Skip to main content

DIY Beer Olympics

beer olympics
Image used with permission by copyright holder

With the 2016 Summer Olympic Games happening now, this is the perfect time to evaluate your own fitness level. Maybe your pommel horse game isn’t quite what it used to be, but I’m willing to bet your beer drinking skills are at an all-time high. Instead of just sitting on the couch and watching “real” athletes compete on television, get some friends together and host your own Beer Olympics with these simple contests of skill and stamina.

Related: Ready to Rio? 2016 Olympic Sports to Watch

The Beer Mile

Recommended Videos

We’ve talked about this one before. There are several rules to follow for an official beer mile race, but the gist is this: drink a twelve ounce beer, then run a quarter mile. Repeat that three times and you have a beer mile. The keys to a successful run are 1) don’t take in too much air, and 2) don’t vomit. Good luck with that!

Beer Pong

A one-on-one tournament style game perfect for bracket lovers, this event sees opponents bounce table tennis balls into cups filled with beer. If your ball makes it in, your competition has to drink the contents of the cup. Mayhem inevitably ensues.

The Dizzy Bat Relay

You may have seen this event between innings at a minor league baseball game or remember it from your third grade field day. Two or more teams line up and take turns running to a coach, then putting their head down on one end of a baseball bat and spinning around it 10 times. The grand finale involves stumbling back to tag the next teammate in line. The Beer Olympics twist is to consume a beer before taking your spins. Expect more falling.

Bean Bag Toss

The bean bag toss (or “cornhole” if you’re nasty) is a leisurely pursuit where participants attempt to lob a square bag filled with beans into a hole in a wooden ramp. Basically, you just stand around and drink until someone claims to win.

To make your beer olympics event even more memorable, divide your friends into country teams. Once chosen, team members can only drink beer from those regions. Take it further and wear native dress and (attempt to) speak the local language. Have an opening ceremony parade down your street. Appoint a non-drinking friend to be the “rules enforcer” and settle international disputes. The possibilities go on and on.

Regardless of how amazing your beer olympics intentions are, be sure to drink responsibly. Keep consumption and physical effort at reasonable levels and provide lots of drinking water and sober rides home. Nobody wants an international incident.

Related Post: Running the Beer Mile

Lee Heidel
Lee Heidel is the managing editor of Brew/Drink/Run, a website and podcast that promotes brewing your own beer, consuming the…
Expert tips: Thanksgiving beer pairings from a pro brewmaster
A holiday meal fit with beer pairings
Pouring a stout beer

Thanksgiving is traditionally done with classic wine styles like crisp sauvignon blanc or a full-bodied cabernet sauvignon. This year, shake things up a bit for Thanksgiving dinner and go with a proper beer pairing. Turns out, you can create an elevated pairing menu with sippers like lagers and stouts, too.

We spoke with the Moody Tongue's brewmaster Jared Rouben on the subject. His restaurant touts two Michelin stars and delights in a good beer pairing. In fact, it wasn't too long ago that the brewer revealed some great beer and food tips to us. Now, we're sharing his insights on Thanksgiving beer and holiday pairings for the ages.
Where to begin

Read more
Roadhouse Brewing releases latest beer in lauded Kush series
A new IPA from two stellar breweries
Flight of beer

Two big names in the craft brewing world have teamed up for an out-of-this-world beer. The IPA is the work of Jackson Hole's Roadhouse Brewing Company and Half Acre Beer Company in Chicago.

The Interstellar Kush IPA comes in at 7% ABV and is made with a huge hop bill, including varieties like Cascade, Stratus, and Talus. It's the sixth release in the beer series and overflows with notes of berry, earth, and peach.

Read more
Miller’s got a beer-pouring fireplace just in time for the in-laws
A sudsy setup inspired by a winter hearth
Miller Lite YuleLager.

Miller Lite is taking the whole drink in front of the fireplace thing quite literally. Today, the macro brewer released YuleLager, or a beer-pouring fireplace inspired by the famous yule log. Now, folks can have a good nightcap drink before a beer-dispensing pretend hearth.

What's included? For starters, an LED screen playing an 8-hour loop of burning wood. You also get a pouring contraption meant to look like a chimney withe a custom tap handle. What's more, there's audio mimicking crackling fire sounds, spare beer storage, and hooks to hang stockings.

Read more