Who are the Certified Cicerones®?      

We've put together a quick video showcasing a few of the individuals who have achieved the rank of Certified Cicerone®. Head over here to see the full roster of more than 400 Certified Cicerones®. We had this on display as a slideshow at our booth in San Diego, during the Craft Brewers Conference 2012.

 
Hopefully you'll recognize a face or two in there. Maybe one of them is you?

 

 

 

Cicerone Program Turns 10,000

On February 14, 2012 the Cicerone Certification Program issued Certified Beer Server certificate number 10,000, passing a milestone that demonstrates widespread acceptance and respect for the program throughout the brewing and beer service community. The move into 5-figures of beer servers comes just four years and 42 days after this first-level exam was first offered to the public in the early days of January 2008.
 
Today the program counts Certified Beer Servers in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, each of the Canadian provinces and a range of other countries including Australia and Britain. In the US, California boasts the largest number with more than 1200; Wyoming has the fewest with just one. Twenty-two states each have more than 100 Certified Beer Servers.
 
When it was launched, the Cicerone Certification Program brought a new concept to the beer & hospitality industries. Namely, that selling and serving beer wasn’t just a simple matter of popping the top off a longneck. After decades of virtual uniformity, beers were no longer all the same; serving them well required knowledge about many styles and flavors. And despite common belief, beer was not immutable. The actions of servers, bars and distributors could spoil beer’s flavor. And finally: that beer’s broad range of grain, hop and yeast flavors expressed in a wide variety of styles made an unbeatable partner for many foods.
 
Of course acceptance of the new idea took time. While ten eager early adopters took the Certified Beer Server exam the first day it was available in 2008, fewer than one a day would complete the exam throughout the rest of that first year. It took until March of 2010 to reach certificate 1,000.  But by then things had begun to develop rapidly. The program grew four-fold in 2010 and tripled in size again in 2011.

 

 

Erny Becomes First Woman Master Cicerone®

 

Chicago – January 5 – The Cicerone®Certification Program today announced that Nicole Erny of Oakland, CA earned the title of Master Cicerone® during testing in November. Erny earned the certification through a series of exams culminating with two days of intense taste testing plus written and oral questioning about beer styles, beer service, draft systems, beer evaluation, brewing technology and beer and food pairing given November 9 & 10.

 Erny joins the elite ranks of Master Cicerones which includes just three other individuals: Rich Higgins of San Francisco, Dave Kahle of Chicago and Andrew Van Til of Michigan. Erny is both the first woman to earn this honor and also the youngest ever to acheve this. Click here for full release and photo.

 

 

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A Quick Introduction 

 

"Cicerone" is pronounced "sis-uh-rohn"

 

The Cicerone Certification Program seeks to ensure that consumers receive the best possible beer and enjoy its flavors to the greatest extent possible.  To facilitate this, those who sell and serve beer need to acquire knowledge in five areas:   

 

     Beer Storage, Sales and Service

     Beer Styles and Culture

     Beer Tasting and Flavors

     Brewing Ingredients and Processes

     Pairing Beer with Food 

 

To encourage participation by those with various interests and ambitions, the program offers three levels of certification beginning with the simplest and building to the most complex and demanding: 

 

     1.   Certified Beer Server

     2.   Certified Cicerone®

     3.   Master Cicerone®

 

Next steps: 

     1) Register as a user of this site so you can access the sample exam and study resources.

     2) Go to "Get Started" to begin your progress toward Certified Cicerone®.