Privacy Statement

Privacy policy

We welcome you as a visitor to our website and thank you for your interest in our company and services. The protection of your privacy rights while using our website is very important to us. As the responsible legal entity and service provider, we,

Palatia Malz GmbH
Kurfürsten-Anlage 52
D-69115 Heidelberg
(Impressum)

(hereinafter also referred to as „we“ or „Palatia Malz“)

wish to inform you concerning the processing of your personal data and your rights as a user of the website bestbrewchallenge.com (hereinafter referred to as the „Website“).

Processing of your personal data takes place exclusively within the framework of the statutory provisions of the data protection law of the European Union, in particular the EU General Data Protection Regulation (hereinafter „GDPR“) and, additionally, the German Federal Data Protection Act (Bundesdatenschutzgesetz hereinafter „BDSG“) as well as other statutory provisions on data protection (together „Privacy Laws“).

Should you be interested in reviewing the GDPR, you you can acquaint yourself with the full text on the internet at: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32016R0679

This Privacy Policy pertains only to the Website accessible under the domain „bestmalz.de“. The following notices do not pertain to other websites belonging to Palatia Malz or third-party websites linked to from the Website. The terms used, such as „Personal data“ or „processing“ correspond to their definitions in Art. 4 GDPR.

Overview

Subject of data protection, legal basis and sources
Data categories
Server log data
Communication by e-mail
Registration of participants
Cookies
Google Analytics
Third-party services and content
Links to social networks and platforms
Comments on this Website
Recipient of personal data
Data processing in third countries
Storage time
Your rights
Our Data Protection Officer
Safety
Amendments

1. Subject of data protection, legal basis and sources

The subject of data protection is personal data. Personal data is information about the personal and factual circumstances of a specific or identifiable natural person. Your personal data therefore includes all data that could allow someone to identify you, such as your name, address, telephone number or e-mail address. Personal data also includes information resulting from the use of our Website, such as the beginning, end and scope of use, or your IP address. For details on the personal data categories processed by us, see section 2.

We process your data only if an applicable law allows this. The following are the primary legal basis for the processing of your data:

Consent (Article 6 (1) sentence 1 (a) GDPR): We will process certain data only on the basis of your prior explicit and voluntary consent. You have the right to revoke your consent at any time with effect for the future.
Contract fulfillment or implementation of pre-contractual measures (Art. 6 (1) sentence 1 letter b DSGVO): In particular for the initiation or execution of a contract with Palatia Malz, we require certain data from you.
Fulfillment of a legal obligation (Art. 6 (1) sentence 1 (c) GDPR): In addition, we process your personal data in order to fulfill legal obligations, such as commercial and fiscal document retention requirements.
Safeguarding of legitimate interests (Article 6 (1) (1) (f) GDPR): Palatia Malz will process certain data in order to safeguard its interests or those of third parties. This, however, only applies in individual cases if your interests do not predominate.

Please note that this is not a complete or exhaustive list of the possible legal basis, but is merely a list of examples with the purpose of making the data protection legal basis more transparent. For details on the legal basis of individual data processing cases on our Website, please refer to the passages below.

This personal data is derived from the following sources:

Mostly from yourself, especially resulting from your contact requests, orders and information granted during the conclusion of a contract,
From our dealers and distributors in Germany and abroad as far as such information is required to process your orders and inquiries,
From other business partners of our company in Germany and abroad as far as such partners need such information for delivering our products and providing accompanying services,
From professional service providers and organizations in Germany and abroad who provide us with personal data in the course of the organization of trade fairs, sales and similar events – possibly in an unsolicited manner and without an explicit instruction to do so on our behalf.

2. Data categories

We regularly process the following data categories pertaining to individuals:

Basic data, in particular your name, title and, if applicable, your company.
Contact details, in particular your postal address as well as possibly your telephone numbers, fax number and e-mail address.
Contract data, in particular data that you provide us with when opening a distributor or customer account or for the execution of a contract.
Invoice and payment data, in particular details concerning your payment method and other data regarding payments and billing.
Content data, in particular texts, photos and data contained in your correspondence with us.
Usage data, in particular which pages of our Website you visit, the access times and your IP address.

3. Server log data

You can access the public part of our website without prior registration and without giving any personal information. By visiting our website, the following information regarding your website access can be stored:

IP address of the requesting device,
file retrieved,
http response code,
the website from which you accessed our Website (referrer URL),
date, time and time zone of the server request,
browser type and version,
operating system of the requesting device,
search term with which the website was found, for example via Google.

We process this access data on the basis of Art. 6 (1) (1) (f) GDPR in order to provide access to the Website and to ensure the technical operation and security of our IT systems. In doing so, we pursue our interest of enabling and sustaining the use of our Website and its technical functionality. This data is processed automatically when you access our Website. You cannot use our Website without this provision. We do not use this data for the purpose of drawing conclusions about your identity.

This automatically collected data is partially anonymized after seven days. The log files are deleted after nine weeks at the latest.

You cannot object to the collection and storage of your server access data as this information is essential for the smooth operation of the Website.

4. Communication by e-mail

If you contact us by e-mail, the collection, processing and use of your voluntarily communicated contact data (such as your name and e-mail address) occurs with the sole purpose of receiving, technically administering and, possibly, answering your request(s).

The processing of data, which is transmitted when contacting us by e-mail, occurs on the basis of Art. 6 (1) (1) (b) GDPR when it involves the initiation of a contractual relationship or on the basis of Art. 6 (1) (1) (f) GDPR. In the latter case, we have a legitimate interest in handling voluntarily transmitted contact requests.

We will delete the data that you provide as soon as the purpose of recording it no longer exists, unless their retention is necessary for the fulfillment existing statutory requirements.

Insofar as your data is processed on the basis of legitimate interests, you can object at any time to the storage of your personal data.

Since communication via e-mail does not take place via a secured data connection, please refrain from sending confidential information such as bank or credit card information. We recommend that you transmit confidential information in a secure way, such as by postal mail.

5. Registration of participants

If you register as a participant of the Best Brew Challenge and provide us with your data, this data is processed by us. The data you provide includes basic data, contact details, and any additional information you provide us during the registration process, such as photos, images and description texts.

Processing occurs on the basis of Art. 6 (1) (1) (b) GDPR (facilitate participation according to event conditions) or Art. 6 (1) (1) (c) GDPR, if data storage takes place in order to fulfill legal retention requirements. Information collected in fields marked as required is necessary for participating in the event. In addition, you can provide voluntary information. Voluntary information is stored on the basis of Article 6 (1) (1) (f) GDPR, as we have a legitimate interest in processing data voluntarily provided by you. You may object to the processing of voluntarily provided data at any time.

With the login function „Remember me“ we intend to make visiting our Website as comfortable as possible. This feature allows you to use our Website without repeatedly logging in for each visit. We recommend that you do not use this function if your access device is used by others. Please note that if you use a setting in your browser that automatically deletes stored cookies after each session „Remember me“ feature will not be available.

As part of the Best Brew Challenge, we publish the following content on our website, which may in individual cases contain personal data: brewery name, brewery description, brewery address, brewery logo, uploaded photos, YouTube video link. This content remains accessible after the event in the public event archive. We have a legitimate interest in promoting the Best Brew Challenge as a public relations event and in publishing accompanying editorial reports. In cases where personal data is in fact published, we base such processing on Article 6 (1) (1) (f) GDPR. In this case, you as the affected party have the right to object to further publication or other processing at any time. We will then immediately delete your data or render it publicly inaccessible.

We transmit your data to third parties (such as event organizers) only as part of the Best Brew Challenge, and where this is necessary for your registration or participation in the event (Article 6 (1) (1) (b) GDPR) or within the scope of our legal rights and obligations, e.g. to tax consultants, auditors and public authorities. Data will be processed in third countries only if this is necessary in order to fulfill the contract, e.g. delivering material to a third country (Article 6 (1) (1) (b) GDPR).

6. Cookies

The website uses cookies and similar technologies, such as HTML5 storage (hereinafter collectively referred to as „Cookies“), in order to optimize use of the Website. Use of Cookies facilitates navigation and a higher degree of user-friendliness.

Cookies are small data sets that our web server sends to your browser and which are saved on your device, provided the appropriate default settings of your device have not been changed. These can be used e.g. to determine if your device has already communicated with us. They thereby serve the purpose of making the use of our Website more comfortable and to optimize our services. Processing occurs on the basis of Article 6 (1) (1) (f) GDPR with respect to essential Cookies and on the basis of 6 (1) (1) (a) GDPR, provided that you consented to the use of third-party Cookies. Personal data can be stored in Cookies if this is technically necessary or if you have given your consent.

When using our Website, you can give us your consent to the use and storage of third-party Cookies on your device. You may revoke your consent to the use and storage of such Cookies at any time with future effect by deactivating the Cookie settings of this website described below regarding third-party Cookies (paragraph 6 (c)).

If you are against the use of essential Cookies (paragraph 6 (a)) as well as additional Cookies (paragraph 6 (b)), you can choose „do not accept cookies“ in your browser settings. Please refer to your browser’s help function for instructions on technically managing and deleting Cookies in your browser settings.

In addition, you can technically manage and prevent the storage and use of all Cookies by using free browser plug-ins such as „Adblock Plus“ (adblockplus.org) in combination with the „EasyPrivacy“ list (easylist.to) or „Ghostery“ (ghostery.com).

Please note that if you prevent the storage of any Cookies, this may lead to functional limitations of the Website.

a) Essential Cookies

We use the following essential Cookies for the operation of our Website, for which we have a legitimate interest in storing and without which we would not be able to offer the use of our Website with certain basic functions (e.g. not requiring you to log in every time you open a new page):

Essential Cookies can only be deactivated technically via your browser settings or browser plug-ins. This can lead to functional limitations of the Website.

b) Non-essential first-party Cookies

Non-essential first-party Cookies, which are not absolutely necessary for Website use, but nevertheless fulfill important tasks. They allow comfortable surfing on our Website, such as browser language detection. Furthermore, we can dynamically generate customized content. We use the following non-essential first-party Cookies on our Website:

Non-essential first-party Cookies can only be deactivated technically via your browser settings or browser plug-ins. This can lead to functional limitations of the Website.

c) Third-party Cookies

In order to facilitate the integration of content and functions of third-party providers (see also the following paragraphs) we use third-party cookies, which make e.g. possible for them to obtain information that you have accessed this Website. Please visit the third-party website for more information on their use of Cookies. We use the following third-party cookies:

You can revoke your consent here: [cookies_revoke]

7. Google Analytics

If you have consented to the use and storage of third-party cookies, we use Google Analytics 4, a service provided by Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, 4 Barrow St, Dublin, D04 E5W5, Ireland (“Google”), with which the use of websites can be analyzed.

Standardly when using Google Analytics 4, so-called “cookies” are implemented. Cookies are text files that are stored on your device and enable analysis of your website use. The information collected by cookies about your website use (including the IP address transmitted by your device and shortened by the last few digits) is usually transmitted to a Google server, where it is stored and processed. This can also result in the transmission of information to the servers of Google LLC, based in the USA, and further processing of information there.

When using Google Analytics 4, the IP address transmitted by your device while browsing the website is automatically collected and processed in an anonymized manner, so that the information collected cannot be directly linked to a person. This automatic anonymization is implemented by shortening the IP address transmitted by your device by the last digits within member states of the European Union (EU) or from other contracting states of the Agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA).

On our behalf, Google uses this and other information to evaluate your use of the website, to compile reports on your website activities or your usage behavior and to provide us with other services related to your website and internet usage. The abbreviated IP address transmitted by your device as part of Google Analytics 4 is not merged with other Google data. The data collected as part of the use of Google Analytics 4 is stored for 2 months and then deleted.

With a special function, the so-called “demographic characteristics”, Google Analytics 4 also enables the creation of statistics with statements about the age, gender and interests of website users on the basis of an evaluation of interest-related advertising and the use of information from third parties. This makes it possible to determine and differentiate between groups of users of the website for the purpose of target group-optimized alignment of marketing measures. However, data recorded via the “demographic characteristics” cannot be assigned to a specific person and therefore cannot be assigned to you personally. This data recorded using the “demographic characteristics” function is stored for two months and then deleted.

All of the processing described above, in particular the setting of Google Analytics cookies for the storage and reading of information on the device you use to use the website, only take place if you have provided us with this in accordance with Art. 6 Para. 1a GDPR have given your express consent. Without your consent, Google Analytics 4 will not be used while you are using the website. You can revoke your once given consent at any time with effect for the future. To exercise your revocation, please deactivate this service using the link in the footer area of this website.

We have concluded a so-called order processing contract with Google for our use of Google Analytics 4, through which Google is obliged to protect the data of our website users and not to pass them on to third parties.

To ensure compliance with the European level of data protection, even when data is transferred from the EU or the EEA to the USA and the possible further processing there, Google relies on the so-called standard contractual clauses of the European Commission, which we have contractually agreed with Google.

Further legal information on Google Analytics 4, including a copy of the standard contractual clauses mentioned, can be found at the following link: https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=de&gl=de

Details on the processing initiated by Google Analytics 4 and how Google handles data from websites can be found here: https://policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites

8. Third-party services and content

On our Website, we use plug-ins from third-party providers to provide their content, such as maps or fonts (hereinafter collectively referred to as „Content“), and other services. The processing of your data takes place on the basis of our legitimate interests (Article 6 (1) (1) (f) GDPR) regarding the economic operation, optimization (especially regarding user-friendliness) and usage analysis of our Website as well as the security of our technical systems.

Third-party Content providers will always be aware of your IP address, as they would not be able to transfer the content to your device without your IP address. The IP address is required for the presentation of the Content. Also, if you have consented to the use and storage of third-party Cookies, third-party Cookies may be stored on your device.

You may revoke your consent to the storage and use of Cookies for Google Analytics by deactivating „third-party cookies“ (see paragraph 6 letter c above). Furthermore, you can prevent the storage and use of cookies technically by appropriately changing the browser settings or using browser plug-ins.

a) Google Fonts

We integrate web-fonts called Google Fonts from Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheater Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA, into our Website. For more information concerning Google’s use of data as well as configuration and consent options, please visit Google’s websites using the links listed in section 8.

b) Google reCaptcha

For recognizing bots, e.g. when accepting data from online submission forms, we use the human user recognition feature ReCaptcha offered by Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheater Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA. For more information concerning Google’s use of data as well as configuration and consent options, please visit Google’s websites using the links listed in section 7.

c) Google Maps

To display maps, we use the Google Maps service provided by Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheater Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA. The processed data may include, but is not limited to, IP addresses and location data, however it will not be collected without your consent (usually through appropriate device settings). For more information concerning Google’s use of data as well as configuration and consent options, please visit Google’s websites using the links listed in section 7.

d) Wordfence Security

To protect our Website – and also your data – from hacker attacks, we employ the plug-in „Wordfence Security“ by Defiant Inc. (800 5th Ave Ste 4100, Seattle, WA 98104, USA). Wordfence is an online firewall that enables us to protect against cyber attacks of all kinds. For this purpose, IP addresses and other access data are stored on Wordfence servers. For more information about privacy and how Wordfence works, see: https://www.wordfence.com/help/general-data-protection-regulation/.

9. Links to social networks and platforms

From our Website, we link to social networks and platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Google Plus, without integrating their plug-ins into our Website. As long as you do not click the link of the respective provider on our Website, there will be no data transmission to the provider. After clicking one of the links, however, you will leave our Website and your data will be sent to the appropriate provider, even if you are not logged in to the provider’s website.

These social networks and platforms are each offered by the following providers:

Facebook is operated by Facebook Inc., 1601 S. California Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA („Facebook“).
Twitter is operated by Twitter Inc., 1355 Market St, Suite 900, San Francisco, CA 94103 („Twitter“).
Google Plus is operated by Google LLC, Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA („Google“).
Youtube is operated by YouTube LLC, 901 Cherry Ave, San Bruno, CA 94066, USA („Youtube“), a subsidiary company belonging to Google LLC.
Instagram is operated by Instagram, LLC, 1601 Willow Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA („Instagram“), a subsidiary company belonging to Facebook Inc.

For more information concerning the purpose and scope of data collection, its further processing and use of the data by Facebook, Twitter, Google, Youtube and Instagram as well as your rights in this regard and available configuration settings to protect your privacy, please refer to the respective Privacy policies of the providers:

Facebook privacy policy: https://www.facebook.com/privacy/explanation
Twitter privacy policy: https://twitter.com/privacy
Google and Youtube privacy policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en&gl=de
Instagram privacy policy: https://help.instagram.com/519522125107875

10. Comments on this Website

In addition to your comment, the comment function on this Website will also include information on when the comment was created, your e-mail address and, if you are not anonymous, your chosen user name.

Our comment function stores the IP addresses of the users who write comments. Since we do not moderate comments on our Website before activation, we need this information in order to be able to take action against the author in the case of legal infringements, such as insults or propaganda.

The comments and related data (e.g. IP address) are stored and remain on our website until the commented content has been ultimately deleted or if we are obliged to delete the comments for legal reasons (e.g. offensive comments).

The storage of comments and associated data is based on our legitimate interests (Article 6 (1) (f) GDPR), since you post your comments voluntarily and with the intent purpose of them being published on our Website. You may object to their continued publication or other form of processing at any time. It suffices to send us an informal request to this regard by e-mail. Your revocation does not affect the legality of hitherto completed data processing operations.

11. Recipient of personal data

Your personal data will only be forwarded by us to external recipients if this is necessary for processing or handling your request, or we have your consent, or any other legal provision allows us to do so.

In particular, external recipients can be:

Processors: These are service providers that we ourselves use to provide our services, for example, regarding the technical infrastructure and maintenance of our Website. Such processors are carefully selected and regularly reviewed by us to ensure that your privacy is preserved. These service providers may only use your data for the purposes specified by us and in accordance to our instructions. In compliance with the statutory requirements of Art. 28 GDPR, we are entitled to use such processors.
Public bodies: These are public authorities, state institutions and other public entities, such as supervisory authorities, courts, prosecutors or tax authorities. Personal data will only be relayed to such public authorities for legally binding reasons. Here, the legal basis for relaying such data may be Article 6 (1) (1) (c) GDPR.
Private agencies: Service providers and assistants to whom data is relayed on the basis of a legal obligation or for the safeguarding of legitimate interests, such as shipping service providers, payment service providers, tax consultants or event organizers. In this case the legal basis for relaying such data is of Article 6 (1) (1) (b), (c) and/or (f) GDPR.

12. Data processing in third countries

Provided that we transmit your data to third countries outside the EU or the EEA, as described above, we ensure that, notwithstanding legally permitted exceptions, the recipient either has an adequate level of data protection or your consent to the transfer of data. An appropriate level of data protection is ensured, for example, by an EU-US Privacy Shield certification of the recipient, the conclusion of EU standard contractual clauses or the existence of so-called Binding Corporate Rules (BCR).

13. Storage time

We only store your personal data for as long as this is necessary for purpose fulfillment or – in the case of consent – as long as you do not revoke your consent. In the event of a disagreement, we will no longer process your personal data, unless its processing is permitted or even required by relevant statutory provisions (for example, regarding commercial and tax-related retention obligations). We will also delete your personal data if we are obliged to do so for legal reasons.

In addition, please refer to the storage period details regarding your personal data in the respective statements in preceding paragraphs.

14. Your rights

As a data subject, you have many rights. Specifically, these are the following:

Right to information (Article 15 GDPR): You have the right to obtain information about the data we have stored about you.
Right to rectification and cancellation (Articles 16 and 17 GDPR): You may request the correction of incorrect data and, insofar as the legal requirements are met, the deletion of your data.
Right to restriction of processing (Article 18 GDPR): You can demand from us – as far as the legal requirements are met – that we limit the processing of your data.
Right to data portability (Article 20 GDPR): If you have provided us with data based on a contract or your consent, you may, if the legal conditions are met, require that you receive the data you provide in a structured and standardized format or that we forward it to another responsible entity.
Right to object to data processing based on legitimate interests (Article 21 GDPR): You have the right, for reasons arising from your particular situation, to object to our data processing at any time, insofar as these are based on legitimate interests within the scope of Article 6 (1) (1) GDPR. If you make use of your right to object, we will stop processing your data, unless we can provide compelling legitimate reasons for further processing, which outweigh your rights.
Revocation of consent (Article 7 GDPR): If you have consented to the processing of your data, you can revoke it at any time with effect for the future. Your revocation does not affect the legality of hitherto completed data processing operations. If you wish to revoke your consent to the use of certain cookies, please refer to the information in section 7.
Right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority (Article 77 GDPR): If you believe that the processing of your data violates applicable law, you can also lodge a complaint with the responsible supervisory authority. You may choose to contact either the Data Protection Authority responsible at your place of residence, your place of employment, or the location of the alleged breach, or the Data Protection Authority responsible for us. In our case, the supervisory authority responsible for data protection is the State Representative for Data Protection and Freedom of Information in Baden-Wuerttemberg (LfDI), accessible at Königstrasse 10a, 70173 Stuttgart, Tel: +49 711 615541-0, Fax: +49 711 615541-15, E-Mail: poststelle@lfdi.bwl.de, Website: http://www.baden-wuerttemberg.datenschutz.de

If you have any questions regarding the processing of your personal data, your rights or any consent given, our Data Protection Officer will be pleased to assist you. You can contact our Data Protection Officer under the communication channels mentioned in section 15. Please also contact our Data Protection Officer directly to exercise your data protection rights.

15. Our Data Protection Officer

We have appointed a company Data Protection Officer, who can be reached as follows:

Mrs Stefanie Nowak
– Data Protection Officer –
Palatia Malz GmbH
Kurfürsten-Anlage 52
D-69115 Heidelberg
Germany

Telephone: +49 (6221) 6466-0
Telefax: +49 (6221) 6466-99
E-mail: datenschutz@bestmalz.de

16. Security

We take technical and organizational security measures to protect your personal data against accidental or intentional manipulation, loss, destruction or access by unauthorized persons. These security measures are adapted according to the current state of the art.

Your personal data transmitted as part of the use of our Website is securely transmitted using encryption. We use the encryption protocol Transport Layer Security (TLS), which is more widely known under the predecessor name Secure Sockets Layer (SSL).

Our employees are committed to data secrecy.

17. Amendments

From time to time it may be necessary for us to adjust the content of this Privacy Policy. We reserve the right to make amendments to our Privacy Policy at any time. Should your consent be required for an amendment, we will ask for it. We will also publish the amended version of the Privacy Policy here. If you visit our Website again, you should therefore read the Privacy Policy again.

Description	Function/Purpose	Storage time
PHPSESSID	Cookie for storing simple information, which can e.g. be viewed on a different page when submitting a form.	Session
cookie_notice_accepted	Stores the user’s confirmation regarding the use of third-party Cookies.	6 months
woocommerce_cart_hash	Identifies the shopping cart in the database.	Session
wfwaf-authcookie-xxx	Identifies a login for the plug-in Wordfence.	1 day
wordpress_logged_in	Identifies that a user is logged in.	Session

Description	Function/Purpose	Storage time
wpml_browser_redirect_test	This Cookie can automatically redirect visitors based on their browser language.	Session
_icl_visitor_lang_js	Determined browser language (via Javascript).	24 hours
woocommerce_recently_viewed	Cookie for storing the products last viewed.	Session

Description	Function/Purpose	Third party	Storage time
_ga, _gid, _gat	This web analytics service collects aggregate statistical information on the number of visitors to our website and their usage patterns, such as the duration and frequency of visits and pages visited.	Google Analytics	up to 2 years