Thierry de Dobbeleer: The Man With the RMB 20,000 Beard

Things got hairy at Belgian brew specialists Beer Mania this week as owner Thierry de Dobbeleer risked his bountiful beard for Beijing-based charity campaign Maovember, with a result far from expected.

Last year, de Dobbeleer placed two donation jars—one marked "Shave" and one "No Shave"—on his bar counter. The idea: the jar with the most money after one month would decide the fate of his substantial facial foliage.

After a month of fundraising, No Shave edged Shave, RMB 1,587 to RMB 998, thus raising RMB 2,585 and saving the beard.

This year, de Dobbeleer held the campaign again, and no one knew how high the stakes would be raised.

But first Beer Mania held two other activities to support Maovember: The first was an Oct 15 contest featured ubiquitous drinking of free flow Grisette beer and dice game shaizi that raised RMB 1,500. The second was a "win your weight in beer" draw on Nov 15, held for Belgian's King's Day in partnership with Belgians in Beijing. Keith Robinson ended up winning eight cases—or 192 bottles—of Omer beer, then auctioned it on the spot for RMB 1,350. With proceeds from draw tickets and a slice of Omer beer sales that night, the event raised RMB 4,690.

Much more was to come Nov 30 with the culmination of the 2016 rendition of Shave vs No Shave. Those following the contest were guessing the vessels had more money than 2015; early estimates were in the area of RMB 5,000, double the 2015 total.

De Dobbeleer had a charged razor ready to go, just in case, but at that point still expected to maintain his mane.

Guests Alex Jennings and Keith Robinson arrived early and got things rolling by stuffing several thousand kuai into the Shave jar. As more regulars arrived, donations continued to flow, from Beer Mania customers, staff, and from key Maovember supporters like Paul Rochon of Paddy O'Shea's, Jack Zhou of Groovy Schiller's and Mariano Larrain of La Cava. They also came via WeChat, including from PR consultant Neil Holt and ex-Union Bar & Grille manager Charlie, now in Taipei, who emptied the rest of his WeChat wallet.

Robinson was there until the end, with his only break being to find a cash machine to donate more money.

"I thought it was very big of Thierry to do this," he said. "By putting it on social media and making it a 'thing', it drove more people to donate. I put money in both jars—but more in shave."

Jennings also stuck around through midnight, pushing another RMB 1,000 into shave during the last hour.

At midnight, the jars were opened and publicly counted by two teams of two people, each double-checking the other. The result: Shave with RMB 10,626 defeated No Shave with RMB 7,889.

With additional donations of RMB 1,000 and 70 euros, the event passed RMB 20,000—or 200,000 mao—by a whisker.

And de Dobbeleer was nowhere to be found.

Some speculated he needed time alone with his beard, which he had been growing for four years. Others thought he might be headed to the airport. Ten minutes later, he was found in the hotel lobby behind Beer Mania, taking one last photo with another bearded wonder: Santa Claus.

Then it was to the stage to shave. His fiance Jona, a fan of his beard but resigned to its fate, did the honors. She sheared off the bulk, then worked on the finer points, as donors took photos and cheered.

"Thierry definitely made the evening memorable," says Jennings, citing "the look of desperation and shock when he realized he would lose the beard."

"It was all in good fun," adds Robinson. "By making it a competition, it drove more people to get involved. Maovember is a really good way to meet people, a good way to be social, and a good way to give something back."

The next day was a clean start for de Dobbeleer, who posed with his old friend and his new look.

"He looks so much more handsome without the beard," says Jennings. "Money well spent."

Counting the funds raised from the shaizi contest and the "win your weight in beer" event, Beer Mania raised more than RMB 26,000 this year, contributing the largest share of the over RMB 100,000 that has been counted so far for 2016 Maovember donations.

One hundred percent of the donations will be shared between two charitable enterprises: The Library Project, which donates books and libraries to under financed rural primary schools and orphanages in Asia; and Good Works, which trains developmentally challenged late-teen orphans for jobs in the coffee trade.

The official grand total for the annual month-long charity drive will be announced on Monday.

Images: Jim Boyce