Registration for the world’s most prestigious international beer competition, the World Beer Cup®, will open on October 26 and close on November 10. Presented by the Brewers Association (BA), the competition is held every two years and is open to professional breweries around the globe that meet all legal and permitting requirements for breweries in their respective country. Winners of the “Olympics of Beer” will be announced in Minneapolis on May 5, 2022, in conjunction with the trade association’s annual conference, the Craft Brewers Conference® & BrewExpo America®.
The Brewers Association started the World Beer Cup in 1996 to celebrate the global art and science of brewing. Beers are judged by a panel of elite international judges and the top three beers in each category are presented gold, silver, and bronze awards. In 2018, the World Beer Cup had 8,234 entries from 2,515 breweries across 66 countries, the largest competition to date*.
Important Dates for Registration:
- Oct. 26 – Nov. 10, 2021 | Brewery application and beer registration window
- Feb. 10, 2022 | Deadline for breweries to make beer changes
- Feb. 25, 2022 | Cancellation/refund deadline for breweries
- Feb. 28 – March 9, 2022 | Breweries outside the U.S.: Beer samples due to international consolidation points
- March 14 – 18, 2022 | All Breweries: Beer samples due to Colorado
- May 5, 2022 | World Beer Cup Awards Ceremony in Minneapolis
- TBD | World Beer Cup Awards Ceremony in Europe
Additional information on the application process is found on the World Beer Cup website. The World Beer Cup is made possible through the generous support of its sponsors, including 2022 presenting sponsor Siemens and partner sponsors ABS Commercial, Barth-Haas Group, First Key, RAHR, Fermentis by Lesaffre, and Sahm.
*Editor’s note: The 2020 World Beer Cup was not held due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Terry Bunch
