Overview
- TLD: .beer — a generic top-level domain (gTLD) introduced through ICANN's New gTLD Program.
- Meaning & purpose: Intended to create a clear top-level association with the beer industry for brewers, brands, retailers and consumers.
- Type & category: Open gTLD, categorized under Food & Drink.
- Registry & management:
- Registry operator: Minds + Machines Group Limited (MMX).
- Manager (as listed in registry metadata): Top Level Domain Holdings Ltd.
- Registry website: http://www.nic.beer
History
- Applicant & operator: Minds + Machines (MMX) applied for .beer as part of its portfolio of new gTLD applications and became the Registry Operator.
- Contract: A Registry Agreement for .beer was signed with ICANN on 09 January 2014.
- Delegation: The .beer string was delegated to the DNS root zone on 15 May 2014.
- Application context: The .beer application was one of many strings submitted by MMX during the New gTLD Program.
Usage and Audience
- Target audiences:
- Brewers and breweries (craft and commercial).
- Beer brands and distributors.
- Beer retailers, pubs, bars and beer-focused events.
- Beer enthusiasts, reviewers, bloggers and community groups.
- Marketing intent: The registry markets .beer to registrants who want to associate themselves, their products or services with the beer industry and to communicate with beer-focused audiences in an identifiable way.
Registration Rules
- Registration model: Open gTLD (intended for broad public registration rather than a restrictive community-only string).
- Eligibility & restrictions: The registry considered more restrictive rules (e.g., limiting registrations to members of industry organizations) but rejected them to encourage broad association with the beer sector.
- Rights protection & abuse prevention: The registry stated plans to implement a Naming Policy, Acceptable Use Policy and a Complaint Resolution Service, and to ensure these mechanisms work alongside ICANN-mandated protections such as the UDRP.
SEO and Brand Impact
- Brand positioning: .beer is intended to provide a strong, industry-specific top-level association that helps registrants signal a connection to the beer sector (products, services, communities).
- Perception: The registry emphasizes association with the beer industry as the primary branding benefit for registrants.
Notable Cases or Examples
- Notable users: The registry describes .beer as an "open interest focussed string" for brewers, brands and individuals to associate themselves or their offerings with the beer industry. No specific flagship registrations or named examples are listed in the provided source.
Operator
Registry Services, LLC
Whois
% IANA WHOIS server
% for more information on IANA, visit http://www.iana.org
% This query returned 1 object
domain: BEER
organisation: Registry Services, LLC
address: 100 S. Mill Ave, Suite 1600
address: Tempe AZ 85281
address: United States of America (the)
contact: administrative
name: IANA Contact
organisation: GoDaddy Registry
address: 100 S. Mill Ave, Suite 1600
address: Tempe AZ 85281
address: United States of America (the)
phone: +1 480-505-8800
fax-no: +1 480-624-2546
e-mail: iana@registry.godaddy
contact: technical
name: IANA Contact
organisation: GoDaddy Registry
address: 100 S. Mill Ave, Suite 1600
address: Tempe AZ 85281
address: United States of America (the)
phone: +1 480-505-8800
fax-no: +1 480-624-2546
e-mail: iana@registry.godaddy
nserver: A.NIC.BEER 2001:dcd:1:0:0:0:0:10 37.209.192.10
nserver: B.NIC.BEER 2001:dcd:2:0:0:0:0:10 37.209.194.10
nserver: C.NIC.BEER 2001:dcd:3:0:0:0:0:10 37.209.196.10
nserver: X.NIC.BEER 156.154.172.82 2610:a1:1074:0:0:0:1:82
nserver: Y.NIC.BEER 156.154.173.82 2610:a1:1075:0:0:0:1:82
nserver: Z.NIC.BEER 156.154.174.82 2610:a1:1076:0:0:0:1:82
ds-rdata: 39367 8 2 32940ab06d3524457f9ddead6c3c0c76729eec27c5cc02244cea24e9fd9e47f4
whois: whois.nic.beer
status: ACTIVE
remarks: Registration information: http://nic.beer/
created: 2014-03-13
changed: 2024-04-16
source: IANA
Registrars
