Cheers to friendship!

What is the best way to enjoy a beer? There are several, very valid, opinions on this topic. Many agree that it is best served in a tall, frosted glass with just under a centimeter of head at the brim. Others will say that straight from the bottle without wiping the top is the only way to go, so that you get to experience the “real” flavor of the brew. Some will even brush these two excellent options off and say that the only way to drink a beer is by mixing a fresh, raw egg into it. But beer drinkers understand this much: to each his own, for truly, the only way to really enjoy an ice-cold beer is in the company of real friends.

These are the guys who stick it out with you despite all your crap. They’re the ones who are there for the ups and downs, the good and bad, through thick and thin. They’ll toast with you when you get that promotion, or that new car, or because you went out on a hot date the night previous. Likewise, they’ll toast with you when you get fired, crash your ride, or your girlfriend breaks up with you. And you can always trust one of these guys to be sober enough to bring you to a soft place to pass out when you’re wasted out of your skull.

Mind you, beer is not what makes friendship like this work; it’s just natural camaraderie. Beer just somehow happens to be around when stuff like this happens. I don’t exactly know how it works, but it’s definitely more than just the ingestion of alcohol, inebriation, and totally un-gay “I love you, man!” moments.

It must be the plethora of emotions that friends experience when they drink that brings them closer together. It’s all there: happy, sad, elated, desolate, what have you. These are what make the bonds go deeper. In Filipino, friends will say may pinagsamahan tayo — or “we go way back.” And in a plastic world where fake people surround you left and right, it’s reassuring to know that you have pals like this.

This is a serious competition where team strategy and skill are put to the test. Yes, it’s just a beer-drinking contest. But after three months of elimination rounds and with P500,000 on the line, it’s hard not to take it seriously.

The participants in this year’s edition of San Miguel Brewery’s National Beer Drinking Contest are friends just like this. A number have known each other since they were kids, while others became good friends because of work and common experiences; some are even brothers. So in a speed-drinking contest with half a million pesos on the line, you don’t want anyone less than your best friends to be on your team. You know they won’t let you down, and you sure as hell don’t want to fail them, either.

This is nationwide, after all, and the prize is no joke. The event, held at the Parkmall parking area in Mandaue City, Cebu, on Nov. 19, was the culminating night of a long string of drinking eliminations. One can only imagine how many bottles of SMB Pale Pilsen were consumed en route to the finals.

“Before reaching the national finals, the teams bested other beer drinkers in the cluster and area competitions in Metro Manila, Cebu, Iloilo, Cagayan de Oro and Davao that kicked off in August this year,” says Bobby Miñoza, head of SMB’s National Trade Promotions and Marketing. 

“For 11 years, the beer-drinking event has evolved into more than just a competition but also a showcase of strategy, camaraderie and teamwork,” national sales manager Debbie Namalata says, adding that the contestants go through elimination rounds. “In the process, they bond and form sort of a brotherhood which is true to San Miguel Brewery’s slogan, ‘Iba ang may pinagsamahan.’”

The fastest team at the end of the night was Team Naunsyame of Caloocan City, clocking in a record time of 53.8 seconds for five bottles of beer distributed through five team members, plus penalties. Composed of team members Ramil Assistio, Roberto Aban, Rommel Monzon, Rolando Monzon, and Paul Peregrino, Team Naunsyame bested six other groups from GMA South, GMA Central, Southern Luzon, Northern Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

One lucky guy from the audience is selected by Mocha Girl Mae to act out a little skit with her onstage. He’s more than happy to oblige.

If you do the math, that’s 10.76 seconds per beer. That’s fast. If you think you and four other friends have it in you to do better, then sign up for next year’s competition. It could happen and you guys go home half a million pesos richer. And if it doesn’t, well, it’s okay. You’ll all still be good friends, if not closer because of it. And it would make for a nice story. Later on, you could reminisce and tell the tale of how you and your buddies once joined a national speed-drinking contest.

Oh, and doesn’t this give you a legitimate excuse to go out and drink every night with your best buds? After all, practice makes perfect.

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For more information about the SMB National Beer Drinking Contest, visit www.smbtakesyoutothephilippines.com.ph

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E-mail me at enricomiguelsubido@gmail.com