World beer cup style guidelines
BJCP Style Guidelines
2021 Beer Style Guidelines Release
The 2021 version of the Beer Style Guidelines, released in December 2021, is the current version. Errata will be incorporated into future updates. Those familiar with the 2015 version of the beer guidelines may find this 2021 change log helpful.
The 2021 guidelines are in full effect for the three beer exams (online, judging, and written).Contact the exam directors with questions.
If BJCP-sanctioned competitions are using BJCP style guidelines, we expect them to use the 2021 beer guidelines. Check with individual competition organizers for specific rules, as they are free to use alternate guidelines so long as the guidelines used are published for entrants and judges. Contact the Competition Director with any competition-related questions.
The 2015 BJCP Style Guidelines for Mead, and 2025 BJCP Style Guidelines for Cider are the current versions.
The BJCP Style Guidelines are maintained by the BJCP Style Guidelines Committee, currently chaired by BJCP President Emeritus Gordon Strong. This page provides links to download or access our style guidelines in various formats. You can also view the guidelines on the web
Which style guidelines does BAP offer?
BAP offers various style guidelines for judging beer, cider, or mead. You can choose from the following options:
- Brewers Association (2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 or 2025).
- BJCP (2015 or 2021).
- BJCP Cider (2015 or 2025).
- BJCP Mead (2015).
- Great American Beer Festival (2021, 2023, 2024 or 2025).
- Mead Judging Programme (2023).
- World Beer Cup (2022, 2023, 2024 or 2025).
You can also create your own style guideline! Develop categories and subcategories with custom sensory descriptions and vital statistics from scratch.
Still need help? Contact UsContact Us
No results found
© Beer Awards Platform 2025. Powered by Help Scout
The World Beer Cup, sometimes referred to as the “Olympics of Beer,” is the world’s biggest international beer competition, typically featuring well over 3,300 beers entered by some 650 breweries from almost 50 countries. The competition was founded in 1996 by the Brewers Association and takes place every other year in parallel with the Association’s Craft Brew Conference and BrewExpo America, which moves from city to city on an annual basis.
Brewers enter their beers in one of over 90 beer style categories to be judged by an international panel of experts in blind tastings. The judges award gold, silver, and bronze medals in each category, whereby the principal criterion for evaluation is the beer’s adherence to its style definition. The judging is highly technical and discussions among judges are often spirited.
World Beer Cup judges are selected based on their demonstrated knowledge of beer styles, the brewing process, and sensory aspects of beer, as well as on their experience in judging. Peer recommendations are also given consideration. Considering the large number of beers that need to be evaluated, as of 2010 World Beer Cup competitions required close to 200 judges wor
Global brewers gather for the World Beer Cup
What makes an international beer competition truly global? Lotte Peplow, the Brewers Association’s American Craft Beer Ambassador for Europe, looks back on the latest World Beer Cup.
World Beer Cup winners celebrate
There are many international beer competitions around the globe, all purporting to find the best beers in the world. This is a bold claim to make if the competition itself does not attract a truly international list of entries, or is not judged by an international jury with eclectic palates and different perspectives.
The World Beer Cup, organised by the Brewers Association, the not-for-profit trade association representing small and independent American craft breweries, which took place last week in Las Vegas, is one such competition that stands apart as a genuinely global contest.
Its goal is to identify up to three world class beers that best represent each beer style category according to the Brewers Association style guidelines. It is the one competition that brewers the world over want to win. New styles may be added (or deleted) from the guidelines according to relevance, and this year West Coast IPA
Resource Hub
New Styles Added Are West Coast-Style India Pale Ale and Dessert or Pastry Stout
Boulder, Colo.— The Brewers Association (BA)—the not-for-profit trade association dedicated to small and independent American brewers—today released its Beer Style Guidelines for 2023. Reviewed and revised annually by the BA, these guidelines serve as a model resource for brewers, beer judges, and competition organizers, and celebrate the great diversity of beer around the world.
The Brewers Association has compiled beer style guidelines and descriptions since 1979 to aid brewers, drinkers, competition organizers, and judges alike. Categorizing such a complex beverage as beer is a difficult and multifaceted challenge. The Brewers Association relies on beer industry experts, physical beer analysis, and sources from commercial brewers from around the world as guides to craft this resource.
Two major additions were made to the Beer Style Guidelines in 2023, West Coast-Style India Pale Ale and Dessert or Pastry Stout. The additions of both styles represent significant changes in commercially available beers in the United States.
In the early days of craft brewing, many American br