for a similarly trained person with knowledge of beer production, storage and service and who can guide consumers to the right beer choice for their palate or food pairing. The word cicerone actually means “tour guide”. A more formal definition is “one who conducts visitors and sightseers to museums and explains matters of archaeological, antiquarian, historic or artistic interest.” Hence a beer cicerone is one who can guide visitors in the complex world of beers and guide them to what may interest them.
So what is this program ?
The Cicerone Certification Program is an educational program conducted by the Craft Beer Institute and focuses on five aspects of beer:
- Beer Storage, Sales and Service
Beer Styles and Culture
Beer Tasting and Flavors
Brewing Ingredients and Processes
Pairing Beer with Food
The program has three distinct levels, which require an increasing level of knowledge and more rigorous testing. The first level, Certified Beer Server, requires a 60 question on-line exam and is relatively easy for anyone who has spent some significant time brewing or serving beer. The second level, Certified Cicerone ®, is much more intensive and requires a pretty hefty exam covering a written portion comprising 150 questions and three essays, a tasting portion of 12 different beer samples focused on detecting beer defects and identifying beer styles, and a demonstration portion, in which you are asked to demonstrate a beer keeping or serving practice. It requires an overall grade of 80% or higher to pass.
How did I prepare ?
Study, study, study. There’s a lot of material out there, but in addition to reading the resources listed on the Cicerone website, I highly recommend the “Beer Scholar Study Guide for the Certified Cicerone Exam” by Chris Cohen. The cost is moderate, but you’re already set on taking a quite expensive and long exam that I felt it to be well worth it.
How did I do ?
I walked into the exam room at 9:30 in the morning and walked out after the demonstration around 1:30 or so in the afternoon. So yes, that’s four hours. Be prepared to sit down for quite a while and concentrate for an extended period of time. I was quite pleased with my overall score and had a quite decent margin above the required 80%. I haven’t heard of anyone scoring a full 100%, but just the fact that I passed at the first attempt was cause for some exhilaration and celebration when I received my scores.
What’s next ?
That’s a question I actually get asked regularly. And the plain and simple answer is “I don’t know”. Obtaining my Certified Cicerone ® was a personal goal. I would eventually love to conduct some beer teaching or intro classes. I am still constantly amazed at how many people are only now starting to explore the world of high quality and well made beer. They often come to me with questions such as “What is causing a beer to be so much darker” or “What’s the difference between a lager and a pilsner”. Being able to walk people through this wonderful world of beer that we have at our disposal now, is always a fun and rewarding time for me. Will I ever go “pro” with this ? Only time will tell. We have some ideas on what to do, we have a business plan on how to do it, if you have the money to support us….let us know 😉
In the mean time.. we’ll just keep practicing, enjoying good beer and spreading the word one beer drinker at a time.