In August 2024, five young men in a London pub asked a question: How many beers had they enjoyed in their lifetimes? Ten thousand? A hundred thousand? How long would it take to drink one million? One of them, Charlie, a 31-year-old TV producer from London, set up a WhatsApp group called One Million Beers Please. The rules were simple: each pint posted is added to a total, no one chats online, and the only interaction is through emojis.
From a Joke to a Global Community
Friends began adding friends, and soon the group exploded. Charlie's sister brought me into the fold. While some posts show ordinary pub tables stacked with glasses, the now-global reach means even the most normal post can be a glimpse into a different world: pints at elite ski chalets, under fluorescent street signs in Thailand, or at beer pong tournaments in Tennessee. Selfies are also popular, with people drinking on mountain tops, in costumes, or during acrobatic tricks. Ed, a 54-year-old British expat banker in Singapore, uses the group to make friends abroad. "It sounds silly but you are never alone drinking a beer," he says.
Factions and Rules
Various factions exist. A group of Texans monitors the count and calls out mischievous behavior, from video soliloquies on why people prefer cider to swiftly deleted pictures of penises concealed by pints. French saboteurs who posted endless pictures of red wine were silently expelled. Recently, Papua New Guineans posed with beers next to a huge fish. The group is explicitly not about drinking to excess. As a nation, we may sink billions of pints every year, but any suggestion that pubs are purely for binge drinking does these institutions a disservice.
Supporting Pubs in Troubled Times
This is a troubling time for Britain's pubs. The British Beer and Pub Association estimates that nearly a fifth have closed since 2010, with 500 closures in 2023 alone. One Million Beers Please offers moral and financial support. There are now 857 members with access to a merch store, meet-ups, events, and a Google map of the best boozers worldwide. Ashleigh, a 37-year-old social media strategist, considers it a "no pressure" social media platform. "No words, no 'content creation', no obligation except one pint per month," she says.
Imitation Groups and Admins
The race to one million beers has spawned imitation groups, with half a dozen rival chats offering friendly competition. The original group's admins monitor the count and are the only ones allowed to write messages. They post Beer of the Month shortlists, announcements, and polls. Members use emojis to react, with the abacus symbol signaling a miscount. A purge occurs every few months to keep the dream alive; inactive members risk expulsion.
While meet-ups have only been in London so far, Manchester and Nashville events are planned. When people meet in person, they are known only by their preferred pint and emoji. Charlie reflects on the group's success: "People are forced to focus not on what they disagree on but what they have in common." He estimates it will take 13 years to reach one million pints. But as he says, "Who cares? What we know for sure is that we're together, right now, raising a pint to friendship."
