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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                 Contact: Ray Daniels – 773-549-4800

NICOLE ERNY EARNS MASTER CICERONE^®

Bay Area beer expert becomes first woman & youngest person as 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, draft systems, beer evaluation, brewing technology and beer and food pairing given November 9 & 10.

While thousands have passed the first level Cicerone exam known as Certified Beer Server, Erny is only the fourth person to earn the Master Cicerone title—the third and top level of the program. She also becomes the first woman and is the youngest of the four who have earned the title. Founded in 2007, the Cicerone Certification Program tests and certifies beer expertise similar to the wine world’s Master Sommelier program. The Master Cicerone exam includes 8 hours of written questions, 2 hours of oral questions and 2 hours of beer tasting and evaluation. Candidates needed an overall score of 85% to pass.

"During the Master Cicerone exam, Erny distinguished herself with her knowledge of all aspects of beer and her skill in tasting beer and creating interesting beer and food pairings," said Ray Daniels, Director of the Cicerone Certification Program.

Since earning her Bachelor’s Degree in 2007, Erny has worked a specialty beer bartender, consultant and beer educator, putting on classes and beer and food pairings. She has sharpened her palate and beer analysis skills as a homebrewed beer judge and already holds the title of National Judge in the Beer Judge Certification Program.

Since it began offering certifications in January 2008, the Cicerone Certification Program has awarded more than 8800 first level certifications, called Certified Beer Server and 335 certifications at the second level of the program, called Certified Cicerone®.  Through 2011, there have been 24 attempts to pass the third-level Master Cicerone exam resulting in the current roster of four Master Cicerones. Erny joins the three other Master Cicerones®: Andrew Van Til of Michigan, David Kahle of Chicago, and Rich Higgins of San Francisco.

The knowledge required for the Master Cicerone certification is outlined in the program’s 19-page Master Syllabus which can be viewed at www.cicerone.org. The website also includes a free 10-question sample exam that allows anyone to assess their Cicerone aptitude.

The Cicerone Certification Program is a service of the Craft Beer Institute, the Chicago-based beer and brewing education organization.  The program is directed by brewer, author and beer educator Ray Daniels. A wide range of breweries, beer distributors and retailers participate in the program.

* Master Cicerone®, Certified Cicerone® and Cicerone® Certification Program are trademarks of the Craft Beer Institute, a Chicago-based beer and brewing education organization.   

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To Contact Nicole Erny:  This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or 510-333-0814

Master Cicerone Backgrounder

Contact Ray Daniels 773-549-4800 - This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

About Master Cicerone® Certification

The knowledge required for the Master Cicerone certification is set forth in the program’s 19-page Master Syllabus which can be viewed at www.cicerone.org.  (Select the “Syllabus” link under “Resources” on the left side of the screen.) The syllabus includes five areas of knowledge:

1.     Keeping & Serving Beer

2.     Beer Styles

3.     Beer Flavor & Evaluation

4.     Beer Ingredients & Brewing Processes

5.     Pairing Beer with Food

The Master Cicerone exam weighs each of these five areas equally and a passing score is 85%.

The exam was divided into written, oral and tasting sections.  The exam is conducted over a two-day period, with about 7 hours of examination time each day.  Each morning or afternoon session consists of a three-hour session where the candidates work on their responses to written questions, but during the session each one is pulled out for a half-hour oral exam with one of the master examiners.  At the conclusion of this three-hour session, the candidates are given a tasting exam consisting of four to seven samples.

Example questions from the written exam include the following:

What is a “beer clean” glass and what is required to achieve it? How can you tell if a glass is beer clean before putting beer in it? Once a beer has been poured into a glass what signs would indicate that the glass had not been beer clean to start with?

Discuss the making of smoked beer including production of any special raw ingredients that might be needed. Where relevant, discuss differences between the production approaches used in various parts of the world and the differences in flavor that may result. Give commercial examples.

Discuss the basic structure and operation of a hop back, telling when it would be used in the brewing process, what ingredients or supplies would be needed and how it affects the flavor of the finished beer.

Compare and contrast the Flanders Red and Flanders Brown (Oud Bruin) beer styles with regard to ingredients and finished beer character including flavor, mouthfeel and appearance. Provide quantitative measures and commercial examples for each style.

Compare and contrast the Bock and Maibock styles with regard to ingredients and finished beer character including flavor, mouthfeel and appearance. Provide quantitative measures and commercial examples for each style.

Select a small brewery from Japan, Italy, The Netherlands, Denmark, Norway or Sweden whose products you have tasted and identify three beers they make, giving the name and style classification and discussing the flavor attributes of each one.  (If the beer is not marketed under a style name, state what style you believe the beer to be.)

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In addition to essay questions the written exam included:

·       Preparation of a five-course food and beer pairing dinner from specified menus, and

·       Calculation of draft system specifications for various retail situations including both straight CO₂ and mixed-gas dispense.

Portions of the 2011 Master Cicerone exam sessions were conducted in the brewery at Emmett’s Tavern & Brewing Company in Palatine, IL and in the draft beer laboratory owned by Micro Matic USA in Machesney Park, IL.

The Master Cicerone exam included oral examination by industry experts covering the topics of draft beer service, beer styles, beer and food pairing and brewing ingredients and process. The master examiners are widely recognized industry experts, included the following:

John Mallett – Production Manager, Bell’s Brewery

Don Feinberg – Belgian Beer Expert and Importer

Ray Daniels – Director of the Cicerone Certification Program

David Green – Instructor at the Micro Matic Beer Dispense Institute.

The master examiners also conduct specific sensory assessments with the candidates, tasting beer, sampling ingredients or testing beer and food pairings together.

Five additional experts participated in grading of the written exams, including Garrett Oliver, editor of The Oxford Companion to Beer and brewmaster at Brooklyn Brewing and well-known author Randy Mosher.

Prior to taking the Master Cicerone exam, each candidate must take and pass the lower level exams for Certified Beer Server and Certified Cicerone^®.

Finally, candidates for Master Cicerone must demonstrate that they have at least two years experience in beer sales or service.  

Master Cicerone^®, Certified Cicerone^® and Cicerone^® Certification Program are trademarks of the Craft Beer Institute, a Chicago-based beer and brewing education organization.

For further information about the Cicerone Certification Program, contact Ray Daniels, 773-549-4800 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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