Atlantic Canada Beer News

Details on the Certified Cicerone® Exam at Halifax Club, Jan. 23, 2014

Posted by acbbchris on 2013-12-17
Posted in: Atlantic Canada Beer News. Tagged: Beerthief, Cicerone Certification Program, Mirella Amato. Leave a Comment

There are many folks out there who claim to know everything there is about beer. The Cicerone Certification Program was created several years ago as a way to test and certify knowledge and aptitude of beer serving, storage, beer styles and beer flavours (drinking, and pairing with food). On Thursday, January 23rd, 2014, there will be a Certified Cicerone® Exam held at The Halifax Club, the first time this exam has been held in Atlantic Canada. For more information on the exam, we reached out to several people involved with the Cicerone Program.

First, we connected with Mirella Amato, one of only seven Master Cicerones® (and the first outside of the US), and the person who will be administering the Exam on Jan 23rd.

ACBB: Who is the Cicerone program aimed towards?

Mirella: The Cicerone Certification program is geared towards industry professionals. It was created to help ensure that beer was being stored and served properly.

What are the different levels of the Cicerone program?

There are three levels: Certified Beer Server, which is an online exam; Certified Cicerone®, which is a four hour in-person exam; and Master Cicerone®, which is a fourteen hour exam. Each level builds on the previous one.

What are the requirements to sit the Certified Cicerone exam?

The only pre-requisite for the Certified Cicerone® exam is to have passed the Certified Beer Server exam. Having said this, it is a challenging exam; I highly recommend having a look at the Certified Cicerone® Syllabus before registering. The Syllabus outlines everything you need to know in order to pass; it can be used as a checklist. Of course, you also have to be of legal drinking age because there is a tasting component to the exam.

Can you tell me about the test format?

The Certified Cicerone® exam has a written portion that includes both short answer questions and essay questions. There is then a tasting portion to the exam as well as an oral component that usually takes the form of a demonstration. You need to achieve a grade of 80% to pass the exam, and also have to have scored at least 70% on the tasting portion.

What resources would be useful in preparation for the exam?

The Syllabus is definitely the number one resource. As I mentioned earlier, it lists everything that could be on the exam. If you’re comfortable with all of the topics covered in the syllabus, you’ll be fine. The Cicerone website also has a list of resources and tools to help people along. A couple of them – off-flavour kits and style cards- are not yet available in Canada, but we’re working on that.

Please tell me about your experience as a Cicerone® (first Certified, then Master).

I found the Cicerone Certification Program to be a great way to focus my studies, working towards a specific goal. Beyond that, as a beer specialist, I wanted my clients to know that they could trust my level of expertise. When I first became a Certified Cicerone®, no one really knew what it meant, so there was a lot of education to be done. Now, I’m hearing stories from beer specialists who say they’re frequently asked if they are Certified Cicerones®. It’s great to see that an increasing number of people are becoming aware of the certification and what it means.
I was thrilled when I passed the Master Cicerone® exam – it’s incredibly challenging. Having added consultancy services to my portfolio, it made sense to work towards that certification. Again, it was a way to demonstrate that I’d achieved a certain level of knowledge. I’ve gotten so much positive feedback on my accomplishment – because I was the first person outside of the US to pass the exam. There are currently 25 Certified Cicerones® in Canada.

If someone is just hearing about the exam now, will they be in with a chance, 6 weeks out of the exam?

When I took my Certified Cicerone® exam, my friend Dominic – who is a professional brewer in Québec, as well as a BJCP judge – took it with me. I think he studied for about a week – simply filling in the gaps that he identified in reading the syllabus. I had been studying for about six weeks, doing the same thing. We both passed the exam… how long it takes to prep for the exam depends on the individual. Six weeks is definitely not enough time for someone who doesn’t know anything about beer to work up to the Certified Cicerone® level.

Mirella has outlined her keys to successfully passing the exam on her website, including a great group of curated links to resources.

We also caught up with Mike Buhler, a Certified Cicerone® (the first in Atlantic Canada) who passed the exam mid-2013. Mike, better known as the Beerthief, lives in Newfoundland and holds tastings and administers the Newfoundland Artisanal and Craft Beer Club, bringing excellent beer not otherwise available in the province.

What additional resources would you suggest consulting to succeed at the exam?

Best resources include Randy Mosher’s Tasting Beer and the Beer Judge Certificatiom Program (BJCP) Style Guidelines. Garrett Oliver’s The Brewmaster’s Table is an excellent resource, plus tasting and getting to know as many styles as possible. Researching national, provincial and local liquor laws is worth doing as well.

Tell us about your experience with sitting the Certified Cicerone® exam

I studied on and off for almost a year and a half between working and other commitments, plus tasting in the area of 750 beers to prepare for the exam. I first sat it in Toronto in February 2013 and missed it by a minimal number of points. I then scrambled to rebook in the Bronx in March (plus studying like a fiend as well). The airline cancelled my flight the night before and I was scrambling again to rebook! Fortunately, I was able to get seats on a plane and a seat in the next exam in DC the following week. This time I passed, but for the second time, my weakest score was in the style category, despite tasting many different beer all around the world.

Any final words for people considering taking the exam?

I think it’s a great program that will drive  the level of service up for customers everywhere. As for succeeding in passing the Certified Cicerone exam with only six weeks to prepare, I would say this is virtuously impossible without a substantial background in beer across a broad spectrum of topics. Atlantic Canada is particularly hard due to the lack of beer selections to learn styles and know about for both the written and tasting perspectives.

So, what to do if you’d like to take the exam on the 23rd? First and foremost, study the syllabus of the Certified Beer Server, and take that exam. This online exam is a pre-requisite to sit the Certified Cicerone® exam, and a great way to confirm that the program is for you. After completing that, sign up for the Jan 23rd exam. Several of the other people taking the Halifax exam are part of a Facebook group, so join that to schedule virtual and in-person study sessions. And keep in mind that the exam is only scheduled when there is a demand for it, and may not happen locally again for a long time, so if you were contemplating taking it, strike while the iron is hot!

Atlantic Canadian Beer Blog Holiday Gift Guide 2013

Posted by acbbchris on 2013-12-16
Posted in: Atlantic Canada Beer News. Tagged: Big Spruce Brewing, Boxing Rock Brewing, Brewnosers, Everwood Ave, Fredericton Craft Beer Festival, Garrison Brewing, Great Canadian Beer Expo, Noble Grape, Paddys Irish Brewpub, PEI Brewing, Picaroons Traditional Ales, Propeller Brewing, Quidi Vidi Brewery, Saint John Beer Fest, Sea Level Brewing. 2 comments

Happy Monday! We hope that everyone stayed safe and warm over the weekend. With the first real snow falling in the Atlantic Provinces, our thoughts turn to Christmas and other reasons to get together with friends and family. Why not get the beer-lover on your list something special from your local brewery? We’ve compiled a list of fun and interesting brewery- and beer-related gifts, to make any Cerevisaphile happy on December 25th (or any other day of the year!).

Gift Baskets

boxingrockbasket_final

Several breweries in our region are doing up gift baskets, including Boxing Rock in Shelburne, NS. They have several basket examples in the $30-$80 range, but are also happy to tailor them to your exact specifications. Baskets can include 1.89L growlers, 1L growlers, trucker hats, toques, glassware, t-shirts and long sleeve shirts, books, magazines, cards, bottle trays, magnets and keychains/bottle openers. And of course, beer! Their just-released U-889 Russian Imperial Stout is a great beer to sip beside the fire on a chilly winter night. You can contact them via email or phone (902-494-9233 ext 3, ask for store manager Carmen) to order.

propellerbasket_final

Propeller Brewing in Halifax also has a few gift basket options available. Their $50 Gift Baskets include a sixpack of beer, t-shirt, Two single 650ml or 500ml beer (their Revolution Russian Imperial Stout is a great choice here), 2 bottles of pop (Ginger or Root Beer), two glasses, a bottle opener and 4 pin-back buttons. They are happy to mix and match customer baskets as well, to fit any budget. Drop by their Halifax or Dartmouth locations to check out the options.

Breweriana

garrisongear

There is no shortage of breweries selling tshirts and glassware in our region, so why not choose something a bit unique to put under the tree this season? Garrison Brewing in Halifax has several items that certainly fit that bill: they sell everything from soap to tin signs to put up in your home bar. Plus their Spruce Beer is a great way to get Christmas in a bottle!

bigspruceswag_final

Big Spruce Brewing in Cape Breton also has some great items available: how about a forged steel double-growler holder, spent grain granola, or Picante Kitchen Party Pale Ale Pickled Carrots? Drop by their brewery in Nyanza or the Cape Breton Farmers’ Market every Saturday in Sydney River to grab these and more unique gifts.

PEIBrewing

Another brewery with a variety of gift options is PEI Brewing Company. Every day from Dec 10-21st they have been offering up a different free gift or special price on their gift ideas, including coffee mugs and free tours of the brewery. Check out their retail store for more details. And look for their 6.5 % Bock, infused with vanilla bean, bourbon, and oak chips, available soon in growlers at the brewery and Gahan House Pub.

Specialty Beers

You’ve got a basket/stocking full of  tshirts, hats and glasses, so what about the beer to go with all of that? Well, your local breweries have you covered as well!

As mentioned above, Russian Imperial Stouts are popular this time of year, as well as other darker, more robust beers, or beers using spices not normally chosen in the warmer months. Quidi Vidi brewery outside of St. Johns’s, NL, has brewed up their Winter Ale, a dark rich ale, brewed with coriander, cacao and vanilla. Look for it at the NLC. Paddys Irish Brewpub have released their Frost Biter Winter Warmer, with notes of chocolate and weighing in at 6%. Pick up a growler to share! And Sea Level Brewing will have their High Street Wee Heavy available shortly in cans and growlers. Weighing in at 6.3%, it features a complex malt body and slight smokiness in the finish.

picaroons

Picaroons Brewing in Fredericton is taking it to a whole other level, with their annual 12 Beers of Christmas event. From the 12th to the 23rd of December, they are releasing a new beer daily, only available in growlers at their Queen St Brewtique. Check their Twitter or Facebook pages at noon for the announcement, and be sure to show up promptly at 4pm (or earlier), as they sell out quickly! So far this year they’ve released their Dark & Stormy Night infused with orange and dark chocolate, their Yippee IPA with spruce tips, Timber Hog Stout with vanilla/hazelnut/chocolate coffee beans and their Blonde beer infused with cranberries. Also look for snazzy locally-produced wooden coasters at the Brewtique, great stocking stuffer material!

Event Tickets

If you are looking for more of an event-based gift, why not choose tickets to some of the upcoming beer events or festivals? Over the next few months, there will be several events worthy of your attention. The Fredericton Craft Beer Festival is taking place at the Fredericton Convention Centre March 8, 2014, and will feature the festival debut of new ciderhouse and breweries in the region (Red Rover and Hammond River). Less than a month later, on April 5th, the Saint John Beer Fest takes place at Harbour Station, and will help to thaw off some winter freeze. A new festival in the Maritime provinces is the Great Canadian Beer Expo, in its first year. It will be visiting Sydney, Halifax, Moncton, Saint John, Fredericton and Charlottetown, with two nights in each city. Tickets for all of these festivals are on sale now!

Homebrewing

Why not turn your beer-enthused friend or family member onto homebrewing? Getting started is very simple, all you need is a bucket and a kit to make good beer at home. For those looking to do a bit more, Halifax homebrew shop Everwood Ave has everything a new brewer (or seasoned veteran) would need, from grain and hops, to kegging and bottling equipment. For someone who likes to experiment with out-there styles, maybe a one-gallon all-grain kit is the way to go (in case an experiment goes wrong, very little is lost; or for brewers with very limited space)? They will ship anywhere in the region (and beyond), and if you order today it will arrive before the 24th. Home beer and wine makers are both served by Noble Grape, with several locations throughout the HRM, Annapolis Valley and Fredericton, NB, including many that offer onsite winemaking. They also carry the Festa Brew line of wort kits, which is a great way to start onto a path to brewing. The direct them to the Brewnosers forums for great resources from fellow homebrewers, always happy to help out new brewers.

We hope this brief list of gift ideas helps to spark something for you this gift-giving season. Remember to support your local brewery, keeping jobs in our region. Please leave your favourite beer-related gift ideas in the comments!

La Nanobrasserie Acadie-Broue du Nouveau Brunswick Lancera Deux Nouvelles Bières Bientôt

Posted by acbbshawn on 2013-12-11
Posted in: Atlantic Canada Beer News. Tagged: Acadie-Broue, Marky's Laudromat. Leave a Comment

acadie

Nous avons eu récemment l’occasion de discuter avec Patrice Godin, maître-brasseur et propriétaire d’Acadie-Broue, une nanobrasserie du Nouveau-Brunswick bien connue pour ces excellentes bières de styles belges et allemandes (pour une vue d’ensemble sur Patrice et Acadie-Broue nous avons fait en mai 2012, cliquez ici). Patrice brasse seulement de très petits brassins – toutes ses bières sont disponibles exclusivement à la Landromat Espresso Bar (aussi connu comme Marky’s) à Moncton – Acadie-Broue va ralentir sa production pour les mois à venir, car avec sa configuration il n’est pas possible de brasser dans les températures froides de l’hiver. Heureusement pour nous tous, il a eu récemment deux nouvelles bières approuvées par ANBL pour la vente chez Marky’s!

(ATTENTION: Les informations de la bière suivante est légèrement technique, et certaines informations peuvent seulement être appréciées par les brasseurs amateurs et connaisseurs de bière sérieux)

Hefeweizen

La première bière qui a été récemment approuvé est appelé “Valdrague Weizen”, une bière de blé dans le style de Hefeweizen classique allemand. Patrice dit qu’il a toujours été un grand fan de ce style de bière, et a été déçu de ce qui est disponible dans les provinces de l’Atlantique. Après avoir goûté un excellent exemple du style de la brasserie Denison’s à Toronto, Patrice a été inspiré pour créer sa propre interprétation.

Hefeweizen est un style de bière qui a classiquement une recette simple, composé généralement de malt de blé et Pilsner malt à un ratio de 1:1 (en Allemagne, la loi stipule que la bière étiquetée comme un Hefeweizen doit contenir au moins 50% de malt de blé). Patrice a suivi cette direction, et brassée deux lots, en utilisant de faibles quantités de variétés “noble” de houblon Saaz et Hallertauer. Pour la fermentation, il a choisi la 3068 Weihenstephan Weizen de Wyeast, une levure de la plus ancienne brasserie fonctionnelle dans le monde, la brasserie Weihenstephan en Allemagne. Fermentée à temperature relativement basse à environ 17 degrés Celsius, le premier brassin était très savoureux, mais manquait un peu du caractère de girofle bien connu dans le style. Avec le deuxième lot, Patrice a ajouté un stage férulique classique dans le processus de brassage, qui a abouti à un meilleur équilibre entre le clou de girofle et les notes de banane typiques.

Un peu d’histoire sur le nom Valdrague. C’est un mot Acadien qui signifie “un travail fait à la vitesse”. Patrice décrit la bière comme très trouble (correcte pour le style), au premier coup d’œil, il semble que la bière a été brassée rapidement et négligemment, ou “à la Valdrague”. Le nom a aussi un clin d’œil à ses origines allemandes, comme les initiales “VW” se rapportent à la société automobile allemande, Volkswagen. Avec 15 IBU et un ABV de 5%, les cinq barils de Valdrague Weizen devraient être disponibles au chez Marky’s cette semaine.

Lambic

Pour en revenir à sa passion principale, les styles de bières obscures, Patrice rendra public une bière dans la catégorie aigre, un Lambic droit (non mélangé). C’est un style de bière qui est pâle et à base de blé, mais différente par rapport à d’autres bières de blé car elle est aigre, acide … et sans carbonatation, ou plate. Les lambics de différents âges sont habituellement mélangés pour produire la Gueuze, qui est similaire à la saveur et l’arôme de Lambic, mais finit par être une bière pétillant. À notre connaissance, c’est la première fois qu’une brasserie des province de l’Atlantique a lancé une bière de style Lambic, ce qui rend cette version particulière extra-spécial!

Patrice a un fût de bois de 5 gallons qu’il a utilisé pour la fermentation d’autres bières dans le passé. Les fûts sont bien connus dans le monde brassicole pour conférer leur propre caractère dans la bière. Quand Patrice a fait son premier essai avec le style Lambic, il l’avait fermenté dans le barillet avec seulement de la levures Brettanomyces, une levure sauvage, et Lactobacillus, des bactéries d’acidification. Après soutirage de la bière du baril, il a laissé le “gâteau” résultant – la suspension contenant la levure et les bactéries – et y a ajouté de la moût fraiche pour redémarrer une autre fermentation dans le barillet. Cette fois, il a remarqué une caractère aigre développé dans la bière après seulement 10 jours, et la bière a continué à gagner en complexité très rapidement. Patrice a continué à laisser la bière maturité pour encore 6 mois, avant de le soumettre à la ANBL, il a récemment été approuvé pour la vente au Nouveau-Brunswick.

Cette bière est nommée “Zirable”, le mot Acadien pour “c’est dégelasse!”. Quand il a nommé la bière, Patrice prenait une approche “anti-marketing” … nous sommes sûrs que cette bière malgré son approche anti-marketing sera loin d’être dégelasse! Elle tire à 5% ABV, et est décrit par Patrice comme étant légèrement aigre et acide, avec beaucoup de “saveurs boisées” en raison de la petite taille du baril (qui offre plus de contacts avec la bière). Patrice a l’intention de donner à la bière un peu plus de temps pour conditionner, alors regardez pour Zirable chez Marky’s au début ou mi 2014. Il y aura un seul baril de cette bière disponible, donc restez en contact avec les pages Facebook d’ Acadie-Broue et Marky’s pour savoir exactement quand il sera en vente!

Je ne sais pas pour vous, mais je suis excité par ces bières! Ok, je suis excité au sujet de la plupart des bières, mais celles-ci sonnent très excitantes.   Si nous regardons l’historique et la gamme qu’a offert Patrice jusqu’à présent, nous ne serons pas déçu!

For an English version of this article, please click here.