Preamble 

For years, Meininger and Doemens have been recognised experts in the tasting of beer. The two companies jointly organise the Finest Beer Selection. This is a sensory test and quality award for beer specialities from all over the world. The aim of this quality test is to promote the quality and marketing of the submitted products. The independent, neutral and professional judging of the beer specialities by a competent jury ensures serious and professional evaluation. On the basis of an evaluation scheme – a 100-point scheme is currently used – the Finest Beer Score is individually determined for each beer entered. If a minimum score specified by the organisers is reached, currently 90 points, these beers are awarded the seal “Finest Beer Selection”. This limited bestowing of awards, strictly oriented towards quality standards, gives the Finest Beer Selection medals a high level of prestige. 
 

1. Organisers 

Meininger Verlag GmbH and Doemens Academy GmbH (hereinafter referred to as the “Organiser(s)”) carry out a sensory test with the Finest Beer Selection. This event takes place once a year, alternating time intervals are possible in principle.  

2. Entrants 

Every commercially operated brewery with its own brewing facility, duly registered according to the respective national law, is entitled to participate and can therefore send in beers for the Finest Beer Selection as an entrant.  

Entrants shall ensure that the beer that they have registered for the competition will be marketed in a suitable manner. 

Also admitted to the competition are so-called test brews, including from pilot breweries, universities, schools and institutions, among others. These beers shall be tasted in the competition and the submitter informed of the result. No award shall be given in terms of the Finest Beer Selection. Participation in the competition shall be exclusively for the purpose of receiving external, neutral feedback and the beers shall be excluded from the award. If the test brew is later placed on the market as a marketable beer, it can be registered again and participate as a regular product with eligibility for the receiving of an award. 

Beers produced by several breweries under the same brand or recipe are excluded from participation. 

Entrants, including so-called “gypsy brewers”, which do not have their own brewing facility are entitled to participate if they prove that the beer they have registered for participation is brewed in each case according to their own, predetermined recipe as a separate batch in a brewery and is then marketed by them in their own name. 

Excluded from participation are beers the promotion of which contains content that is punishable or offends against the honour of third parties or against good morals. Likewise, breweries which put in circulation beers the promotion of which contains content that is punishable or offends against the honour of third parties or against good morals are also excluded from participation, even if these are beers that have not been registered.  

The Organiser may prohibit breweries which are not eligible to participate, or which violate these rules, from participating in the competition or retroactively withdraw an awarded prize. No legal right to participation exists. 
 

3. Eligible products  

Fermented malt beverages in conformity with the common understanding of “beer” within the industry, with natural ingredients, are eligible.  

The samples must comply with the manufacturing and labelling regulations of the respective third countries or with the regulations of the European Union. 

Beer mixed drinks, in the sense that further liquids, such as lemonades or juices, are added to the brewed beer, are explicitly excluded from the competition. The products must be ready-made and fit for immediate human consumption.  

Participation shall be limited to products already bottled or packaged in other containers suitable for consumer use, and these containers shall be equipped with a label suitable for market use.  
Every submitter may take part in the competition with as many products as they wish.  

Only customs-cleared samples delivered free to Doemens Academy GmbH shall be accepted. 

The Organisers reserve the right to further charge the submitter for taxes, duties or other charges incurred and invoiced for the products submitted, as well as any processing fees. 

Samples that are not received in time for the deadline may be excluded from the competition. 

4. Registration of beers 

The participating breweries register the beers in a registration tool on the organisers’ website (www.finest-beer-selection.com).  

In the framework of registration, the breweries shall enter the respective beer style in the system. The breweries here have the opportunity to select the one that suits their beer. Alternatively, if their beer style is not listed in the given selection, breweries can describe their beers by entering corresponding attributes.  

For each sample, the necessary information must be fully recorded in the system.  This information is obligatory for all publications, documents and awards. If the data is not provided in full by the submitter, the Organisers reserve the right not to give the product an award. 
Each participant can register a beer for the Finest Beer Selection only once within a year, and the same beer may not be registered several times stating different beer styles.  

5. Registration fee 

A registration fee shall be charged for each sample submitted. The receipt of full payment of the fees is a prerequisite for participation in the quality test. Regardless of actual participation – registration obliges payment of the stated fee. 

The entrant must pay EUR 230.00 per registered beer as a registration fee to the Organisers, provided that the organisers have received the registration for these beers by 15th March 2024 at the latest (early registration discount). For registration after 15th March 2024, the registration fee is EUR 260.00 per beer. 

If 3 or more beers are registered at the same time in one registration process, the registration fee shall be reduced to EUR 200.00 per beer in the case of a registration on 15th March 2024 at the latest (early registration discount). For registration after 15th March 2024, if 3 or more beers are registered at the same time, the registration fee is EUR 230.00 per beer. 

The registration fee for German entrants is increased by the valid German VAT. Entrants from EU countries are exempt from VAT. For this purpose, the valid VAT ID must be entered during the registration. Entrants from third countries are exempt from VAT if a verifiable confirmation valid as evidence of a business activity is uploaded as part of the registration. 

Entrants must meet their tax obligations independently in their respective countries of origin. 

The deadline for registration is 25th August 2023. Refunding of the registration fee is ruled out in the case of cancellation of participation after the registration deadline. This shall not apply if the competition is cancelled for reasons for which the Organiser is responsible. 

6. Beer samples 

The samples of beer shall be provided as commercially marketed, including the label. For this purpose, for each registered beer, the Entrant must send 

• 8 bottles/cans with a filling quantity of 0.5l per bottle/can or 

• 6 bottles/cans with a filling quantity of more than 0.5 l per bottle/can or 

• 10 bottles/cans with a filling quantity of less than 0.5 l per bottle/can 

with a clearly visible note “Finest Beer Selection 2024” to the following address: 

Doemens Academy GmbH  
Lohenstraße 3, 82166 Gräfelfing, Germany 

The corresponding delivery must without fail be accompanied by a printout of the product passport (PDF) provided as part of the beer registration. This is used for the correct entry of the beers into the appropriate database. 

The Organisers shall announce the start and end of the submission period in an appropriate manner. Currently, the samples for the tasting are to be delivered between 6th of Mai and 4th of June 2024 (arriving at Doemens). 

The organiser reserves the right to name a different delivery address. 

Shipping is in each case at the expense and risk of the Entrant. If, due to breakage, there is not a sufficient quantity of beer samples, this beer cannot be evaluated. 

In such cases, the Organisers are entitled to request further beer samples. 

7. Evaluation 

The evaluation of the submitted beers is carried out by an experienced and independent jury appointed by the Organiser, using anonymised tasting. A system of evaluation developed by the organisers, currently a 100-point scheme, is used. As a result of the tasting, the jury determines a score, the so-called Finest Beer Score. In addition, the jury creates a sensory flavour profile for each beer, which is summarised in a so-called spiderweb presentation. For each of their registered beers, entrants receive the Finest Beer Score and the corresponding spiderweb. 

8. Award-winners/publication 

All beers with a Finest Beer Score reaching at least the award limit – currently 90 points – will receive an award. These award winners will receive a certificate and a medal in digital form for each beer winning an award.  

The Organisers publish the winning beers and the names of the winners who agree to this, in connection with the Finest Beer Score achieved and the respective spiderweb. Publication takes place, among other places, on the website of the Finest Beer Selection, on the websites of the Organisers and in the relevant specialist publications of the Meininger Verlag, Neustadt an der Weinstraße.  

The awards will be announced during an official award ceremony, the venue and date of which will be named beforehand by the Organisers. 

The Organisers will inform the award-winners within 2 weeks after the end of the tasting whether and which beers have been given an award.  

The award winners undertake to keep information about the winning of the award secret until the official award ceremony and to ensure that the public is not informed about the winning of the award in the run-up to the official award ceremony.  

Entrants who do not receive an award will not be published. 

If it becomes known that an award winner has violated these conditions of participation or published an award before the award ceremony, the Organisers can strip them of the award. 

9. Additional awards 

• The best beer speciality and the best brewer can in each case be given the corresponding additional award. The following are envisaged:  

• Beer of the Year National and International 

• Brewer of the Year National and International  

If there are several best samples which are even on points, the Organisers reserve the right to convene a master jury to taste the products again. Thus, only one beer speciality can be given an additional award.  

The Brewer of the Year will be the brewery with the highest average point score of its award-winning beers, taking into account only participating brewers which have achieved at least five beer awards within a year.  

For the additional award, the entrant receives a certificate and a medal provided by the Organisers can be used in digital form.  

The Organisers reserve the right not to give an additional award one year.  
 
 

10. Brand names 

The Organisers are the holders of the word and figurative mark Finest Beer Selection, the image of which is attached as an essential part of these conditions of participation (“Word and figurative mark Finest Beer Selection”, April 2023). Derived from this is a medal, on which the achieved Finest Beer Score is presented, see appendix. The word and figurative mark is hereinafter referred to as the “trademark”.  

The user is solely responsible for the use of the trademark and medals, in particular in the context of advertising. 

11. Form and duration of trademark use 

Entrants with award-winning beers shall be able to use the Finest Beer Selection awards and logos for their labelling and advertising. The following terms of use apply to the use of the awards and medals. 

• Use of the trademark is only permitted for those beers which correspond in their composition, quality and declaration to the award-winning beer samples. 

• The trademark supplied, the seal of quality must only be used and depicted in the colours, forms, proportions and text given in the appendix, but may be used in any sizes.  

• The entrant must obtain the dataset of the trademark from the Organiser. 

• The use of the trademark must be in close connection with the designation of the award-winning beer and the year the award was given. 

• The beer advertised with the trademark may only be produced by the entrant themselves and placed on the market under their name. 

• The trademark shall be added to the packaging or to the label in sufficient size, in a clearly visible place and in a legible manner. 

• In the case of outer packaging, the naming of the trademark shall be admissible only if the beers contained therein are themselves marked with the trademark. 

• The trademark may also be used permanently in compliance with the aforementioned criteria and provisions, in particular with the addition of the year in which the award was won. 

• Any use of the trademark other than that described in these provisions, including their annexes, shall be eliminated immediately and at the expense of the perpetrator of the infringement. 

• These provisions are without prejudice to the Organiser’s ownership of the trademark. 

12. Cancellation of the Finest Beer Selection 

The Organisers reserve the right to cancel the quality test for good cause. In the event of such a cancellation, claims against the Organisers by companies wishing to participate are ruled out. In the event of cancellation, any registration fees already paid will be refunded by the Organisers to the respective entrants. 

13. Term of validity/obligation 

By completing the registration, the entrant accepts the conditions of participation of Finest Beer Selection. In case of dispute, the court responsible for Neustadt an der Weinstraße must be called upon. 

14. Recourse to the courts 

The competition judges’ decision is final. 

Neustadt/Gräfelfing April 2023