PATHWAY TO JUDGING
The pathway to judging begins as a Steward, where the role is key to assisting judges with pouring and presenting beer entries. It’s WAY more complicated than it sounds!
As a Steward, you have the opportunity to be an integral part in the process, to watch how it all happens and to learn the basics of beer judging from some of the most experienced talent in the country.
From there, you can try your hand as an Associate Judge where you would evaluate entries alongside Full Judges and participate in discussions.
The big jump is from Associate Judge to Full Judge where you have the authority to evaluate and rank beers independently. The more experienced Full Judges are then selected by the Head Judge to act as Table Captains. They oversee each group of judges, mentor their Associate Judges and ensure consistency and accuracy of the process and evaluations.
So, as you can see the process of getting to a Table Captain requires many hours of judging at a national level but starting as a steward provides valuable experience and basic knowledge of beer judging, while offering responsibility and autonomy. Many brewers or brewery owners are seeing this as a great opportunity to understand the how it all works!
Along the way, all beer judges must continue their education and training to maintain their skills and stay up to date with industry trends and changes.