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The Story of a Beer Geek!
Hello, I'm Ron Smith and...I'm a Beer Geek! Sure, there are worse afflictions, but this one has nearly controlled my life for about 25 years now. I can't remember when or exactly where I first caught the bug. I think it developed slowly, starting in college with a few darker beers. Then I discovered homebrewing in 1987 and I was on the road to full blown beer geekdom!
After starting homebrewing, I began learning more and more about the world's beer styles, visiting every brewpub I could, and sampling as many commercial beers I could get my hands on. Then I started entering and judging beers in competitions. I have won numerous awards, including a Best of Show at the Indiana Brewer's Cup, a large national competition, and a Gold Medal in the American Homebrewers Association's (AHA) National Homebrew Competition (NHC), which is the largest homebrewing competition in the world.
In the beer judging world, there is a certification exam and a ranking system established by the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP). This very difficult 3 hour exam consists of 10 essay questions and the judging of 4 beers. Ranks include (in ascending order): Apprentice, Recognized, Certified, National and Master / Grand Master. I have currently achieved the National level. There are several thousand people in the BJCP program that have taken the exam, but only approximately 400 of them are at the National or higher level, so this is quite an accomplishment that I'm certainly proud of.
I have also taken and passed the Certified Cicerone exam, becoming one of the first 100 Certified Cicerones in the world. A Cicerone is to the beer world what a Sommelier is to the wine world, except not all Sommeliers are actually tested. See www.Cicerone.org for more information about this program.
I have attended multiple AHA National Conferences and attended numerous seminars presented by many of the leaders of the craft beer industry. I am continually trying to gain more knowledge of brewing and beer styles. I have also traveled throughout Germany and Belgium and learned a great deal first-hand about those countries' wonderful beers and brewing history.
I started leading my initial beer education course as a study group for people, primarily home brewers or commercial brewers, wanting to take the BJCP exam. This was a very intensive course with 11 sessions meeting over the course of 3 months. Each session was 3 - 4 hours long and got heavily involved in water and mashing chemistry, the science of fermentation, and more. I have now led this intensive course 7 times.
Out of these BJCP exam study group courses, which I still teach on a regular basis (see Classes), came the idea to do something for non-brewers and the general public to help them gain a better understanding of this wonderful world of beers as well. This also led to me teaching a 3 credit hour Beer Styles and Sensory Analysis class at Indiana University's Indianapolis campus (IUPUI), which I am currently teaching in the Fall and Spring semesters.
See Classes to learn more about the class descriptions, dates, locations and how to reserve your spot. Remember, if you attend all 3 classes, you will receive your free Beer MBA Certificate.
Under Classes, you can also read about BJCP Study Groups and the private sessions that can be conducted at your home or business as part of a private or corporate event.
Get Your MBA - Master of Beer Appreciation!
- Ron Smith
Class Presenter and Developer
PS: For my day job, I own and manage MarketWise Solutions, a business-to-business (B2B) industrial lead generation, marketing and consulting firm located near Indianapolis, IN (actually in Carmel). I earned a real MBA in Marketing, with honors, from a national top-20 business school. I have over 25 years of marketing experience on both the agency and corporate sides, and started MarketWise Solutions in 1999.
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- BJCP Study Groups and Private / Special Class Sessions Also Available
BJCP Study Groups are conducted occasionally, and special class sessions for beer distributors, wait staff and others in the beer industry can be customized to meet your needs. Private sessions for parties and events can also be arranged. Call to discuss your needs!