We highly recommend Randy Mosher’s book, Tasting Beer. It discusses beer flavor in a professional way that is useful for anyone who works with beer. You can order it from Amazon.
Resources & Links
This page presents more than one hundred links, files, books, and courses that can help candidates prepare for Cicerone exams of all levels. As they cannot all be listed on one page, we recommend that you use the drop-down menus below to sort the content to suit your needs if this has not already been done.
Please note that we include links to a number of independently prepared resources such as local classroom courses which the Cicerone Certification Program does not endorse or monitor. Cicerone assumes no responsibility for independent resources and users should take appropriate diligence in assessing them.
To become listed here, check our guidelines for independent training courses.
This bit on different strains introduces the four broad groups of beer yeasts: ale, Belgian ale, lager and wheat.
To get some basic terms, start with the Wikipedia discussion of flavor. It does not mention the fact that recent research has identified new tastes, adding fat and carbonation to the basic tastes of sweet, salty, sour, bitter, umami, and metallic.
All you need on water at this level is in this short description.
This article from Beer Advocate gives a pretty good first look at tasting beer properly.
Available free from the American Homebrewers Association. Simple introduction to brewing in magazine form. You can download a PDF of this after giving them your email address.
Regarding skunky flavors, here’s a piece that’s short and sweet.
Good intro to beer and food pairing.
While brewing oriented (excludes important server perspective) contains excellent descriptions of off flavors.
Call the Brewers Association (888-822-6273) and order a copy of their brochure called “American Craft Beer and Food: Perfect Companions” (Cost: $1).
A primer on malted barley.
An excellent introduction to malting (and a good site to look around, too).
Hops are used primarily as a flavoring and stability agent in beer, to which they impart bitter, zesty, or citric flavours.
Basic introduction to hops from How to Brew's website.
Basic introduction to yeast from How to Brew's website.
If you will be serving alcohol or supervising those who do, you’ll probably be required to complete an alcohol server education program suitable for your state. If you do a Google search on “alcohol server training” you’ll find websites that offer suitable programs for your state—usually online—for about $25.
The three-tier system of alcohol distribution is the system for distributing alcoholic beverages set up in the United States after the repeal of Prohibition.
Overall draft issues.
Concise presentation of how to pour a beer properly.
For important info about beer clean glassware, we strongly recommend pages 3 and 4 of this document. (Other pages are a bit more advanced.)
Intox has information about the effects of alcohol and responsible serving that you may find useful.
Oregon has information about the effects of alcohol and responsible serving that you may find useful.
BREW-ed was started by Certified Cicerone® and professional beer educator Cliff Mori to raise public understanding of beer. Through staff education, menu planning for restaurants and bars, beer themed private events and fun and informative brewery tours, BREW-ed is working to make craft beer drinkers as knowledgeable as they are passionate.
Don't just sell your beer, achieve a new level of consciousness with it. Scott Kerkmans, Professional Brewer, Chief Beer Officer, GABF Judge and one of the first five Certified Cicerones ever walks your team through all the necessary information you need to sell more beer, pass exams and understand this delicious beverage. Online, DVD, In-Person and Craft Beer Sales Training are all available today.