I'm a judge at the World Beer Cup - Chicago, April 2010

Posted: 28/01/2010 8:16:12 p.m.

Every two years the World Beer Cup is held to find the best beers in the world. It is considered the Olympics of beer.

To be invited as a judge at the World Beer Cup is an honor as it is recognition that you are one of the top beer tasters on the planet.

I was the first New Zealand to be invited to judge back in 2006, and judged again in 2008 and will be judging for my third time in Chicago this April.

It is expected that 120 judges from around the world will spend nearly 3 days judging over 3000 different beers in 90 different defined styles

Every time I tell someone that I am going to be judging at the World Beer Cup I get the same responses “I wish I had your job” and “do you spit or swallow”.

As glamorous as the job sounds, judging 60 to 80 beers a day is actually quiet exhausting. It’s a hard 9 to 5 job. It’s not a matter of sitting there and drinking beers.

You are sitting at a round table with six other judges (generally from all over the world, which can sometimes lead to healthy debate) you are presented with a flight of 8 to 12 beers. You have the style guidelines on hand. In silence you have to assess the quality of each beer, clarity, head, aroma, flavour, balance.

Each of these qualities you note down on a judging sheet, which is ultimately returned to the brewer to give them feedback on what the judges experienced.

Once the notes a complete a discussion will take place to select the top three beers of the flight to go forward to either another qualifying round, or a medal round. At medal round you then have to decide which is Gold, Silver and Bronze.

This process takes a lot of concentration to articulate what your senses are experiencing. It is like taking an all day exam. By the end of the day you are pretty tired, generally over beer, but most times end up socializing over a pint with your newly made international friends.

To spit or swallow? Swallow. To experience the full effect of bitterness from the hops you must pass the beer right back across your palate. Bitterness is experience at the back. So by the time the beer is there it is a swallow.

How much do you drink? You are only drinking maybe up to 30mls per beer, you may have the equivalent of a six pack over eight hours. On the tables there is plenty of water and plain crackers to keep the palate fresh. As the day goes along you progress from the lighter weaker beers to the darker stronger beers.

As hard as it is, it is great fun meeting other like minded, fanatical brewers, beer writers, and beer judges. You make many new life time friends, as well as try some of the greatest beers in the world.

For more information visit http://worldbeercup.org

Follow me on http://twitter.com/epicbeer and you can watch my updates while I am in Chicago from 4th to 11th April