Before I get to telling you about what a Certified Cicerone® is, I wanted to give you a little bit of background about myself and how I found out what a Certified Cicerone® is. I've been in the same job for a long time. A long time being almost 7 years. That's a personal record for me at one place of employment. I usually bore of a job, or find a better one, or move to a new city, or some combination of all those things, and I move on to greener pastures (or less brown pastures, at least). I probably would have moved on from this current job by now, but it's not too bad, pays the bills, keeps food on the table, and keeps me out of trouble (for the most part). I do look around at other opportunities, but for what I need, I can't just quit and start at the bottom some place entirely new.
So I starting looking into some sort of training. A new skill that I would have with me forever. Something that wasn't specific to one job. My girlfriend, knowing that I love beer, and all things beer related, mentioned to me that a friend of hers had recently gotten a job managing a local brew pub, and part of the reason that friend got that job was because of her getting specific training in beer knowledge. Well, holy sh$t, I thought, that's the ticket! I want to learn everything there is to know about beer, and get a job that is based around that! Sounds pretty awesome to me! I learned that the gateway to this knowledge came from www.cicerone.org, which is an online site that, basically, tells you where to go get the knowledge you need about beer, and then come back to them to take a test for certification. Perfect, I thought. Something I can do on my own time, and at my own pace. So, I checked out the site, and I was very pleased with what I discovered.
A Certified Cicerone® is to the beer world what a sommelier is to the wine world, or at least that is the best comparison I can come up with. Being called one is an honor, and carries with it proof of your knowledge in your respective field of study. The Cicerone® Certification Program is put together by Ray Daniels (pictured above), who anyone familiar with homebrewing will tell you, is a major player in the craft beer world. He brings with him a wealth of knowledge and experience on what it takes to really know your stuff when it comes to beer. Most importantly, he brings complete credibility to the program, which was an absolute must for me. His credentials speak for themselves on the bottom of this page There is no point in spending the time to learn everything if the certification you get at the end doesn't mean anything to people in the beverage industry. Well, actually that isn't entirely true. Learning about beer is a lot of fun on its own, but it is nice to have something to show for your knowledge. I have truly enjoyed learning all that I have about beer, especially the history of different breweries and styles of beers, and those are things I might not have found out as much about without this program. Every book I have read from the programs' excellent resource list has been full of interesting and useful information. I plan on getting into the history of various beers and breweries in later posts. I think it makes drinking beer much more interesting if you know a little about what you are sipping on and where it came from.
As far as my progress in the program goes, it is slow and steady. There is a lot to learn. I have passed the first exam, which is the Certified Beer Server. It involved a series of multiple choice questions, and was pretty simple in its structure. The next exam is the Certified Cicerone® exam, and it is much, much more thorough. It involves both a written and tasting exam to be completed over the course of a weekend, and from what I hear, the pass rate is under 50%, so this exam is no sure thing. I'm pretty excited about the challenge of passing this exam and I will chronicle what I am doing to get ready for it in this blog. I've seen certificates posted up in some of the local breweries that I visit, and I know when I see those, that the person I am talking to behind the bar knows what they are talking about and truly cares about their craft.
The third, and final level of certification in the program is the Master Cicerone®. This level of certification requires a vast amount of knowledge, acquired through years of study and practice. There are only 7 Master Cicerones® in the world, so it is truly a prestigious honor to be a member of this exclusive club.
If you are interested in diving into the world of beer, and want to take your knowledge and career in the beverage industry to new heights, check out the Cicerone® Certification Program. I'm sure you will find it as rewarding as I have. Cheers!
www.cicerone.org
www.cicerone.org
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