Attention brewers! One of the world’s largest and most respected beer competitions, the European Beer Star (EBS), is currently open for registration. Brewers have until July 24th to register–note that there’s an ‘early bird discount until May 17th. Medals of gold, silver, and bronze are awarded to worthy beers, and Japanese breweries usually bring home a few awards every year.
As noted above, the EBS focuses on European-style beer categories, like those that developed in Germany, Belgium, the Czech Republic, and England, but also other beer cultures in the region. In more recent years, the competition has created categories for more experimental beers as well as reinterpretations of classics because of international influences.
In 2024, there will be 75 categories (two more than last year). One of them is German-style Sour Beer, a style that has seen something of a renaissance in recent years. Like last year, there are four categories for non-alcoholic beers, which are growing wildly in popularity. To accommodate more contemporary beers, there are “New-Style” Pale Ale and India Pale Ale categories, as well as those for Hazy India Pale Ale and Pastry Stout. There is also a “Free-Style Beer” category, for those brewers out there that want to be really inventive.
The primary attraction, however, is the abundance of traditional categories. A few others that caught our eye for being traditional but not mainstream: Grodziskie, Austrian-style Märzen, Italian Grape Ale, and Honey Beer. If you’re a professional brewer, there’s surely a category that you feel some confidence in.
The competition itself is straightforward. Each category receives gold, silver, and bronze awards, though judges may refrain from awarding any medals if they think no entries are up to standard. Judging is conducted according to blind tasting and analysis against clear category descriptions listed on the EBS website. The judges–roughly 150 of them–hail from countries around the world (including Japan). Judging takes place in late September, and awards are announced in November.
Please visit for more details and good luck! https://www.european-beer-star.com/
