In honor of this week's Beer Issue (check the stands on Wednesday), I'll be devoting this entire week to the stories that couldn't make it into the issue. And, unlike my aborted beer-a-day experiment, I won't get tired and fall asleep after each one.
When I visited with the Tampa Bay BEERS homebrew club for the issue, I ended up spending time with Jeff Gladish and Mark Stober, two long-time members who happen to be "beer judges" certified by the BJCP. There are four different levels of certification — recognized, certified, national and master; both Stober and Gladish recently made master.
The original exam consisted of an intensive written exam and a blind judging of three beers, but the trek to master level takes time and judging experience. A lot of time. "I took the exam in 1995," said Stober, "and I just got master two months ago." There are only 69 master level judges in the world and only one other in Florida.
Those keen palates and detailed understanding of competitive beer styles seems like quite an advantage to a brew club that's intent on "taking over the world," according to Gladish. Maybe that's why BEERS is currently in first place among Florida homebrew clubs.
This article appears in Oct 10-16, 2007.