Overall, the Certified Cicerone® exam will be graded so that each of these syllabus areas accounts for a certain portion of the overall grade as shown in parenthesis after each section below.
When final exam results are reported, candidates will receive seven scores reflecting their percentages in the following areas:
1) Overall Score
2) Tasting Score
3) Keeping & Serving Beer section (25% of total score)
4) Beer Styles section (25% of total score)
5) Beer Flavor & Evaluation section (25% of total score)
6) Brewing Ingredients & Process section (15% of total score)
7) Beer & Food Pairing section (10% of total score)
Candidates who choose to take the written portion separately from the tasting and demonstration will receive their scores only for the written portion. To become a Certified Cicerone, candidates must achieve an overall score of at least 80% as well as a tasting score of at least 70%.
The table below provides a breakdown of each element of the exam and what
portion of the overall exam score it accounts for:
| Percent of Exam | ||||
| Short Answer | Essay | Demonstration | Tasting Exam | |
| Keeping & Serving | 16.50% | 4.50% | 4.00% | 0.00% |
| Beer Styles | 20.50% | 4.50% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Flavor & Evaluation | 8.25% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 16.75% |
| Ingredients & Process | 11.50% | 3.50% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Beer & Food Pairing | 10.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Total/type | 66.75% | 12.50% | 4.00% | 16.75% |
The individual section scores are provided solely to help candidates assess where they may need further study if a passing score was not achieved. We are unable to return completed exams.
Exam Retakes:
Written exam retakes consist of all short answer and fill-in-the-blank questions, as well as essays for that exam version.
The Cicerone Certification Program is unable to offer partial written exam retakes or mix individual section scores from more than one written exam to calculate the final score. Candidates retaking either the tasting or written exam may optionally retake the demonstration portion of the exam for no additional fee. However, the demonstration must be completed in person and is not available to candidates online. When calculating retake results, candidates' highest demonstration score will be used.
Certified Cicerone exam scores can be expected to be reported, by email, six weeks from your exam date. Scores will come directly from our Exam Director via email. We understand that the wait can be difficult, and strive to report our exams as quickly as possible. For more information on the grading process timeline please see our article about explaining the time required for grading.