The 100 different beers challenge

Belgium is famous for it's beers, I am famous for drinking them. The first time I visited Belgium I got challenged by a friend. Here is how it went

I was sitting in my living room, just back from my first solo trip, already planning the next one.

"You like beer, go to Belgium!" says Alex, my flatmate at the time.

"I like beer, I'll go to Belgium!" says me in response.

The challenge

I followed through my decision and bought tickets to Belgium.

A few days before my flight Alex comes to my room and tells me "I have a challenge for your Belgium trip".

"Let's hear it!", I answer.

"I know that you like beer, and can drink a lot" (we did drink a lot of beer...) "But this time, while in Belgium, drink a different beer every time, do not drink the same beer twice in these 11 days"

"Challenge accepted".

The plan

Important to say that this was in 2018, way before I discovered the world of Untappd and beer collecting and rating, and certainly before it was cool in my circles. I was known as the guy that travels for beers and just drinks a lot, usually with locals or fellow travelers, just looking for adventures. I have never tried to understand the different styles of beer, for me it was simple 2 categories: good beer and bad beer.

I did not know what to expect from this challenge, and certainly didn't know how it would turn out. I didn't know how many beers I will drink, or how hard it would be not to repeat any of them.

I prepared a plan. I will write down the name of every beer I drink with a number in the notes on my phone. That way I can follow which ones and how many I drank. I also decided that I need to take a photo of each one I drink, so I can do something about it later.

The first beer

I landed in Brussels in the morning and took a train to Ghent straight away.

I arrived just before 10am, just enough time for one beer before the free tour I wanted to take. I jumped in the closest bar, and saw about 30 different beers that I have never seen before in my life.

I ordered one and went to my free tour.

Is this even a challenge?

The free tour was very informative, but to this day the only thing I actually remember from the tour is that we passed in front of Dulle Griet, a bar that sells 500 different beers (500?!) and sells Kwak in the original glass (you need to leave your shoe as a collateral if you order the beer). It seemed odd at the beginning, but once the tour finished and I went to a different bar and saw 30 different beers that are also al different from the 30 I saw at the first bar. Then I understood that this challenge will not be hard.

The social challenge

For the next few days I went around Ghent, visited breweries and bars, learned about the local beers and got advise on where to go next. I kept passing in front of Dulle Griet every day, and said to myself every time that I will have that beer only if I have company, I do not want to drink there alone. Although I always found someone to speak to, so far I just wandered around by myself.

On my last day in Ghent, I passed it again, but this time I knew it was my last.

I decided to enter.

Oh how lucky I was, I walked around the place and there was one table full of guys that were happily drinking. Nobody in the bar was local, but their were the only ones who seemed happy about getting drunk at noon.

I went to the table and just told them "I'm doing this challenge and I want to have this beer on my list but I respect it too much to drink it by myself, can I join you?"

They said of course, and even joined me in ordering the beer and the rest was history. We spent the whole day bar hopping and trying new beers. Then I understood that I will not drink alone for the rest of my trip.

What's next?

I left Ghent and went on to have a very busy 24 hours in Bruges after which I went to Antwerp. The whole time I used my newly found social super power, to tell people about the challenge, and once I did everyone wanted to become a part of it. People happily joined me, and found new places with special beers so I can stack my list with beer that not only I, but probably also anyone I know haven't tried before.

The next level

For the next few days I planned to hit a few more places, and I intended to follow up on some of the recommendations I collected so far.

I found a hangout online. That is how I met Sara, and she took the challenge to the next level. She told people to come to Beerlovers bar to hangout for a beer. It ended up raining and we only 3 people were crazy enough to still go to the bar: me, Sara, and Dylan (well he had to, he was the bartender). There I got introduced to Untappd for the first time, and applied the "different beers" challenge for the rest of my life. This place also started my education on beer, as Dylan is a walking beer encyclopedia. From that point on, my challenge was also backed by technology.

You should go for a 100

In my hostel in Antwerp I met Chris and Joe. The guys that are responsible for the second part of my challenge.

We met at breakfast and I told the guys about my challenge. Chris immediately said that he knows the best spot to get my next beer and we went for it. It was De Koninck brewery outside of the city center. I went there together with Chris and Joe. We were drinking our first beer and talking about random stuff, when all of a sudden Chris looked at me and it felt like he had a light bulb lighting up above his head like in the animated movies.

"Dude you should go for a 100!"

"What?"

"Beers! 100 beers! That's your new challenge"

I looked at my list and saw that I'm somewhere in the 50s and I had 6 more days to the trip. I looked back at him and just said

"Challenge accepted"

Don't judge, HIMYM was cool back then!

#100

I kept collecting beers and adventures, and ended my time in Belgium with more than 90 beers. Last stop was Amsterdam. I arrived there and did my usual routine of free tour and trying out random beers for dinner. The next day I discovered that Joe is coming to Amsterdam as well, and I was about to hit number 100 so I made a big deal out of it. I decided that #100 should be my favorite beer, Guinness. I found an Irish pub and told Joe to join me there. We met some new people that were excited for my challenge, we had my 100th different beer and sent a photo to everyone that left me a contact. Mission accomplished!

One for the road

After hitting #100 I of course continued for more, and somehow naturally I just kept ordering beers that weren't on my list. I still had one last day to go in Amsterdam and I wanted to make the most (beer) of it. My plan was to have a beer or two, walk around the area and then head out to the airport. I went to the Brouwerij 't IJ brewery, that is where I met Ricardo. The only free seat was next to him. I asked if he mind if I sit next to him, he replied he didn't and we started talking. He told me that he is just finishing up a work trip and I told him about my beer adventure. He then told me that he would like to be a part of the adventure and I replied that he already is. He then told me "Let's try all the beers in this place, my treat. I'll put it on my companie's card"

I couldn't refuse this generous offer and we ended up drinking 8 of the 9 beers they had on tap that day (the last one I have managed to try the day before) and after that, I went off to the airport. All missions accomplished.

Final count: 114 different beers, 11 days, 0 repetitions.

The final list

Once again, at that point of time I did not know the difference between a lager and a stout. And I was drunk a lot of the times, so forgive me if the not all the names on the list make sense. I do have a photo to match each of them. Here is the list as I wrote it all this time ago:

The list

Final thoughts

This trip is one of my favorite all time. It started so many things in my life, so many friendships. Some people I'm still in touch with and visit every time I'm around. I had discovered the world of beer, and how people are excited for you when you're having a good time. This trip was also the first time I couch surfed, but that is a story for another time.

I am so thankful for this random challenge and all that it has brought to my life. I am also thankful that this happened in my twenties, because I would not have survive this today.

I hope this story inspired you in some way, or that at least you enjoyed reading. I know for sure that I enjoyed writing it after all this time!