Lotte Peplow, Brewers Association American craft beer ambassador for Europe, looks at what’s new with the World Beer Cup and why British brewers should enter.
Chris Williams, the Brewers Association’s competition director. Photographs: Brewers Association
The World Beer Cup, organised by the Brewers Association, the not-for-profit trade association that represents small and independent American craft brewers, is moving from bi-annual to annual due to high demand. It has appointed a new competition director, Chris Williams, to spearhead development.
The competition grows by an estimated 10% every cycle, making it extremely competitive and the largest beer competition in the world. In fact, it is often referred to as the ‘Olympics of Beer’ and has celebrated international brewing excellence since its inception in 1996. In 2022, it attracted 10,542 entries from 2,493 breweries representing 57 different countries.
Registration for the 2023 competition opens on 1st November. But with many different beer competitions around the world, what makes the World Beer Cup so special, and why should British breweries enter?
Prestige
By being the largest beer competition in the world, the World Beer Cup is also the most competitive. Winning a medal proves that a brewery is making world-class beer and gives bragging rights and a huge amount of prestige to a winning brewery. What’s more, it’s not always the obvious countries who win styles associated with their countries.
Chris Williams notes: “We receive entries from breweries in far-flung corners of the world who medal in unexpected categories. For example, in 2022 a Columbian brewery won gold in the speciality saison category, and a Mexican brewery medalled in English ale.”
Quality of judges, and quality of feedback
World Beer Cup judges are some of the best in the world, and the selection process is rigorous. The giant judging panel of some 800 people is rotated every few years, with the addition of 12 to 15% of new judges every year. This brings in new perspectives, new palates, and new expertise. The competition requires 250 to 300 judges, and next year will aim for 40 to 50% international judges.
Chris says: “Comprehensive and detailed feedback is a hallmark of the World Beer Cup, and we know that brewers highly value such feedback. Every beer that’s entered goes through multiple rounds of judging, and in the first round every judge (usually two to four of them) fills out an evaluation card, giving details of appearance, aroma, flavour, mouthfeel, a stylistic description and a summary of how that beer stood up to other beers in the flight.
“In a category with hundreds of entries, every brewer will know how their beer has performed, and this is extremely valuable information for them. In addition, brewers receive a summary of how far their beer advanced through the rounds.”
Entry into the World Beer Cup for British brewers has been made easier by the introduction of international consolidation points. The UK hub is in Hertfordshire, and all brewers need do is send beer to the hub and the Brewers Association will cover the cost of consolidation, shipment via air-freight, paperwork, and moving the beer through Customs.
International beers arrive in Colorado at the same time as American beers, to ensure a level playing field and minimise any advantage that may be perceived from being closer to the organisational heart of the competition.
Registration is open from 1st-14th November, 2022, with awards presented on 10th May, 2023 during the Craft Brewers Conference in Nashville, Tennessee. Find out more on the World Beer Cup website.
About the Brewers Association
The Brewers Association (BA) is the not-for-profit trade association dedicated to small and independent American brewers, their beers and the community of brewing enthusiasts.
The BA represents 5,700-plus US breweries. The BA’s independent craft brewer seal is a widely adopted symbol that differentiates beers by small and independent craft brewers.
The BA organises events including the World Beer Cup, Great American Beer Festival, Craft Brewers Conference and BrewExpo America, SAVOR: An American Craft Beer and Food Experience, Homebrew Con, National Homebrew Competition and American Craft Beer Week.
The BA publishes The New Brewer magazine, and Brewers Publications is the largest publisher of brewing literature in the US.
Beer lovers are invited to learn more about the dynamic world of craft beer at CraftBeer.com and about homebrewing via the BA’s American Homebrewers Association and the free Brew Guru mobile app.
