Participate

FAQ – European Beer Star 2023


Registration

Which breweries are allowed to participate?

  • All commercial breweries worldwide can participate.
  • Locally, regionally, nationally and internationally active breweries.
  • Not only from Europe, but from all countries of all continents.
  • We would like to refer you to our conditions of participation.

Are brew pubs allowed to participate?

  • Brew pubs may of course participate in the competition.
  • The beer is/will be bottled in siphons or larger swing-top bottles.
  • Each bottle must be visibly marked with an adhesive label with the following data:
      • Name of the beer
      • Participation number of the beer
      • Beer category number (see categories section)

For more on shipping and labeling, see Shipping.

Which dates are important?

03 APRIL 2023Start of registration
24 MAY 2023End of early bird registration
12 JULY 2023Registration deadline
01 - 23 AUGUST 2023Shipping period
14/15 SEPTEMBER 2023Expert tasting
29 NOVEMBER 2023Award ceremony and Winners' Night at BrauBeviale

In which categories can I register beers?

  • At European Beer Star 2023, the beers will be tasted in the regular 73 categories as well as a special category "Free-Style Beer".
  • The list including detailed description of the categories is available under the heading Categories.

How many beers can I enter per category?

  • Only one beer per category may be entered by a brewery.
  • The same beer from one brewery may only be entered in one category.
  • The list including detailed description of the categories are available on the homepage.

How can I register?

  • Registration takes place exclusively online on the registration portal for breweries.
  • The alcohol content and original wort of each registered beer must be stated at the time of registration.
  • In addition, depending on the beer style, further information is required (as explained in the category descriptions).
  • Only beers that exactly match the category composition and with the commercial packaging & labeling can be submitted.

How much are the registration fees?

Registration period

Price in € per beer


Beer 1 and 2

Beer 3 and more

until 24 May 2023

250,00 EUR

220,00 EUR

from 25 May 2023

270,00 EUR

240,00 EUR

The prices are net prices excluding VAT.

How does the payment work?

  • Register quickly and conveniently online and pay immediately with Paypal or credit card.
  • Payment by bank transfer to: Private Brauereien Bayern e.V., Münchner Bank eG, IBAN: DE 36 7019 0000 0004 5057 35
  • Foreign bank transfer by EU standard transfer
  • The remitter bears all charges and expenses at his bank

Shipment

What is the process for packaging and shipping my beers for expert tasting?

  • The labels for the bottles must be created by yourself
  • Each bottle must be visibly marked with an adhesive label with the following data:
      • Participation number of the beer (see registration confirmation)
      • Beer category of the beer being labeled (see Categories).
  • Each bottle must have the beer label with which it is sold commercially.
  • IMPORTANT! You receive for each entry a QR code which needs to be attached to the shipping carton.
  • Beer shipment/reception is from 01 - 23 August 2023.
  • A detailed description of the shipment, contact and delivery address can be found here.

What quantities of beer/bottles do I have to send in for expert tasting?

  • The following quantities are required for the expert tasting at Doemens:
      • Bottle/can content from 0.5l - 10 bottles
      • Bottle / can content smaller than 0.5l - 15 bottles

What happens between the beer delivery and the tasting?

The delivered samples will be stored in a dury-free warehouse in a dark and cool atmosphere in the basment of DB Schenker. The beers remain there no longer than one week after the end of the official beer reception. From there, the samples will be stored in a refrigerated container according to the tasting schedule. In this way, we ensure optimal storage of the beers from the moment they are received.


Expert tasting

When and where will the expert tasting take place?

  • 14/15 September 2023 at the area of the Nuremberg trade fair.
  • Important! New address for shipping!

    Schenker Deutschland AG
    Messezentrum 1
    90471 Nürnberg

Who judges the beers?

  • A top-class and independent international committee of well-known and experienced beer experts, brewmasters, trade journalists and beer sommeliers from all over the world forms the expert jury of the European Beer Star.
  • You will find a description of the tasting jury under "Our Stars".

According to which criteria are my beers judged?

  • From the consumer's point of view, only sensory criteria, no laboratory analysis.
  • In the special "Free-Style Beer" category the brewer's creativity is additionally acknowledged by a description of the brewer's history, method of production, etc. is also recognized.

How to become a member of the expert jury?

  • Our expert jury for 2023 is already completely occupied.
  • If you are interested in participating in the following years, please send us your application documents and the recommendation of at least 3 members of our expert jury via the contact form under "Become a Judge".

How and when will I be informed about a possible success at EBS?

  • Immediately after the expert tasting, the winner and all participants will be informed by email.
  • Important: Check whether the email address you entered during registration is still valid after the tasting.

What will I receive after the contest?

  • All participants receive an expert evaluation for each submitted beer, as well as a benchmark of the winning beers.
  • In addition, each submitted beer will receive its own flavour profile from the European beer Star tasting jury.
  • Learn more about the the flavour profile.
  • The winners also receive a high-quality award and a certificate for each winning beer, as well as extensive press material.
  • The winners are entitled to use the European Beer Star brand. You can find more details in the conditions of the competition.
  • Find out why you should take part in the European Beer Star here.

What should the description for the special category Free-Style Beer look like?

To facilitate the evaluation of creativity it is necessary, that a file with the history of the submitted beer is uploaded at the Beer be uploaded. The following criteria apply to the file upload:

  • Maximum word count: 250 words
  • Text in English
  • The name of the brewery or beer submitted must not appear in the description
  • Collaboration brews can be part of the story, but should not be the main part of the story
  • The text should be directed to consumers, not to the expert jury

Future Award

What is the Future Award?

The Future Award is a special category of the European Beer Star in which, in addition to beer quality, the sustainable commitment of companies - based on the three pillars of ecology, economy and social issues - is also evaluated.

How can I apply for the Future Award?

All breweries that register for the European Beer Star 2023 can participate in the Future Award at no additional cost. Participation in the Future Award is voluntary. A general interest for participation can be stated during the registration process. Detailed information about the Future Awaerd will be given withing the upcoming weeks.

More information about the Future Award can be found here.

What are the evaluation criteria?

Based on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations, a questionnaire was developed together with sustainability experts from the Bochum University of Applied Sciences, experts from the brewing industry and brewery surveys. The following categories are asked of participating breweries:

  • Energy
  • Water
  • Climate protection
  • Soil
  • Regional value creation
  • Quality management
  • Customer satisfaction
  • Employees
  • Packaging
  • Product

How does the awarding process work?

From the questionnaires that come back from the breweries, a team of experts from Bochum University of Applied Sciences determines the 8 best applications according to a recognized evaluation sheet. As with the classic European Beer Star categories, this is also a "blind tasting", which means the brewery is not disclosed to the team of experts.

The 8 finalists are then re-evaluated by an interdisciplinary team of sustainability and beer experts, as well as media representatives and will be subjected to a European Beer Star tasting. The sensory evaluation criteria of a regular EBS tasting are applied.

The award ceremony for the winners of the Future Award will take place during BrauBeviale.


Award ceremony

When will the European Beer Star 2023 award ceremony take place?

  • The awards ceremony and Winners' Night will take place on November 29, 2023 during BrauBeviale.
  • The winners will receive separate invitations with their winner's notification.
  • The award ceremony is open to fair visitors free of charge.
  • More information and impressions of the award ceremony can be found here.

What is the Winners' Night?

  • An event unique in the industry with probably the most exclusive beer counter in the world.
  • Awarded beers (gold, silver, bronze) will be available for tasting.
  • It takes place directly after the European Beer Star awards ceremony on November 29, 2023.
  • This is an exclusive event.
  • The winners of the European Beer Star 2023 will receive free tickets to this event. The number of free tickets will be announced with the winner's notification.
  • More information and impressions of the award ceremony can be found here.

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