First Certified Cicerones

The Cicerone Certification Program traveled to sunny San Diego on April 18 to conduct the first exam for Certified Cicerone status. It was a tough exam, but five candidates passed to become the first holders of the title "Certified Cicerone." The five are:


Rob Gerrity - Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
Scott Kerkmans - Four Points by Sheraton
Ron Kloth - Papago Brewing Company
Andrew Waer - Unaffiliated
Neil Witte - Boulevard Brewing Company

The exam took three and a half hours and included 200 fill-in-the blank and short-answer questions followed by three essay questions, a demonstration and 12 beer samples presented in the tasting portion of the exam. Each successful candidate scored 70 percent or better on the tasting portion and 80 percent or better overall. More information on the exam, including sample questions (soon) can be found on www.cicerone.org.

Since January, 115 people have passed the Certified Beer Server exam and are now qualified to take the Certified Cicerone exam.