Great Leap's Annual Karl Long Challenge Coming This Saturday (Oct 21)

Katie Coy, Managing Editor | Oct 16, 2023 5:30 pm | Add a comment | 194 reads

Great Leap is all set to celebrate its 13th anniversary and as per tradition this also heralds their annual Karl Long Challenge! The challenge will be returning to Beijing this Sat, Oct 21, and it promises to be a day of raucous, boozy fun.

For those unaware of who Karl Long is and why he has a challenge named after him, here is the story as Great Leap tells it:

“Back in 2010, when Great Leap was still in its infancy, Karl Long – who would go on to help manage GLB #12 for a time – showed up to the brewery’s original Doujiao Hutong location. At the time, they only offered eight beers on tap, and Karl elected to try all of them at once. Then he drank them all again!

As the story goes, he got into an argument with a fellow patron who he mistook for Sabrina, of Sabrina the Teenage Witch fame, after which he proceeded to remove his shirt and unleash a menacing growl.

Thus the legend of Karl Long and the Karl Long Challenge was born.”

As usual, the rules of the challenge are that competitors have to drink 15 beers across Great Leap’s various branches, collecting a stamp on a stamp card for every beer you finish. This year you need to drink at least one beer at all four main Great Leap Brewing locations, and one beer at one of Great Leap’s new taprooms (see more details on locations at the end of the article).

Just like last year, there will be two different challenge options: the traditional challenge where competitors must drink 15 440ml glasses of beer and the slightly less intense challenge where competitors must drink 15 330ml glasses of beer. Nine of the beers are already pre-selected, but the remaining six beers can be chosen by the competitors. All those who complete either challenge will win a limited Great Leap 13th Anniversary t-shirt, an abundance of respect and most likely one big ol’ hangover come Sunday.

To take part you’ll need to purchase a Challenge Card (RMB 368 for 440ml challenge and RMB 298 for 330ml challenge) on the day (Oct 21) from whichever Great Leap branch you want to start at, or you can purchase early bird tickets from any Great Leap location or via their WeChat mini program (search: GreatLeapBrewing大跃啤酒) before Oct 21.

For those who prefer to take their drinking a little more casually, the 15 beer Challenge Card is valid for nine days (until Oct 29), however only those who complete the challenge in one day will win a t-shirt.

The 2023 Karl Long Challenge is taking place across all Great Leap locations and taprooms on Sat, Oct 21. Prices are RMB 368 for 440ml challenge and RMB 298 for 330ml challenge. The Challenge Card can be purchased on Oct 21 from whichever Great Leap branch you want to start at, or you can purchase early bird tickets from any Great Leap location or via their WeChat mini program (search: GreatLeapBrewing大跃啤酒) before Oct 21.