the BJCP practice exam passed

tried to take the BJCP practice exam for fun, and passed!
I'm going to take the real BJCP Beer Judge Entrance exam within this year.

Below are some fun facts I found I missed in this mini free test.

source: unofficial BJCP guidelines

5C-German Helles Exportbier

• a pale, well-balanced, smooth German lager that is slightly stronger(than the average beer)
• low to medium hop aroma
• moderate grainy-sweet malt aroma
• clean fermentation profile
• minerally water with high levels of sulfates, carbonates, and chlorides
• IBU 20-30
• ABV 4.8%-6.0%

5D-German Pils

• a light bodied, highly attenuated German beer
• medium-low to low grainy-sweet-rich malt character
• distintive flowery, spicy, herbal hops
• clean fermentation profile
• crisp, clean and refreshing
• IBU 22-40
• ABV 4.4%-5.2%

8B-Schwarzbier

• a dark German lager, the lighter body, dryness, lack of a harsh aftertaste
• low to moderate malt, hints of roast malt often apparent
• clean, neutral, moderately rich and bready malt, a hint of dark caramel
• dark chocolate, coffee like roast character, should not be burnt
• hop aroma is optional
• IBU 20-30
• ABV 4.4%-5.4%

23D-Lambic

• a fairly sour, moderately funky wild Belgian wheat beer 
• a decidedly sour aroma in young example, become more subdued with age
• aging bring balanced with the malt, wheat and barnyard chracteristics
• traditionally served uncarbonated
• lambic is fermented spontaneously by being exposed to wild yeasts and bacteria native to the Zenne(Senne) valley in Brussels
• IBU 0-10
• ABV 5.0%-6.5%

11C-Strong bitter

• an average strength to moderately strong British bitter ale
• drinkability is a critical component
• hop aroma moderately high to moderately low, a floral, earthy, resiny, friuty
• medium to medium-high malt aroma, with a low to moderate caramel component
• Burton versions use medium to high sulfate water, which can increase the perception of dryness, minerally or sulfury aroma
• link How to Burtonize your brewing water
• 2 reasons to Burtonize: 1) to increase the calcium level in the water 2) to get the high level of sulfate ion 
• IBU 30-50
• ABV 4.6~6.2%

15B-Irish Stout

• A black beer with a pronounced roasted flavor, similar to coffee
• balanced version have a little malty sweetness, the bitter versions quite dry
• moderate roasted grain or malt flavor
• a medium to high hop bitterness
• Guinness is made using roasted barley, flaked barley, pale malt but other breweries don't necessarily use roasted barley; they use chocolate or other specialty malts
• typically have lower OG(1.036-1.044) than Sweet stouts(1.044-1.060) 
• IBU 25-45
• ABV 4.0%-4.5%

16A-Sweet Stout(Milk stout, Cream stout)

• A very dark, sweet, full bodied, slightly roasty ale
• mild roasted grain aroma, sometimes with coffee and chocolate note
• dark roasted grain/malt impression with coffee and chocolate
• hop bitterness is moderate
• medium to high sweetness
• the sweetness in most Sweet stouts comes from a lower bitterness level than most other stouts, a high percentage of unfermentable dextrins, adding crystal malt
• Lactose(unfermentable sugar)is frequently added 
• IBU 20-40
• ABV 4.0%-6.0%

13C-English porter

• A moderate strength brown beer with a restrained roasty character and bitterness
• generally without burnt qualities
• often has a chocolate-caramel-malty profile
• moderate to moderately low bready, biscuity, toasty malt aroma
• moderate bready, biscuity, toasty malt flavor
• moderately low to moderately high carbonation
• IBU 18-35
• ABV 4.0%-5.4%

13A-Dark mild

• A dark, low gravity, malt focused British session ale 
• low to moderate malt aroma, may have some fruitiness
• generally a malty beer, may have a very wide range of malt and yeast based flavors
• darker versions may have a dry, roasted finish
• generally low to medium low carbonation
• IBU 10-25
• ABV 3.0%-3.8%

dark malt and pH source the power of pH 

• dark malts are naturally acidic and will overcome the buffering power of carbonate waters 
• to brew a pilsner using pale malts and soft water, you want acid rest to ensure the pH drops. (bc water has too little calcium to lower pH)
• acid rest will be unnecessary for beers made using any highly kilned malts(dark)
• the other alternative to acidifying the mash is to add lactic acid or acidulated malts
• acidulated malt can be used to add a slight sourness to sour beer such as Berliner Weisse, German Gose

off flavor: cardboard taste

• How is it caused: 
• aeration of hot wort
• long or harsh boiling(exposed to thermo)
• aeration of beer during bottling
• excessive age
• high storage temperatures
• adding tap water to finished without boiling
• excessive head space in bottle
• also link 15 Common off flavors in beer

therefore, decoction mashing and exposing the grain bed to air during sparging could be the reason of stale flavor(papery, cardboard).

Protein rest

• source The protein rest and modification
• modification: breakdown during malting of the protein-starch matrix(endosperm, seed's food)
• moderately modified malts benefit from a protein rest: 
• break down any remnant large proteins into smaller proteins and amino acids(to release added starches from the endosperm)
• using a protein rest on fully modified malts tend to remove most of the body, leaving it thin and watery
• proteins(needed by the germinating plant) are utilized by the yeast for their growth
• 2 main proteolytic enzymes: peptidase and protease

1. peptidase: provide the wort with amino acid nutrients that will be used by the yeast
2. protease: break up the larger proteins which enhance the head retention, reduces haze

• typical protein rest(48-54'c) is used to break up proteins which might otherwise cause chill haze, improve head retention
• should only be used when using moderately modified malts or fully modified malts with a large proportion(>25%)of unmalted grain
• these days may brewing scientists do not think that much protein degradation occurs during mashing, so it is left to the maltster(modification) link
• The protein rest activates enzymes that break down the proteins into amino acids
• a little is good for yeast, but removing too many proteins negatively affects the head retention link

Beta amylase rest

• source How the mash works
• At a higher temperature, a stiffer mash, a higher pH: the alpha amylase is favored and starch conversion will be complete in 30 mins or less
• Longer time+at these conditions: allow beta amylase to breakdown more of the longer sugars into shorter ones, resulting in a more fermentable wort
• but these conditions are deactivating the beta
• beta amylase is favored by a low wort pH but this beta-optimum wort is not a very fermentable wort(a lot of amylopectin starch unconverted)
• alpha amylase is needed to break up the larger chains,
• so beta can work on them, resulting in a lighter bodied beer