The Brewers Association’s Export Development Program (EDP) is pleased to announce the success of its members in two prestigious European beer competitions – the Brussels Beer Challenge and the European Beer Star Awards. Both competitions represent valuable opportunities to promote American craft beer in Europe and beyond.

Success at international beer competitions helps raise awareness for American craft beer abroad and assists EDP member breweries with generating publicity for their brands in overseas markets. As part of its programming, the EDP helps facilitate U.S. brewery participation and performance in select competitions by covering entry fees and consolidated airfreight shipment to judging sites.

Lotte Peplow, American craft beer ambassador for Europe for the Brewers Association, comments, “American craft beer is renowned the world over for its full flavor, style diversity, and groundbreaking innovation. Excelling at international beer competitions such as the Brussels Beer Challenge and the European Beer Star is testimony to its enduring success, and we are delighted to see American craft beer gaining high accolades in this most challenging of years.”

EDP brewery members performed strongly in the following competitions:

Brussels Beer Challenge

The Brussels Beer Challenge is an annual international beer competition that aims to promote the beer industry in a market that is not only a benchmark for beer, but also home to connoisseurs. This year saw the ninth iteration of the competition, albeit a scaled down version due to the pandemic.

This year, 1,546 beers were judged by 38 internationally renowned beer experts over two weeks. Participating beers are subdivided into categories based on origin, typology, and style, and then tasted.

Congratulations to the EDP members who were awarded 31 awards in total: nine gold, 12 silver, and 10 bronze including one ‘Best North American Beer of the Competition’.

European Beer Star

One of the most recognized beer competitions in the world, the European Beer Star Awards, took place for the 17th year in October 2020, and is committed to the traditional European art of brewing. It recognizes high quality, authentic beers that are genuine and distinctive, and is limited to beer categories that originate in Europe.

Despite the pandemic, the 2020 competition welcomed 2,036 entrants from 42 countries, of which 208 beers were from the United States. Medal winners came from 28 different countries and the awards ceremony was held digitally. Congratulations to the EDP member breweries who won 22 medals in total, including 11 gold, five silver, and six bronze.

The award-winning breweries are listed below — congratulations to all the winners.

European Beer Star

Brussels Beer Challenge

The Brewers Association Export Development Program (EDP) works to inform member breweries about opportunities to sell and promote their beers in targeted global markets, and educate international trade and media about proper storage and care for craft beer, as well as the collective quality and diversity of styles created by small and independent American craft brewers.