Here’s How To Become One Of The World’s True Masters Of Beer

If you like to go out and drink a few beers at night, you’ve probably diversified your tasting into multiple brands and styles of brew. You may even think you’re an expert when it comes to all of these beers. Compared to the true beer masters, however, none of us got a chance.

Foodbeast was graced with the presence of one of the thirteen true experts of all things beer in a recent blind taste test live stream. Jason Pratt, one of the few on the planet to hold the title of Master Cicerone, gave us some expert beer education while also revealing how to attain the name he had worked so hard to achieve.

Master Cicerones are the highest level of Cicerone, which is the beer industry’s equivalent of a wine sommelier. To get to that position, Pratt first had to complete tests for the first three levels of the Cicerone certification program before studying for over a year to take and pass the Master Cicerone exam. Pratt told Foodbeast that the exam is a grueling two-day ordeal that tests participants on how to properly keep and serve beer, identifying styles of beer, being able to spot off-flavors in beer tasting and evaluations, knowing how to brew and the entire brewing process, and how to pair beer with food. An 85% or higher on this test is required to pass, making it one of the hardest certifications to get in the world.

Now, before it just sounds like you have to take some tests to become a Master Cicerone, beer industry experts and members with decades of experience still don’t hold this title. Pratt had been in the industry for around a decade before he passed the exam, so he had plenty of time to learn what he needed to know for the test on the job. Make no mistake, if you want to be a true master of beer, you’re going to have to get to Jason Pratt’s level of expertise first.