FAQ – European Beer Star 2025

• 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.
  

• 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.

• At European Beer Star 2025, the beers will be tasted in the regular 72 categories.
• The list including detailed description of the categories is available under the heading Categories.
  
• Additionally, breweries can enter beer mix beverages in two categories in the special award Beer Mix Champion.

• Each participant may enter up to three beers in the respective category to the competition. However, the beers must each have a different recipe or, in the case of beers matured in wooden barrels, be aged in barrels of a different type of wood or in barrels with different previous filling such as sherry, rum, red wine, etc. and must each be marketed under a different brand name.
• The same beer from one brewery may only be entered in one category.
• Additionally, up to 3 beer mix beverages can be entered in each category of the European Beer Star Beer Mix Champion.
• The list including detailed description of the categories are available on the homepage.
  

Beer mix beverages can be found in the product portfolios of breweries worldwide. Radler, Shandy and the like enjoy great popularity among consumers. Beer mix beverages are not competing products to traditional beers, but refreshing alternatives. Breweries can benefit from this on several levels: Securing sales, spreading risk or expanding the target group, to name just a few points.

For these reasons, the European Beer Star tasting is looking for the Beer Mix Champion in two categories - alcoholic and non-alcoholic. The detailed category descriptions for this “competition within a competition” can be found on the Beer Mix Champion details page on the European Beer Star homepage.

• 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

• 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 07 July - 25 July 2025.
  
• A detailed description of the shipment, contact and delivery address can be found here.
  

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

The delivered samples will be directly taken to refrigerated storage containers and stored according to the tasting schedule at 9 °C. In this way, we ensure optimal storage of the beers from the moment they are received.

• 07/08 August 2025 at the area of the Nuremberg trade fair.
  
• Important! Shipping address:
  
  Schenker Deutschland AG
  Messezentrum 1
  90471 Nürnberg
  

• 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".
  

• From the consumer's point of view, only sensory criteria, no laboratory analysis.

• In the special "Experimental Beer" category the brewer's creativity is additionally acknowledged by a description of the brewer's history, method of production, etc. is also recognized.

• Our expert jury for 2025 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".
  

• 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.
  

• 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.
  

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.

All breweries that register for the European Beer Star 2025 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.

More information about the Future Award can be found here.

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
  

From the questionnaires that come back from the breweries, a team of sustainability experts 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 the awards ceremony of the European Beer Star at drinktec.

• The awards ceremony and Winners' Night will take place on September 17, 2025 during drinktec.
  
• 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.
  

• 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 September 17, 2025 at drinktec.
• This is an exclusive event.
• The winners of the European Beer Star 2025 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.