I helped judge at the Great Arizona Homebrew Competition this weekend. It's a great opportunity to hone my judging skills, but also help a competition. I have develop a set of personal preparations before I judge at homebrew competitions. It's based on what I have heard from other experienced judges, reading, and my personal experience. I hope it may help others...

Smoking – I enjoy the occasional cigar or filling my pipe. But about 2-3 days in advance of a competition I put it aside so that my taste buds aren’t tarnished when I go to judge. The way I see it these people paid to enter a competition, so it's only fair I give them the best job I can.

Food - Starting the day before the competition I am a bit more careful. I tend to avoid spicy foods (Thai, Mexican, etc) and tend to make sure foods aren't too hot so I don't burn my tongue. The morning of the competition I like a bit of eggs lightly fried as protein before I go to the competition since they offer bagels (aka carbs) often before a competition starts. Helps balance your stomach for the judging.

Labels - This one took me a bit to learn but now it's a favorite. If you are or aren't a BJCP judge look at their scoring sheet and print some simple labels. Your name, BJCP rank (optional), BJCP ID (optional), and email address. Believe me after 10 beers into a flight at a competition you'll be happy you did.

Reading - If you are lucky enough to know what category you will be judging, read the categories in advance of competition. Otherwise I like to read off flavors, judging form, and scan the BJCP competition page as a refresher.

Judging – Taste, describe, then look at the requirements and judge. People often look for what the beer should be, then match the beer to it and in doing that you may find the answers you want. If you find what you are tasting then try to match to the requirements you'll get far better results. I can think of at least one beer this weekend I tasted very clear character notes, then compared to the guidelines and realized it was entered into the wrong category.

Have Fun - You get to spend the day drinking beer, so remember enjoy. Responsibly.