KuBo Beer Award

EXCELLENT, OUTSTANDING, DIVINE!

THE UNIQUE DRAFT BEER AWARD

Kubo Beer Award

The KuBo Award is given to beers of high quality and character from all over the world.

The aim is to give visibility and professional feedback, both sensory and technical, to all breweries that are taking part in the Bolzano Beer Craft Festival.

 

Get feedback from some of the world’s best judges.

Registration period from 1st May until 20th May 2024

Winners will be announced on the 25th of May at the Beer Craft Festival.

Kubo beer award

Participants

The competition is open to independent breweries from all over the world, that are registered as active commercial breweries and
comply with the laws and regulations of their country of origin.

The breweries must produce the participating beers and label them with their own brand.

Only breweries that have signed up for the current edition of Bolzano Beer Craft – International Craft Beer Festival can enter the competition.

The participating beers must be commercially available, in regular production and must be available at the Beer Craft Festival.

Gypsy-Brewers can compete with commercially available beers.

Only draft beers will be evaluated and rated, except for alcohol-free beers, which are also allowed in bottles.

If a beer is not available in barrels/kegs, etc., the jury can permit the use of other containers such as “beer in a box”, party kegs, etc., with a minimum volume of 3 liters.

 

kubo beer award

Awards

The beers are rated according the BJCP 2021 guidelines and divided in various categories (to be communicated).

First, second and third place will be awarded with the KuBo trophy.

The award ceremony will take place during the Bolzano Beer Craft festival.

The participants who are not awarded with a trophy will not be disclosed or publicized.

Kubo beer award

Categories

Each brewery can enter as many beers as they like.

Only draft beers are allowed in the contest*/**. The beer is tapped on from the brewery’s own coolers.

A maximum of three beers can be entered in one category.

It is not allowed to enter the same beer in more than one category.

The brewery must communicate the style that inspired the participating beer.

If a beer is out of style, the jury will decide on the most appropriate style and communicates this to the brewery. This beer will be moved into the appropriate category and will be judged in the new category.

It is possible to enter beers of all the styles selected from the BJCP 2021, including added categories, see entry form.

Alcohol-free beers will be rated in a separate category. They must be entered in the BJCP-Category they were brewed as.

* except for alcohol-free beers, which are also allowed in bottles.
** If a beer is not available in barrels/kegs, etc., the jury can permit the use of other containers such as “beer in a box”, party kegs, etc., with a minimum volume of 3 litres.

kubo beer award

Registration

Entrants must complete the appropriate form in which they explicitly accept the terms and conditions of the competition.

They must register for the competition and the Beer Craft festival at the same time. It is at the discretion of the organization to make exceptions and allow for late registrations.

Registration takes place via the online form and is valid once confirmed via email by the organizers. Also bottled beers, not registered for the KuBo Beer Award and poured at the Beer Craft Festival, must be registered in the dedicated section of the form. The organization reserves the right to exclude or refuse to accept the entry of a brewery or to revoke an award if the competition rules are violated.

The registration to the KuBo contest is free of charge.

Kubo beer award

Beer tastings and samples

The tasting starts at 2 p.m. on Friday, 24th May 2024. The Judges will arrive at the breweries stand to taste the entered beers. A responsible person from the brewery must be present at the stand during the tasting session, to tap and in case of need, explain the beer. The responsible person must be at the stand from 2 p.m. until the end of the tasting session (about 5 p.m.).
 
Attention: The Judges will taste only the registered draft beers.
 
The second judging will take place on the following morning. Behind closed doors. During this time all the beers, who made it to the final, must be ready to tap by a breweries responsible /KuBo staff.

kubo beer award

Judging criteria

The jury is made up of independent international experts who will perform tastings of the beers in two steps:
 
Step 1:
A face to face tasting at the brewer’s stand, selecting those beers that will proceed to the final.
 
Step 2:
The final beers will be tasted and evaluated blind and anonymously. After an in-depth sensory analysis, the beers will receive the final score.
 
The organization reserves the right to specify the categories and to remove or add categories.

Jury KuBo Beer Award