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.
o 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.
o 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.
o Gypsy brewers can compete with commercially available beers.
o Draft and bottled/canned beers will be evaluated and rated.
The beers are rated according to the KUBO Category Description 2025, in collaboration with the European
Beer Star, and divided into various categories (to be communicated).
o First, second and third place will be awarded with the KUBO trophy.
o The award ceremony will take place during the Bolzano Beer Craft festival.
o The participants who are not awarded a trophy will not be disclosed or publicized
o For organizational reasons, each brewery can submit a maximum of 8 beers.
o Draft and bottled/canned beers are allowed in the contest. The beer is tapped or poured from the brewery’s
own coolers/stand.
o Each beer can only be submitted once, i.e. either as draft or in a bottle/can. During the contest it is not allowed
to switch containers (e.g. from bottle/can to keg or vice versa).
o A maximum of three beers can be entered per category.
o It is not allowed to enter the same beer in more than one category.
o The brewery must communicate the style that inspired the participating beer.
o If a beer doesn't match the declared style, the judges will suggest to the brewery the correct style. The beer will
be switched to the right category and judged anyway.
o It is possible to enter beers of any style selected from the KUBO Category Description 2025, see entry form.
o Entrants must complete the appropriate form in which they explicitly accept the terms and conditions of the
competition.
o They must register for the competition and the Beer Craft festival at the same time. It is at the discretion of the
organizers to make exceptions and allow for late registrations.
o Registration takes place via the online form and is valid once confirmed via email by the organizers.
Additionally, beers that are not registered for the KUBO Beer Award but are poured at the Beer Craft Festival
must be registered in the dedicated section of the form. The organizers reserve the right to exclude or refuse to
accept the entry of a brewery or to revoke an award if the competition rules are violated.
o Registration the KUBO contest is free of charge.
First round: face to face tasting at breweries stand.
o The tasting starts at 2 p.m. on Friday, May 16th, 2025.
o The judges will arrive at the breweries’ stands to taste the assigned beers. The beer must be served from the
container in which it was submitted (draft or bottle/can). During the contest it is not allowed to switch
containers (e.g. from bottle/can to keg or vice versa).
o A responsible person from the brewery must be present at the stand during the tasting session, to tap/pour and
explain the beers until the end of the tasting session (approximately 5 p.m.).
o Attention: The judges will taste only the registered beers.
Final round: blind tasting behind closed doors.
o The second judging will take place on the following morning, behind closed doors. During this time, all the beers
that made it to the final must be ready to tap/pour by a responsible person from the brewery or KUBO staff.
o The final round of the KUBO Beer Award starts on Saturday, May 17th, 2025, at 9 a.m. KUBO staff members
will tap/pour the beers from the breweries' own coolers/stand.
o On Friday evening, you will receive a list of the beers that qualified for the final, so you can have the right kegs
or bottles/cans ready to be tapped/poured.
o Should you have more beers in the final than available tapping lines, the KUBO staff will switch the kegs.
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.
de
it
