Ingredients: Grain (2 of 3)

Malting is the process that takes barley kernels, creates enzymes that break down the kernel's starch reserves, and converts those starches into sugar.

Ingredients: Grain (1 of 3)

Grain is to beer as grapes are to wine.

All beer is made from grain, and the majority of that grain is malted barley.

Ingredients: Water

"Begin at the beginning," the King said, very gravely,"and go on till you come to the end: then stop."
 
- from Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland

While many people successfully use the syllabus supplied by the Cicerone Certification Program to prepare for the certification exam, I feel that the official syllabus is not organized in a way that helps one learn the material.

I've reorganized the elements of professional beer knowledge into a cohesive sequence which tells the story of beer from grain to glass to gullet. I think that this sequence better lends itself to self study and staff training.
 
Instead of beginning with the keeping and serving of beer, I will begin at the beginning... 

Cicerone Reference Library

Here are some indispensable resources for preparing to take the Certified Cicerone exam:

thoughts on the exam

Several people have written about their experiences taking the Certified Cicerone exam. I found that reading these accounts helped me become mentally prepared for test taking.

Here are links to some of my favorites:
 

Practical Demonstration

Part of the Certified Cicerone exam involves a practical demonstration of a skill involved in keeping and serving beer. This section accounts for about 4% of your total score.

Dealing with test anxiety