Cicerone Certification Program

The Advanced Cicerone Exam: Attempt 2.1

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In the last post, I wrote about my second attempt at the Advanced Cicerone exam in Texas in October 2016. I had a couple of options after getting a 78 overall on my first attempt and choose to go to Dallas to retake the written only. In hindsight, I should have taken both the written/oral … Read more

A New Level – Part 4 in my Journey to Advanced Cicerone®

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I wasn’t done. I took about one year after I became a Certified Beer Server to become a Certified Cicerone®. It was a massive relief as two years earlier I thought it was something I probably couldn’t do. (See my last post to read about that part of the journey.) I spent that year reading, … Read more

Getting Certified – Part 3 in my Journey to Advanced Cicerone®

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I’ve taken a lot of exams in my life, but I was never more nervous than when I sat for the Certified Cicerone® exam on November 12, 2013. I had worked hard to learn the materials but woke up feeling rough, my allergies were in full effect. That was not a good sign. I got … Read more

The Day My (Beer) Life Changed

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It’s cool when you can point to a day on the calendar and say “my life changed that day.” For me, that day was October 20, 2012. It was a crisp fall day at my neighborhood craft beer festival, the Tennessee Beer Festival in Donelson, TN. The massive oak trees on the lawn of Two … Read more

A Certified Cicerone® takes the MBAA Beer Steward Exam

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I recently passed the Master Brewers Association of the Americas’ Beer Steward exam. Some friends have asked why I bothered with it since I’m a Certified Cicerone®? It’s true, but I’m also a student of beer, and I’m a teacher of beer. There’s nothing I enjoy more than leading Craft Beer 101 at a local … Read more