The second annual Mystery Wine Party teamed nine niche suppliers for an afternoon of vino excitement in Beijing. This year’s event, held at Q Bar, featured wines from 1421, Australian Natural, Grape Wall, La Cava, Sommelier International, Lewine, Pasion, Ponty and Seina.

The fifty wines, hailing from Argentina, Australian, Chile, China, France and Spain, retail for rmb120 to rmb600 per bottle. The organizers gift-wrapped and sold each for a mere rmb100, with guests getting the thrill of unwrapping the bottles, discovering new grapes and regions, and sharing wines with their fellow imbibers.

Baozi-pizza specialists Baozza were on hand with four versions of their tasty baozi-pizza combos for rmb10 each. And there was a draw for a rmb2000 bottle of Chilean wine provided by La Cava.

All funds from the wine, baozza and the draw went to charity, raising a total of rmb6,840 or 68,400 mao. Thanks to George Zhou of Q Bar for hosting the event.

Nine craft brewers in five cities teamed up on November 4 for a night devoted to good beer and good causes. With 14 venues participating—in Beijing, Kunming, Shanghai, Tianjin and Wuhu—it was the most wide-ranging Maovember event so far.

Each venue donated rmb10 or more per beer sold to Maovember, with some doing activities that ranged from beer pong to trivia to draws. The event, known as Super Beers for Books, or perhaps more appropriately MaovemBEER, included Boxing Cat from Shanghai, WE Brewery from Tianjin, Shangri-La from Yunnan, Myth Monkey from Wuhu, and Arrow Factory, Dirty Duck Pub, Great Leap, Panda and Slow Boat from Beijing.

Most members of this year’s Maovember Steering Group were visiting the Beijing venues that night, grabbing beers like Panda Too Naive pale ale, Dirty Duck stout, Slow Boat raspberry pale ale, Great Leap cinnamon rock ale and Arrow Factory Back in Black stout. Meanwhile, customers and staff from all over China posted photos on social media.

This event raised rmb27,379 for charity from beers and games, including (in alphabetical order) from Arrow Factory (rmb1,829), Boxing Cat (3 venues: rmb8,100), WE Brewery (2 venues: rmb3,500), Shangri-La (rmb1,040) Myth Monkey (rmb80), Dirty Duck Pub (rmb2,000), Great Leap (3 venues: rmb5,000) Panda (rmb1,630) and Slow Boat (rmb4,280). That translates to a whopping 273,790 mao for Maovember and its 2016 partners Library Project and Good Works! Thanks to all of the venues and customers who supported this effort!

And check out these collages, one with photos from venues all over China and one from our pub crawl.

Maovember went mental mid-week as Q Mex held its third annual charity quiz on November 9. With quiz masters Jay and Reece at the helm, a full house of teams competed in six rounds of brain-teasers and raised money from entry fees, a draw for rmb500, rmb200 and rmb100 Q Mex gift certificates, and frozen margaritas. Our team, Maovember Reign, held second spot until one wrong answer in the final round cost us victory. Didn’t matter as the drinks, half-price nachos and draw made it a most excellent night. Thanks to Q Mex manager Lucy Li for hosting an event that raised rmb2139, including rmb1000 from the raffle and rmb1139 from entry fees, drinks and donations!

The fourth annual Irish Volunteer / Hockey Bar charity corn toss classic threw down a full afternoon—and evening—of fun last Saturday. As usual, the corn toss was highly competitive, with some participants having the added challenge of playing in Halloween costumes. Mike Kusy and Curtis Dracz of Team Niagara AKA 905 took this year’s title.

The day also featured shots, including Pickle Zachs (moonshine followed by pickle juice), a draw, and a costume contest. The draw was packed with prizes such as wine, Good Works coffee, gift certificates and hockey gear.

All that, plus tasty eats liked pulled pork sandwiches and head-bopping music from DJ Big Mike, made for a fun event. And one that raised rmb4400 for Maovember. Thanks to Zach, Trish and everyone at Irish Volunteer for a great day!

Eager tasters tested their tongues on French and Chinese wines during an event at Cafe de la Poste on October 27. Attendees tried pairs of wines, one French and one Chinese, blind and guessed what country each one hailed from and voted on what they liked best. With eight wines on hand, there was plenty to go around and plenty of debate, too. Afterward, attendees played ‘basket-bola’–using paper balls and an ice bucket in lieu of a basket—-for rmb10 per game and enjoyed Good Works coffee shots at rmb20 per serving, with all funds to Maovember. All in the all, the event raised rmb900 from the tasting and rmb530 from the coffee shots and basket-bola, for a total of rmb1430. Thanks to Justin and the team at Cafe de la Poste!

Over 50 people put their brains together to help charity as Paddy O’Shea’s held its third annual Maovember quiz on October 26. This year’s event included rounds focused on topics related to Maovember (mustaches) and its 2016 partners Good Works (coffee) and Library Project (books). The fundraising effort also include revenue from picklebacks and, a few days later, corn toss sessions with a mystery character known as Maovember Man. The total raised from pins, drinks and games was rmb3200. Nice work Paul and team—and Maovember man!

By Jim Boyce | Maovember is many things to many people. For me, it’s a long roller coaster ride that includes the lows of rushing to publicize events, worrying about turnout and covering for people at the last minute and the highs of backing a worthy cause, seeing guests have fun, and teaming with creative and committed partners. The highs thankfully easily dominate the lows.

Below I’ve listed five personal moments from last year that make me believe in this project. There are lots more I could cite, from pub quizzes to pool, beer pong, poker and corn toss tournaments to wine and beer events, so expect more “top fives” soon. And I’m sure other people can list their favorite memories, too!

Finally, those who organize Maovember are lucky to have so many people in the food and drink industry willing to do events and so many consumers willing to support those efforts with donations.

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CAFE DE LA POSTE

Chinese and French wines tasted blind to raise money for cataract surgeries and thus give people sight. Nice event, Tristan and Justin! It was fun to see people guess what wine hailed from what nation. Bonus points for the mustache-themed backgrounds and the basket-bola game. (Recap here.)

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MIGAS

This is among my favorite Beijing restaurants, so brunch alone made this a worthwhile event. The pouron contest, emceed by chef Aitor, took it to the next level as people performed a series of distance-guzzling challenges with the goal of winning… more wine! Nice touches by Juan and Maria with mustache-shaped cookies at the dessert station and fun promotions. (Recap here.)

The “mystery wine party” at La Cava saw a bunch of my favorite distributors sponsor superb bottles that sold for a mere rmb100 each. The catch? Each bottle was gift-wrapped and the label only revealed when bought. The result? People trying and sharing wines and, when finished, buying more. We sold out in an hour. We also held the first “wine flights” paper airplane contest. (Recap here.)

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Although a bitterly cold night and hutong location curbed turnout, the Tiki guys deserve full marks for getting into the spirit with a party themed around the classic TV show Magnum P.I. They had everything from a limbo contest to a “get someone lei’d promotion” to 10-kuai rum shots. Bonus points to Maovember supporter Alex for embracing the theme and dressing up as both Zeus and Apollo, the two Dobermans from the show. (Full recap here.)

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PADDY O’SHEA’S

Someone who embodies the Maovember spirit is manager Paul of Paddy O’Shea’s, who hosted the official closing party last year. Given pollution as nasty as it gets and a weekday slot, we worried about attendance. The mix of road hockey, an open mic night, Two Guys pies, a Jameson pickleback bar and a community that came through in our darkest smoggiest hour made the event a big success. (Full recap here.)

Look for more 2015 flashbacks ahead of this year’s Maovember project!