Gold
Accurately reflects the designated style and shows an appropriate balance of flavor, aroma and appearance.
MEDAL CRITERIA
Judging Criteria
The KIBA judging panel evaluates entries according to the judging criteria of each category and selects the Gold, Silver and Bronze winners.
However, if no beer meets the award criteria, no winner may be selected at that medal level.
Silver
Stays close to the style and shows excellent flavor, aroma and appearance.
Bronze
May differ somewhat from the designated style or have minor flaws in flavor, aroma or appearance.
Eligibility
General Eligibility
- Fermented malt beverages brewed at a licensed commercial brewery are eligible to enter KIBA.
- “Commercial” means the beer is available for sale at retail at the time of registration.
Brewery Requirements
- The brewery must be fully licensed in its country to produce and commercially sell beer.
- The brewery must be operating with all required permits.
- The brewery must have at least one beer available for sale at retail at the time of registration.
- Only breweries that meet the brewery eligibility requirements may enter beers in KIBA.
* Breweries in planning, home-brewing facilities and other breweries that do not meet these criteria are not eligible.
Beer Requirements
- All beers registered for KIBA must be commercially available.
- Entries must have the characteristics generally regarded as “beer” and understood as beer by consumers.
- Under the Korean Liquor Tax Act, beer under 1% ABV is considered non-alcoholic beer.
* At least 10% of the fermentable carbohydrates must be derived from malted grain. Beverages made from malt substitutes that are mostly fermentable sugars, such as honey, fruit or fruit juice, are not eligible.
* Only beers containing hops are eligible. Gruit and other historical beer styles that traditionally use other herbs or spices are an exception.
Not Eligible
Mead, cider, spirits, soft drinks, hard seltzer, and malt beverages containing kombucha, shandy or radler cannot be entered in KIBA.
Judging
Judge Selection
The KIBA Organizing Committee selects internationally recognized brewers, industry experts and accomplished judges from other international competitions. Our judges are highly skilled at evaluating beer and can give appropriate feedback on a beer's inherent flaws. KIBA uses English as its common language for smooth communication among judges from around the world, so all judges must be fluent in English.
Judging Procedures
KIBA judging takes place over two days, starting the day before KIBEX (DRINK SEOUL). Judges may not judge their own beers. All beers are judged by about 50 experienced judges from Korea and abroad selected by the KIBA organizers, and each beer is evaluated by at least five judges. Winners in each category are decided through discussion within the judging group. All judges use the score sheet provided by KIBA, and entrants can receive score sheets with the judges' comments after the competition. Judges play several important roles at KIBA: they not only select winners that precisely meet the award criteria, but also give entrants useful feedback for improving the quality of their beer.