A Sixer with Master Cicerone® Nicole Erny

Each quarter, you send the questions to us on social media and we’ll select six and ask a Master Cicerone^® to answer them. This time we welcome Master Cicerone Nicole Erny to answer your questions.

How hard was it to become a Master Cicerone?

Preparing for the Master Exam was months of nights and weekends dedicated even more to beer than my life already was. It was like training as an athlete. I did lots of drills and exercises along with deep study.

When I got the phone call from Ray letting me know I’d passed, I was shocked and relieved. It was a really tough test and while I knew I nailed some parts, there were others where I was less certain of my performance, including some demoralizing tasting panels. During the exam I was a nervous wreck, and I was so relieved that I wouldn’t have to re-take it! 

What role would a Master Cicerone play in their local brewing community?

A Master Cicerone is a resource to the brewing community. My deep curiosity about beer and about every level of the beer industry from raw ingredients production to beer service and everything in between has led me to a “jack of all (brewing) trades” approach. But at the end of the day, the thing I am advocating for in all my work is that that glass of beer in front of you is as excellent as it can be. Every micro-step at the brewery and at the bar impacts the guest experience. 

Another aspect of being a resource is education. I do my best to hold on to the “a-ha” moments that I have had and try to recreate them for others at all levels. Whether I am training brewers and cellarmen, servers and bartenders, or craft beer fans, I am always looking for the right ways to get accurate information to them that they can make their own.

What would be your top tip to hone your palate and learn how to evaluate taste?

Writing is the most overlooked part of palate development. The parts of our brains that react viscerally to flavor aren’t necessarily “wired up” to the parts that can process analytically. That means you must forge a path. Writing, speaking, and typing are all distinct neural pathways, so combining all three while critically tasting will train your brain to work this way. Like learning any new skill, it can be difficult until the neural pathways are built up. Write, and be critical of what you write. “Overripe pineapple” is a thousand times more specific than “tropical.”

In all of your studies and exploration, was there ever a specific moment when you were completely mind blown? Whether that was a fact, process, taste, whatever—and you thought to yourself, “wow, this is so cool...”

The world of beer is a bottomless abyss of mind-blowing moments, if you’re paying attention. Biology, chemistry, culinary arts, genetic engineering, history, travel, physics, language, anthropology, agriculture, and the arts are just some of the fields you can explore through a beer lens. Just when you think you have something entirely figured out, an inexplicable production problem or a new piece of history will surprise you. I’m not going to say every day, but every week at least I feel like there is a new exciting discovery. Something that I value about knowing so much is that I have a better understanding of how much I don’t know, or that is simply unknown. How does the microbiome affect hop aroma at an agricultural level? For many questions like these, we don’t know, and have hardly begun to find out!

Why does it matter so much to be a Certified Cicerone^®, Advanced Cicerone^®, or Master Cicerone^®?

When I first heard of Cicerone in 2008, I was studying for the Beer Judge Certification Program and beertending. I knew right away it would be something I wanted to pursue. Being a young person, and especially a young woman in the industry, I was attracted to being able to prove that I had a deep knowledge of beer. It gave me some confidence in my own knowledge level at the early stages. As a Master Cicerone (and as I get older), the feeling has shifted from proving myself to a feeling of responsibility; I need to hold myself to a high standard and be the best resource I can be to the beer world.

What’s a beer that’s always stocked in your fridge?

I’ve succumbed to the rotating IPA hysteria! I especially love West Coast IPAs and I’m one of few that adore Session IPA—Disregard the light mouthfeel until you’re a few sips in, and it’s wonderful! These are best if they haven’t traveled too far, and my list will show that I am long overdue for a trip east, but some of my favorite go-to breweries for IPA are Alvarado Street (duh, why do you think I work there!?), Societe, Revision, Faction, Beachwood, Cellarmaker, and Modern Times. My go-to session IPA is Pizza Port Ponto, which I love deeply. 

However, lately I’ve been rekindling my love of Belgian beer, so if you ask me again in a year, things might change! Sometimes I get an itch that only a fresh De Ranke Guldenberg can scratch!

ABOUT NICOLE ERNY

An obsessive enthusiasm about beer and homebrew led Nicole to work in the beer industry. She has filled many roles in the industry from barback to educator, and is presently the Quality, Sensory and Educational Projects Coordinator for Alvarado Street Brewery. In 2011, she became the 4th person and the first woman to achieve the title of Master Cicerone and is also a National BJCP beer judge. She thrives on good beer and travel.