Beer Drinking Contest: Annual Festival Of Froth And Fun

Drinking contests are a popular pastime, and beer is often the beverage of choice. The Beer Mile is a competition that challenges participants to drink a beer every quarter mile of a one-mile foot race. The Beerlympics takes drinking games to the next level, with teams competing for big money and the chance to bring home the championship trophy. For those who prefer a more relaxed drinking contest, there are beer-judging competitions like the U.S. Open Beer Championship, the World Beer Cup, and the Great American Beer Festival, where judges evaluate beers in a blind-tasting format. These competitions celebrate the art and science of brewing, recognising outstanding achievement in the industry.

Beer Mile

The Beer Mile is an annual drinking race that combines running and speed drinking. The race takes place on a standard 400-metre or quarter-mile track. Participants must drink a 355ml beer (5% minimum ABV) before running each lap of the race, totalling four beers over the one-mile course. The rules dictate no wide mouths and no shotgunning; if you vomit, you must run an extra lap.

The Beer Mile World Classic is the world championship of the sport, with the 10th edition taking place in 2024. The current world record holder is Canadian Corey Bellemore, who won his third title in 2021 with a time of 4:28.1. The women's world record was broken in 2023 by Shelby Houlihan, with a time of 5:43.81.

The Beer Mile's roots go back to at least the 1980s as an end-of-season tradition for collegiate runners. The sport has grown in popularity, with its own dedicated website, beermile.com, which hosts over 90,000 entries. The website's founder, Patrick Butler, anticipates that the sport may even gain Olympic recognition in the future.

Beerlympics

The Beerlympics is not the only annual beer-drinking contest. The Beer Mile, for example, is a "gastro-athletic" competition where brave (or foolish) competitors drink a beer every quarter-mile of a one-mile foot race. The rules are simple: beers must be 5% ABV or higher, no wide mouths, and no shotgunning. If you vomit, you must run an extra lap.

There are also several annual beer-judging competitions, including the U.S. Open Beer Championship, the World Beer Cup, the Great American Beer Festival, and the North American Beer Awards. These competitions focus on judging the quality and diversity of beers from around the world, often with blind taste tests.

Beer Judging Certification Program

The Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) is a non-profit organization that was formed in 1985 to promote beer literacy and recognize beer tasting and evaluation skills. The BJCP certifies and ranks beer judges through a series of rigorous examinations and monitoring processes.

The BJCP serves three primary functions within the US beer community. Firstly, it provides qualified judges for both amateur and commercial brewing competitions, fostering an appreciation of beer styles and their accurate production. Secondly, the organization publishes style guidelines for categorizing beer, mead, and cider styles, which are used in the examination of judges and by brewing competition organizers. Lastly, the BJCP organizes a program of beer examinations, wherein test-takers complete written questions and practical tasting exercises.

Judges are ranked within the BJCP based on their performance in the certification test and their participation in sanctioned competition events, BJCP exams, and continuing education programs. The ranks include Apprentice, Recognized, Certified, National, Master, Grand Master (with incremental levels), and Honorary Grand Master.

The BJCP is committed to broadening accessibility and has translated its style guidelines into several new languages. As of October 27, 2024, there were 6,788 active BJCP judges, 13,153 sanctioned competitions, and 2,262,344 beers judged.

Beer drinking contests in popular culture

Drinking contests are a common trope in popular culture, often depicted as a competition to see who can consume the most alcohol without quitting, vomiting, or passing out. Here are some notable examples of drinking contests in various media:

Film and Television

Drinking contests are often featured in films and television shows, adding drama, comedy, or character development to the story. Some notable examples include:

• "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert": A drinking contest between a drag queen and a local woman.
• "Don Camillo in Moscow": The mayor engages in a drinking contest with a Soviet official to stall for time.
• "Beerfest": The main plot point of the film revolves around winning a beer-drinking contest.
• "Leprechaun 2": The protagonist challenges the leprechaun to a drinking contest and beats him by cheating.
• "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King": Legolas and Gimli engage in a drinking contest, with Legolas remaining sober despite drinking less than Gimli.
• "Raiders of the Lost Ark": The protagonist, Marian, is introduced winning a drinking contest and later attempts to get her captor drunk to escape.
• "Arrested Development": Lucille Bluth wins a drinking contest against Kitty to win back George Sr.
• "Blackadder II": Edmund Blackadder juggles a quiet dinner with his religious relatives and a drinking contest with his friends in the next room.
• "Parks and Recreation": Leslie enlists Tammy Zero, Ron's mother, to challenge Tammy One, Ron's controlling ex-wife, to a drinking contest.

Literature and Comics

Drinking contests also appear in literature and comics, adding tension or humour to the story. Some notable examples include:

• "Ah! My Goddess": Belldandy, a goddess based on Norse mythology, ends up in a drinking contest.
• "Drifting Dragons": Vannie challenges a man at a tavern to a drinking contest and wins.
• "The Incredible Hercules": Hercules challenges Thor's foes to a drinking match, which they win and celebrate with Frost Giant females.
• "Redwall": A young haremaid defeats a mountain hare king in a drinking contest by taking small sips while he drinks large gulps.
• "A Song of Ice and Fire": Greatjon Umber drinks three Freys under the table as a ruse to get too drunk to fight during an ambush.
• "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy": The "periodic test of skill" variant involves using psychokinetic powers to tip alcohol into an opponent's glass.
• "Chrono Trigger": The protagonist, Crono, must out-drink Ayla to win the Dreamstone.
• "The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV": A girl's night out drinking competition ends with the gardener, the Lady of War, and the Ninja Maid as the last ladies standing.

Video Games

Drinking contests are also incorporated into video games, adding a unique challenge or minigame for players to overcome. Some notable examples include:

• "Red Dragon Inn": A drinking contest minigame where the player with the highest alcohol content without passing out wins.
• "Baldur's Gate III": The player can challenge an undead bartender to a drinking contest and use trickery to dispose of their drink.
• "Fallout: New Vegas": Recruiting Cass can be achieved by settling a matter with a dozen bottles of whiskey in a drinking contest.
• "The Witcher": The player must stock up on beer, the weakest drink, to out-drink opponents affected by the drinks' potency.

The Beer Mile

The Beer Mile is a unique drinking competition that combines running and beer consumption. Participants must drink a beer every quarter mile of a one-mile foot race, with rules specifying that beers must be 5% ABV or higher and no shotgunning is allowed. The current world record holder, James Nielsen, completed the Beer Mile in under five minutes.

Beer competitions in the USA

There are a plethora of beer competitions held annually in the USA. One of the most prominent ones is the U.S. Open Beer Championship, which took place in Oxford, Ohio, in 2024. Breweries from across the USA sent over 9000 beers representing more than 170 different styles to the competition. Third Eye Brewing of Hamilton, Ohio, was awarded the Grand National Champion in 2024, winning medals in several categories. The U.S. Open Beer Championship is unique in that it is the only major competition to allow gold medal winners of the AHA's National Homebrew Competition to participate.

Another notable competition is the New York International Beer Competition (NYIBC), founded by Adam Levy, also known as the "Alcohol Professor". The NYIBC is the first major international beer competition with judges from the beer industry, including buyers from top retail stores, restaurant owners, beverage directors, distributors, and importers. The competition is open to all commercially produced beers and sakes from around the world, providing an excellent opportunity for international breweries to increase their brand awareness in the US market.

The Los Angeles International Commercial Beer Competition is another prestigious event that has been held annually since 2000. An esteemed panel of judges uses a blind-tasting method to award medals to the best beers from around the world, maintaining the highest standards of integrity and professionalism.

The Great American Beer Festival is not just about sampling quality beer but also includes a beer competition. Breweries enter their beers to be judged by a professional panel, and festival attendees can sip the competing beers during the tasting sessions. The festival invites industry professionals from around the world to join small groups and taste beers in each specified style category without knowing the brand names.

Lastly, the World Beer Cup, developed by the Brewers Association in 1996, is often referred to as "The Olympics of Beer Competitions." It is considered the most prestigious beer competition globally, with judges from various countries bringing their specific expertise to the table. The competition covers 172 different beer styles, providing an excellent opportunity for breweries to receive valuable feedback from skilled tasters.

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