Finest Beer Selection 2026 with strong tasting expertise
The Finest Beer Selection once again underscored the growing significance of the quality seal in 2026 with an outstanding response. From May 19 to 21, 2026, 843 beers were tasted and evaluated at Doemens in Gräfelfing. They were submitted by breweries from 15 countries, including beers from Vietnam, Japan, and South Korea, as well as Lithuania, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. Since its launch in 2023, the Finest Beer Selection has established itself as a platform for independent beer quality far beyond the German-speaking world.
The competition is organized by Meininger Verlag and Doemens. At its core is a transparent, sensory-based evaluation system: an international panel of 50 beer experts from twelve countries evaluates each beer in a blind tasting. The jury is composed of beer sommeliers, brewers, master brewers, and other industry experts. Particularly noteworthy is the further increase in the international diversity of the tasters. For the first time, three World Beer Sommelier Champions—Simonmattia Riva, Oliver Wesseloh (Doemens), and Léon Rodenburg—were part of the jury—a clear sign of the competition’s high professional standards.
Beers are not evaluated in direct comparison with one another, but rather on an individual basis. Each beer receives an overall score on a 100-point scale, known as the Finest Beer Score. Beers that achieve 90 points or more are included in the Finest Beer Selection 2026 and are permitted to use the corresponding seal. New this year is the inclusion of beer-based mixed drinks, which were submitted in large numbers.
As part of the Finest Beer Selection, the special awards “Beer of the Year” and “Brewery of the Year” are also presented—for German and international entries, respectively. The awards go to the beers with the highest scores as well as to the breweries that place the most products in the Selection. The winning breweries will be honored on June 29, 2026, in Neustadt an der Weinstraße.
