Lucy Burningham's tale of her journey to become a Certified Cicerone is as engaging and relatable a story as any out there in the beer-reading world. Lucy Burningham's tale of her journey to become a Certified Cicerone is as engaging and relatable a story as any out there in the beer-reading world. Her prose is conversational, detailed, and evocative. She's a great storyteller, and uses that skill well to tell not only about beer, but about the feelings and thoughts that lead us to quests like these, and the work we put in to achieve those goals.
(A little extra context here: I read this while I was about two-thirds of the way through my own beer quest -- to become a certified BJCP judge. So yeah... this story was super-relevant for my interests.)
FOOTNOTE: Her editor missed a couple of spots where a word was missing or transposed. No biggie -- you can still decipher the sentences just... something I noticed.
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2024 UPDATE: Having now gone through my own journey on the road to Cicerone, I'm not ashamed to admit that I cried a little bit at the end when she got her results and couldn't believe that she'd passed. It's A LOT of material to learn (beyond what I needed to learn for BJCP's Certified or even National exams) and the exam itself is a crucible....more