Exclusive benefit for BA Export Development Program members
Not a member? Learn more about the Program benefits and fees.
Hosted by Japan’s Craft Beer Association, the International Beer Cup is Japan’s largest international beer competition and provides a valuable opportunity for members of the Export Development Program (EDP) to compete and gain brand awareness among one of the leading export markets for American craft beer.
In 2022, the competition attracted 1,111 entries from breweries in 16 countries. American craft brewers won 35 awards.
In 2023, the Brewers Association Export Development Program will be coordinating a consolidated airfreight shipment of EDP members’ entries. The BA will cover the entry fees, cold storage, and shipment to the competition for members of the program. There is no limit on the number of submissions per brewery, but the EDP will only cover the cost of the first three entries, additional entries will be paid by the brewery.
Event Timeline
- Entry Registration Window: July 19 – Aug 21
- Export certificates due (details below): Aug 21
- Delivery of entries due to Global Craft Trading warehouse in California: Aug 28
- Judging takes place Sept 28-30 in Kanazawa
- Awards to be announced Oct 1 on the website of the Craft Beer Association of Japan
Cost
Participating breweries are responsible for delivering entries to the consolidation point.
The EDP will cover entry fees for up to three brands per brewery that use the EDP discount count. Breweries can register more than three brands but will be asked to remit payment for the number of brands submitted beyond three. The fee per additional brand is a discounted rate of ¥9000 (approximately $65)–if you enter more than three brands, payment will take place upon the completion of registration.
The EDP will cover air freight, customs clearance, and delivery costs for all entries.
Registration Instructions
Registration & Export Certificate Submission deadline: August 21
- Review the following items:
- Competition Registration:
- Complete registration on the competition website
- EDP members will use coupon code 2023edpf at checkout to authorize EDP membership and zero out the first three entry fees.
- For the shipping option, select “2. By my arrangements” in the online entry form.
- EDP Shipping Registration:
- Once you have completed registration with the competition, the Export Development Program (EDP) needs to collect information from each brewery to prepare the shipment. Please complete the form at the bottom of this page.
- Export Certificate Submission – In order to ship beer to Japan, breweries must provide certain documents for customs clearance. These documents must be emailed (word doc format is highly preferred) to Steve Parr and Leonard Noto by August 21. Signatures are not needed on these forms. For breweries that have previously shipped beer to Japan or participated in an EDP shipment to Japan, it is suggested that previously completed export certificates be used as a template. Specifically, each brewery will need to fill out the following documents on brewery letterhead with your logo:
- Manufacturers Certificate for each beer – download template
- This certificate breaks down the ingredients in each product by weight in the recipe, including any specialty (non-regular beer) ingredients and their country of origin. Water, malted barley, hops, and yeast do not need to state their country of origin, only ingredients such as fruit, spices, etc. The contents/requirements of this certificate are:
- On company letterhead with the title “Manufacturers Certification”
- Name of the Beer
- Packaging Type and Size in oz and ml (bottles, cans, kegs)
- Alcohol Percentage
- List of ingredients with their percentage by weight in the recipe as well as the country of origin of any specialty ingredients. This is the most critical portion of this certificate. To calculate the numbers, it is sufficient to take the weight of all ingredients going into the recipe (malted barley, hops, water, yeast, and any specialty ingredients) rather than what is in the finished product once filtered. If there are any specialty ingredients, their country of origin must be listed. Hop and grain types do not need to be separated, however, wheat should be listed as a separate item if present in the recipe.
- A standard statement that the ingredients and processing requirements meet US Food requirements for human consumption.
- Name of the person authorized to provide this information as well as the brewery address at the bottom of the page.
- This certificate breaks down the ingredients in each product by weight in the recipe, including any specialty (non-regular beer) ingredients and their country of origin. Water, malted barley, hops, and yeast do not need to state their country of origin, only ingredients such as fruit, spices, etc. The contents/requirements of this certificate are:
- Production Process Statement for each beer – download template
- This certificate outlines the production process from brew day all the way through to packaging. You can use a template for clean (non-sour or BA) beers and just change the name and ingredients list at the top. For beers with special ingredients, it should be noted where in the process those ingredients are used. The contents/requirements of this certificate are:
- On company letterhead with the title “Production Process Sheet”
- Name of the beer
- Ingredients list that matches the accompanying Manufacturers Certificate
- Production process steps, including any applicable barrel aging or unique steps. Please list the method of filtering used if and where it applies in the process.
- Any specialty ingredients used must be present at their correct step in the production process.
- This certificate outlines the production process from brew day all the way through to packaging. You can use a template for clean (non-sour or BA) beers and just change the name and ingredients list at the top. For beers with special ingredients, it should be noted where in the process those ingredients are used. The contents/requirements of this certificate are:
- Manufacturers Certificate for each beer – download template
Beer Volume Requirements for Judging
The minimum volume required for judging is 8 bottles/cans for all beer styles.
Shipping & Deadline Information
Beers are due to the Wilmington, California warehouse no later than August 28 Late arrivals cannot be accepted for this shipment.
Labeling of individual bottles/cans is only required if the commercial label is not displayed. If each entry does not have a commercial label, please print/complete/affix the competition label template.
All cases must be clearly labeled “EDP/IBC” or print/attach this label.
Note: Palletized deliveries must be scheduled with Global Craft prior to arrival. It is required to have a dock appointment otherwise delivery may be refused or assessed for additional fees.
It is the responsibility of the brewery to correctly identify, package, and dispatch samples in a safe manner for consolidated shipment. Please safely pack the samples for shipping and include the original case/tray inside the outer carton if possible. This is important as the beers will be palletized tightly for air shipment and excess packaging will be discarded at consolidation. Parcel shipments should be packed safely so that they are not subject to damage by the courier service.
Looking for tips on packing/shipping beer for competitions? Start with Slide 15 of this Craft Brewers Conference seminar Opens International Shipping for U.S. Brewers.
Global Craft Trading Warehouse:
Global Craft Trading, Inc.
Attn: EDP/IBC
901 East “E” Street
Suite 201
Wilmington, CA 90744
Tel: 310-514-7226
Delivery Contact Person: Leonard Noto, ops@globalcraft.com, 310-514-7226
EDP Member Registration Form
Must be completed in addition to registering with the competition. If the registration form does not appear below, please refresh your browser.
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