We ended 2021 and/or started off 2022 with the homebrew Jar of Destiny The choices in the jar were all based on the 2015 guidelines. Of course, right after we chose our first wooden nickels, we learned there was a change at the old beer judge certification program. Learn more about what we think about the 2021 BJCP guidelines update.

What Changed?

Well, thankfully – it wasn’t a revision. We would need to throw out all of the wooden nickels in the Jar o’ Destiny. A BJCP update just has some small changes. Here are some of them:

  • Sour beers had some descriptors adjusted and there is a new Straight Sour Beer style.
  • Sweet Beers saw some changes along with an added Specialty Spice Beer style.
  • Oh yeah, New England IPAs are now Hazy IPAs. You couldn’t let NE have that one, eh?

All in all, the 2021 BJCP guidelines update wasn’t too shattering. We do like what the organization has done to improve beer knowledge and to encourage people to become judges. Mike has some issues with the revision that happened back in 2015 since it had more of a historical bent rather than a categorization by style. He liked having all the stouts in one place and all the IPAs in one place.

Mike was also saying that people sometimes mistake the beers listed as commercial examples of the style to be in some sort of order. Instead of just a number of beers added as examples, the first one was understood to be the most representative version of the style. Now, I never saw it as that but can see how people could. I think sometimes we make this beer thing too complex for our own good. Just relax, right?

In these troubled times, I’d rather have things that are simple and good.

Brew ON!