Cicerone Certified Beer Server Exam Study Guide Part I – German/Czech Styles

This is the first post in a series on knowledge for the Cicerone Certified Beer Server Exam. All information disseminated is from the syllabus provided by the Cicerone website and mixed with my own thoughts. I’m doing this to 1) help me learn the material and 2) share the knowledge with people who haven’t heard of the exam or are planning to take the exam.

Feel free to skip ahead to other sections. Here’s a list of all the study guide parts:

• Part I – German/Czech Styles
• Part II – Belgian/French Styles
• Part III – British Styles
• Part IV – American Styles
• Part V – Off-Flavors

Please study with me as I hope to take the exam this fall.

One of the topics I need to study the most is Beer Styles and specifically the History, characteristics, and flavor attributes of styles by region section.

One quick note – PB stands for Perceived Bitterness

This is Part I on German/Czech Styles:

German/Czech Styles

Lagers

Pale

German Pilsner

• PB – Assertive
• Color – Straw to gold
• ABV – Normal

Wednesday Review: New Belgium Trippel

The beer of the weekend – New Belgium Trippel

It took 20 minutes of pacing the beer aisle of Harris Teeter last Friday but I decided to pick up a six-pack of New Belgium Trippel, which I had never had before.

New Belgium, out of Fort Collins, Colorado, has brought us great beers such as Fat Tire, Snow Day and one of my favorites, the retired 2˚ Below.

Critical information:

• Started being produced in 1992
• 7.8% ABV
• 25 IBUs
• 221 calories
• Hops: Saaz, Liberty, Target
• Malts: Pale, Munich, Victory
• Spice: Coriander

My experience:

I poured the Belgian style ale into a Weizen glass. It had a white head that lasted two or so minutes. It was very carbonated and bubbled for a long time. It had an orange-brown color and was extremely see-through, helping to accent the bubbles.

It smelled of coriander and oranges.

It tasted toasty ending with the hops. It had a light/airy texture. I could really taste the spices. The aftertaste resonated for a while after each sip.

Maybe I was craving bacon at the time but I think it’d go great with a BLT on white. Also I think I’d go well with a hard, sharp Parmesan.

Even at such a high alcohol percentage, I could have quite a few of these in a row. I was pleasantly surprised in how much I liked it and have already bought another six-pack.

Score: 9/10

What new beers have you had recently that you’ve enjoyed?