1. Compete

Eligibility & Fees

Eligibility

All World Beer Cup entries must be commercially available, fermented malt beverages conforming to the trade understanding of “beer” (see “Beer Eligibility Criteria” section below) brewed by a permitted commercial brewery.

“Commercially available” means available for sale at retail at the time of registration. Entering United States breweries must have a current Brewer’s Notice on file with the U.S. Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB).

Beer entries that contain any substances not authorized for use in human food, or which are made with ingredients that contain such substances, or which are made in contact with materials not authorized as food contact materials, all in accordance with the United States federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act as interpreted and administered by U.S. FDA are not eligible to compete in the World Beer Cup.

New, beginning in 2022: Beer entries that do not comply with the Brewers Association Advertising & Marketing Code will be disqualified from the competition and will not be refunded for competition fees.

Breweries must meet each of the following conditions at the time of registration:

  • Your brewery is fully licensed for the manufacture and commercial sale of beer in your home country.
  • Your brewery is fully open and operating with all required permits.
  • Your brewery currently has at least one beer that is commercially available for sale at retail at the time of application.
  • Only breweries that meet the Brewery Eligibility requirements are eligible to enter beers in the World Beer Cup competition. Breweries in planning, homebrewers and other breweries not meeting these criteria are not eligible to enter.
  • Your brewery has a Brewer’s Notice on file with the TTB (applies to U.S. breweries only).

Only breweries that meet the Brewery Eligibility requirements are eligible to enter beers in the competition. Breweries that don’t meet all the criteria above and still register for the World Beer Cup are subject to disqualification without further notice or refund of registration/entry fees.*

*Brewers Association retains sole discretion to determine eligibility for competition at the World Beer Cup.

If you own the rights to a brand, but your beer is produced by another brewery, you are still eligible to enter the competition. The brewery producing your beers must meet the brewery eligibility requirements above.

Enter the TTB Basic Permit/Brewer’s Notice number of the brewery producing the beer on your registration entry. Any award won by a contract brand is property of the winning contract brewery which owns the brand, not the brewery producing the beer.

In order for beer to be eligible for entry, your brewery must first meet all above brewery eligibility requirements. If your brewery does not meet all of the requirements, your beers are not eligible for entry.

All beer entries must be commercially available for sale at retail on or before March 14, 2023 and possess the characteristics generally attributed to and conforming to the consumer understanding of “beer”.

Eligible

  • At least 51% of the fermentable carbohydrates must be derived from malted grains. Beverages made with malt substitutes, honey, fruit or fruit juices, or anything other than malted grains as the majority of fermentable sugars are not eligible to participate.
  • Competition beer entries must contain hops. Exceptions to this include gruit or other historical beer styles that traditionally use other herbs or spices (such as heather or yarrow).
  • All beer entries from U.S.-based breweries must comply with all U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax & Trade Bureau regulations, including formula/ingredient approval requirements (as stated in Title 27, Chapter 1, Part 25, Subpart F, §25.55 of the Federal Code of Regulations).
  • Beer entries must comply with the Brewers Association Advertising & Marketing Code. Entries not in compliance will be disqualified immediately. The entry will not be judged, and no refund will be given.

Not eligible

  • Mead, cider, spirits, seltzers, hard soda, hard water, and flavored malt beverages including kombucha and most shandies and radlers (see first and second bullet point in “eligible” section) are not eligible to be entered in the World Beer Cup.
  • Any beer entries that contain any substances not authorized for use in human food, or which are made with ingredients that contain such substances, or which are made in contact with materials not authorized as food contact materials, all in accordance with the United States federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act as interpreted and administered by U.S. FDA
  • Beer entries must comply with the Brewers Association Advertising & Marketing Code. Entries not in compliance will be disqualified immediately. The entry will not be judged, and no refund will be given.

Each brewery is expected to be allowed to enter up to a maximum of 6 beers into the competition.

Please note: our goal is to accommodate as many breweries as possible in an effort to host a robust competition; if demand for the competition exceeds capacity, breweries with a higher number of entries may be asked to reduce their entry count. Alternatively, if there is additional available competition space after registration closes on November 14, we may allow breweries to enter more beers, beyond the original entry cap.

Fees

The cost to participate is $180 per beer.

REFUND/CANCELLATION POLICY: No refunds will be issued after the cancellation deadline for cancelled entries or beers that are not sent in for competition. The World Beer Cup does not offer credits for future competitions.

Once the Brewers Association receives your entries at our warehouse (currently located at 587 S. Taylor Avenue, Louisville, CO 80027), we will transport entries via refrigerated trailer to the venue where the competition will take place. In the event of an unforeseen event or circumstance where we are unable to execute the competition (e.g., a truck crash), the Brewers Association will refund associated entry fees. Refunds are limited to the entry fees paid by the entering brewery for the World Beer Cup 2023 competition ($180US). The entry feel reimbursement shall be an entering brewery’s sole and exclusive remedy and any related shipping or transit costs are not reimbursable.