Introduction

Anglian Craft Brewers are all for development and helping each other. The club are lucky to have lots of experience at hand. We are lucky to be able to tap into this experience to help bring the standard for the whole club up. Continuous development and always challenging the norm is important to keep moving forward. From August 2025 we’ll be running another set of BJCP judge training sessions aiming to get trainees to complete the BJCP online exam in time for the June 2026 Tasting Exam in London.

The below blog aims to help anyone interested in widening their beer description vocabulary. Being able to concisely describe your beer tasting experience is key to filling out a BJCP scoresheet. Paired with the beer style from the 2021 BJCP Style Guide, you can give accurate feedback.

Sometimes you need a few additional words to describe something, especially when you go for the tasting exam. To help the brewer, it’s good to find faults (not for the beer). When you do find a fault, you need to be able to give constructive feedback to the brewer to help eradicate the fault next time.

Example:

• Flavour contained a buttery pop-corn flavour (diacetyl) ensure you leave the beer on the yeast long enough to clean up fermentation by-products, employ a diacetyl rest and ensure you pitch enough healthy yeast cells.
• Dull aroma, papery, wet-cardboard (oxidation) suggest checking bottling process to ensure you eradicate O2 exposure.

The following headings follow the BJCP scoresheet’s layout and provide some descriptors, then later on there’s a list of intensity descriptors, which is another important consideration to get the best feedback score on your tasting exam possible. Being able to fully fill out a scoresheet with a host of accurate descriptors and intensity levels is important. It makes a huge difference to gives you the best chance at gaining certified status.

The below excerpt is from the BJCP website regarding the exam scoring guide. It shows the judge ranks awarded, based on written exam results:

• 60s: The examinee demonstrates a basic grasp of fundamentals on the written proficiency exam, but there may be some significant knowledge gaps. The judging exam demonstrates the minimum acceptable communication and judging skills expected of a Recognized judge.
• 70s : There can be errors and small gaps in the answers on the written proficiency exam, but depth in answers is not necessary. On the judging exam, at least three of the six exam beers are accurately evaluated. The scoresheets should have reasonably good completeness, descriptive information, and feedback appropriate to the Certified judging level.
• 80s: The written proficiency exam indicates good knowledge of all subjects. Some errors are allowable, but there are no significant gaps and most of the answers demonstrate depth. On the judging exam, at least four of the six exam beers are accurately evaluated with the high quality scoresheets expected of a National judge.
• 90s: The written proficiency exam demonstrates excellent knowledge level. There are no significant errors, no knowledge gaps, good depth to answers, and evidence of independent thought. On the judging exam, it should be obvious that the examinee is an experienced beer taster.  At least five of the six exam beers are accurately evaluated, and the scoresheets have Master levels of completeness, descriptive information, and feedback.

Descriptor Examples for BJCP Scoresheets

The following descriptors aim to help trainee BJCP judges to describe the beer in front of them with accurate descriptions. The below link to the downloadable handout is a shorter version of this blog post for trainee judges to refer to help fill out the scoresheet as fully as possible. It mimics the layout of the current BJCP scoresheet and gives some common descriptors used.

It is worth first understanding the intensity of what you want to describe. This is as important, if not more important, than the characteristic you’re describing. Understanding that you need to describe the intensity at every point allows you to fill out the scoresheets more fully. Doing this WILL make the difference to your final score.

Intensity Descriptors for Sensory Evaluation

Use these to describe the level of each characteristic on the scoresheet:

Aroma / Flavour / Bitterness / Mouthfeel

• None
• Very Low
• Low
• Low-medium
• Moderate/Medium
• Medium-High
• High
• Very High
• Overpowering (use with caution—often a flaw)

These can be paired with specific descriptors, e.g., “moderate citrus hop aroma” or “low roasted malt flavour.”

Aroma Describers

• Malt: bready, biscuity, toasty, caramel, toffee, nutty, chocolatey, roasty, grainy
• Hops: floral, citrusy, piney, herbal, spicy, earthy, resinous, tropical, grassy
• Yeast: fruity (e.g., apple, pear, banana), phenolic (clove, pepper), sulphur, bubblegum
• Other: DMS (cooked corn), diacetyl (buttery), oxidation (papery, stale), alcohol (solvent-like), phenolic (clove, pepper, plastic, sticking plaster/band-aid)

Appearance Describers

• Colour: straw, pale gold, amber, copper, brown, black, opacity, hue (holding a mobile phone light to the glass showed a delightful ruby hue…) 
• Clarity: brilliant, clear, hazy, cloudy, opaque
• Head: white, off-white, tan; persistent, fleeting, creamy, rocky, foamy, lacing (Belgian lacing) bubble sizes consistent/different size bubble, head quickly dispersed, but remained around the edge of the glass…

Flavour Describers

• Malt: sweet, dry, rich, toasty, burnt, caramelized, chocolatey
• Hops: bitter, spice, citrus, floral, earthy, resinous
• Balance: malt-forward, hop-forward, well-balanced
• Yeast: fruity esters, phenolic spice, clean, neutral
• Other: astringent, metallic, sour, buttery, oxidized, alcoholic warmth, 

Mouthfeel Describers

• Body: light, medium, full
• Carbonation: low, moderate, high, spritzy (or a mix of 2x using a hyphen “moderate-high” for in-between perceptions)
• Texture: creamy, smooth, slick, dry, warming, astringent

Overall Impression

It’s essential to be as positive about the beer. Collate your findings into a succinct, but brief overview covering your drinking experience. If needed, you can be less specific on levels here to save space. Ensure you include the intensities in the earlier scoresheet sections.

Talk about drinkability, balance, anything pleasing you find. Always suggest improvements if you can. Ensure that you include fixes for any faults you’ve identified in the earlier scoresheet sections. See the table below for suggestions.

Most importantly, say what you mean. If you liked the beer, say so. If you would like to brew the beer yourself, ask for the recipe. They have your email address on the scoresheet. 

Off-Flavour Describers (for faults)

• Diacetyl – buttery, slick mouthfeel
• DMS – cooked corn, vegetal
• Acetaldehyde – green apple
• Oxidation – cardboard, sherry-like
• Light-struck – skunky/skunked 
• Infection – sour, funky, phenolic, cheese, baby sick

Helpful Tips for Trainees

• Use specific, sensory-based language with their intensities rather than vague terms like “nice” or “good.”
• Reference style expectations from the BJCP guidelines to assess accuracy.
• Avoid overusing the same descriptors—variety shows depth of evaluation.
• Practice with commercial examples and calibrate with experienced judges.

Off-Flavours: Descriptions & Fixes

Off-Flavour	Sensory Description	Common Causes	Fixes / Prevention
Diacetyl	Buttery, butterscotch, slick mouthfeel	Incomplete fermentation, low fermentation temp, bacterial infection	Ensure full fermentation, raise temp for diacetyl rest, use healthy yeast
DMS	Cooked corn, vegetal	Inadequate boil, covered kettle, bacterial contamination	Vigorous boil with lid off, rapid chilling, good sanitation
Acetaldehyde	Green apple, latex, grassy	Premature racking, oxidation, bacterial spoilage	Allow full fermentation, avoid oxygen exposure, proper sanitation
Oxidation	Stale, cardboard, sherry-like	Oxygen exposure during packaging or ageing	Minimize oxygen post-fermentation, use oxygen-scavenging caps
Astringency	Dry, puckering, tannic (like grape skins)	Over-sparging, high pH, excessive hopping	Control sparge temp/pH, avoid over-crushing, moderate hop use
Phenolic (Clove/Band-Aid)	Spicy (OK in some styles), medicinal, plastic-like	Wild yeast or bacteria, chlorine in water	Use filtered water, sanitize thoroughly, control fermentation environment
Sourness (Unintended)	Tart, vinegar, lactic, acetic	Infection by lactobacillus, pediococcus, acetobacter	Sanitize rigorously, avoid oxygen, control fermentation temps
Alcoholic (Hot)	Solvent-like, warming, spicy	High fermentation temp, under-pitching, high gravity wort	Pitch enough yeast, ferment at proper temp, oxygenate wort properly
Butyric	Baby Sick, Cheese, Light dairy sourness	Bacterial infection	Sanitize rigorously, avoid oxygen exposure and spoilage microorganisms.
Light-struck	Skunky	Exposure to light (especially in green/clear bottles)	Use brown bottles, store in dark places

Click this link to open and save a shorter, handout version of this information.

I hope you enjoy this information. Please leave a comment or tell me if there’s anything you’d like to see added/removed.

Homebrewing is a rewarding hobby filled with meet ups and beer testing. It’s a great idea to gain a deeper understand and to learn to understand more about what you’re experiencing and to be able to give accurate feedback. The general conversation then becomes more technical and one of how to improve the beers of every brewer.

Happy brewing (and learning to taste and give better feedback).

Cheers.