Asia Beer Championship
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Competition Categories:


Beers will be judged in the following 32 competition categories. The style categories have been chosen to reflect beer styles commonly found in the Asian marketplace. Complete competition style guidelines can be found External link opens in new tab or windowHERE

Beer Styles

1. Weissbier

2. Witbier

3. Modern Wheat Beer

4. International Lager

5. Rice Lager

6. International Dark Lager

7. Pilsner

8. No/Low-Alcohol Beer

9. Sour Beer

10. Gose

11. Saison
12. Golden Ale
13. British Pale Ale

14. American Pale Ale

15. Session IPA

16. American Style IPA
17. New England/Hazy Style IPA

18. Double IPA

Beer Styles (cont.)

19. Dark/Brown Ale

20. Porter

21. Milk Stout

22. Stout

23. Imperial Stout

24. Strong Ale

25. Wild Beer

26. Session Fruit Beer

27. Fruit Beer

28. Spice/Herb Beer

29. Wood/Barrel Aged Beer 

30. Experimental Beer

31. Flavoured Beer

32. Tea Beer

 

Asia Cider Championship

Please visit the Cider Championship in navigation bar

*Full list of sub categories below

External link opens in new tab or windowClick on image to download full Beerstyle Guidelines

 

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Additional Categories: Breweries entering 4 or more beers will automatically qualify for the "Champion Brewery of Asia" as well as the "Country Champion Brewery" competitions


CHAMPION BEER OF ASIA

The 8 highest scoring Gold Medal beers in the competition will enter a taste-off to decide the Champion Beer of Asia for 2025

[Sponsored by Barth Haas Group]

CHAMPION LARGE BREWERY

Awarded to the most successful brewery in the competition brewing on a brewkettle of 30 hectolitres or larger*

[Sponsorship available] 

CHAMPION MEDIUM BREWERY

Awarded to the most successful brewery in the competition brewing on a brewkettle between 10 - 29 hectolitres*

[Sponsored by Petainer]

CHAMPION SMALL BREWERY

Awarded to the most successful brewery in the competition brewing on a brewkettle of 9 hectolitres or smaller*

[Sponsorship available]


PLUS:

Champion Brewpub of Asia**

Awarded to the brewpub with the 4 highest placing beers

**70% of brewery production must be sold/consumed on the premises to qualify as a brewpub (please see 3. Definition below)


Country Champion Brewery

Awarded to one brewery from each competing nation with the 4 highest placing beers.


*Champion Breweries are calculated on a points basis with points allocated for each medalling or Chairman's Selection beer (Gold = 5pts, Silver = 3pts, Bronze = 2pts, Chairman's Selection = 1pt)


Please see below for a full description of competition beer styles accepted for each Category - each beer entered will be judged according to it's beer style Sub Category. Style Guidelines can be found after the category list.

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Beerstyle Categories/Sub Categories


1. Weissbier

1A Weissbier

2. Witbier

2A Witbier

3. Modern Wheat Beer

3A Modern Wheat Beer


4. International Lager 

4A American Lager

4B International Pale Lager

4C Munich Helles

5. Rice Lager

5A Rice Lager (*only adjunct permitted is rice)

6. International Dark Lager

6A International Dark Lager

6B Munich Dunkel

6C Schwarzbier

7. Pilsner

7A Czech Premium Pale Lager

7B German Pilsner

7C Pacific Pilsner

8. No/Low-Alcohol Beer

8A No-Alcohol Beer

8B Low-Alcohol Beer

9. Sour Beer

9A Berliner Weisse

9B Mixed Fermentation Sour Beer

10. Gose

10A Gose (can include fruit additions)

11. Saison

11A Saison

12. Golden Ale

12A Blonde Ale

12B Cream Ale

12C Kölsch

13. British Pale Ale

13A Best Bitter

13B Strong Bitter

14. American Pale Ale

14A American Pale Ale

15. Session IPA (India Pale Ale)

15A Session IPA (ABV 5.5% and below)


16. American IPA (India Pale Ale)

16A American IPA (ABV over 5.5%)

17. New England Style IPA (Hazy IPA)

17A New England/Hazy IPA (ABV over 5.5%)

18. Double IPA

18A Hazy Double IPA

18B American Style Double IPA

19. Dark/Brown Ale

19A American Brown Ale

19B British Brown Ale

19C Dark Mild

20. Porter

20A American Porter

20B English Porter

20C Baltic Porter

21. Milk Stout

21A Milk Stout

22. Stout

22A Oatmeal Stout

22B Tropical Stout
22C Irish Stout

23. Imperial Stout

23A Imperial Stout

24. Strong Ale

24A Belgian Golden Strong Ale

24B Belgian Tripel
24C Strong British Ale

25. Wild Beer

25A Brett Beer

25B Wild Specialty Beer

26. Session Fruit Beer

26A Session Fruit Beer

26B Specialty Session Fruit Beer

27. Fruit Beer

27A Fruit Beer

27B Specialty Fruit Beer

28. Spice/Herb/Vegetable Beer (SHV)

28A Spice/Herb/Vegetable Beer

29. Wood/Barrel Aged Beer

29A Wood-Aged Beer

29B Specialty Wood-Aged Beer

30. Experimental Beer

30A Experimental Beer

30B Mixed-Style Beer

31. Flavoured Beer

31A Flavoured Beer

32. Tea Beer

32A Tea Beer

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Rules & Regulations

1. Judging.

Beers will be judged ‘blind’ by our panel of international experts (professional brewers and certified beer judges). Judges will be presented each competing beer in its appropriate category flight in a clear cup for evaluation according to the following 50 points judging criteria:

  - Appearance: Max 3 pts   - Aroma: Max 12 pts  - Flavour: Max 20 pts

  - Mouthfeel/Body: Max 5 pts  - Overall Impression/Technical Quality: Max 10 pts    (Total 50 pts)

The points allocated will be used as judging guidelines only, beers will advance in the competition and Gold, Silver, Bronze and Chairman's Selection will be awarded through judges discussion and consensus.

Judging notes will be returned to brewers for all beers entered into the competition.


2. Style Guidelines.

Beers will be judged in category according to their corresponding Asia Brewers Network Style Guidelines*. Brewers should enter the Category and Sub Category they wish to have their beer judged by in their entry form. Please see full Competition Categories above or online at: www.asiabeerchampionship.com/competition-categories. The competition organizers and judges reserve the right to disqualify beers they deem to have been entered into the incorrect category. Brewers should include tasting notes with their Entry Form if the judges need guidance for beer assessing. Full competition Beerstyle Guidelines can be found External link opens in new tab or windowHERE.


3. Definition.

For the purpose of the 2023 Asia Beer Championship, an Asian Brewery is defined as a brewery of any size with production facilities and producing beer for commercial purposes (sale on site or for national/regional distribution) in the following countries:

Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Dubai, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar (Burma), Nepal, North Korea, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Philippines, Qatar, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Turkey, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen.

Beers brewed at rented brewing facilities, “Gypsy/Contract Brew Beers”, may also enter the competition as long as the facilities used for production are in one of the above Asian countries.

A “Brewpub” is considered a restaurant or pub that has an on-site brewery with at least 70% of its produced beer volume sold on the premises.


4. Awards.

The top 3 beers in each category as decided by the judges will be awarded Gold, Silver & Bronze medals respectively, any beers scoring 38 points or over will be given a “Chairman’s Selection” accolade. In the event of a tie the Chairman’s decision is final. The top beer in each style category will enter a taste-off for the “Champion Beer of Asia” award. Winning and "Chairman's Selection" beers will be given digital versions of their award category logo for their own marketing and promotional use. The results of the competition will be publicly announced at a LIVE Awards Presentation Ceremony at Brew Asia in Bangkok, 17th October 2025.


ABC Beer Style Guidelines 2025.pdf

 

The Asia Beer Championship is organised by the Asia Brewers Network

Email: [email protected]

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