European Beer Star 2022

In search of the best beers | This year, the European Beer Star expert tasting will take place from 4–5 August 2022 at the Doemens Akademie in Gräfelfing for the 19th time. Interested breweries can register for the important beer competition from 1 April 2022.

A tasting jury made up of beer experts from all over the world will evaluate the beers submitted from a sensory point of view: the focus lies on appearance, aroma and taste of the beers.

In each category, there is only one gold, one silver and one bronze medal to win. This is what makes the medals at the European Beer Star so special. Only the three best beers in each category receive the coveted awards.

What is new in 2022

The European Beer Star 2022 is seeing the introduction of two completely new categories. On the one hand, there will be space in category no. 46 for flavoured and so-called pastry stouts or porters, which are particularly popular in Eastern Europe and the Baltic States. The second new category pays tribute to the creativity of Italian brewers: Whereas Italian Grape Ales (IGA) were previously entered in the categories “Fruit Beer” or “Fruit Sour Beer”, IGAs will now be a category in themselves.

The market for non-alcoholic beers is developing rapidly worldwide. Thus, it comes as no surprise that more and more product innovations are entering the market. To take account of this development, the year 2022 marks the first occasion when the European Beer Star has four categories for alcohol-free beers. In addition to non-alcoholic Hefeweizen and classic non-alcoholic lagers, modern interpretations of non-alcoholic lagers and non-alcoholic ales will also be judged in their own categories.

After the outstanding response to the Free-Style category last year, the organisers are also looking forward to numerous entries in this special category of the European Beer Star 2022. In order to make it easier for the breweries to create their beer story for the assessment of creativity, some criteria have been established for the description of the beer submitted. As a point of reference, the description of the winning beer in 2021 will also be made available online.

In addition to the evaluation they received so far, participants will also receive the aroma profiles of the beers they submitted from this year onwards. Category-specific sensory criteria have been developed for this purpose. The organizers of the European Beer Star thus offer the participating breweries an additional instrument for comparing their beers with the winning beers of each category and classifying them, to supplement the known evaluation criteria.

Just in time for the start of the registration period on April 1, 2022, the European Beer Star is also presenting itself in a modern and contemporary way with a new website. In addition to detailed information on registration, the new website also features all previous winners of the European Beer Star in past years, as well as interesting brewery profiles.

Award Ceremony at drinktec in Munich

The winners will receive their awards during drinktec in Munich on September 14. After two digital award ceremonies, the organizers, the Association of Private Breweries, together with the partners of the European Beer Star, are looking forward to a glamorous and magnificent award ceremony on site, true to the motto “That’s how Stars taste!”