Certified Cicerone study guide
Certified Cicerone · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
Certified Cicerone® is Level 2 of the four Cicerone certification levels, sitting between Certified Beer Server (Level 1) and Advanced Cicerone (Level 3). It is aimed at people whose work centres on beer - bartenders, buyers, brewery staff and sales teams - who need to demonstrate a professional body of knowledge plus genuine sensory skill, rather than just list experience on a résumé. The Certified Cicerone study guide has 5 sections and about 1,842 words.
01Keeping and Serving Beer
Three enemies dominate exam questions: light, oxygen, and heat. Ultraviolet and blue-spectrum light degrade iso-alpha acids into 3-methyl-2-butene-1-thiol, the compound responsible for "skunky" or lightstruck character - which is why hops are sold in light-blocking packaging and why brown glass outperforms green and clear.
392 words, about 2 min02Beer Styles
Style questions test whether you can place a beer in a family, name its defining attributes, and separate it from its nearest neighbor. Think in axes: fermentation character (ale vs.
374 words, about 2 min03Beer Flavor and Evaluation
Flavor is a composite. Orthonasal aroma arrives before tasting; retronasal aroma travels up the back of the throat and supplies most of what people call "flavor." The tongue detects sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami, while the trigeminal nerve registers carbonation, alcohol warmth, astringency, and cooling.
323 words, about 2 min04Beer Ingredients and Brewing Processes
Malt supplies fermentable sugars and color; base malts (pale, pilsner) convert, specialty malts (crystal, roasted) add color and flavor and have little diastatic power. Water matters more than most candidates expect: high sulfate sharpens and dries hop bitterness (Burton-on-Trent character), high chloride rounds and sweetens malt perception.
362 words, about 2 min05Pairing Beer with Food
Pairing questions reward a small number of principles applied confidently. A delicate beer disappears beside a rich dish, and a huge imperial stout crushes a light salad.
391 words, about 2 min