Beer Geeks Beat ALS: Dutch brewing collaboration for charity

By Malin Norman

With over 18,000 members, Beer Geeks is the largest beer community in the Netherlands and Belgium. It brings together people with a passion for beer, but the community has also achieved something quite extraordinary. Since 2018, the Beer Geeks Beat ALS brewing collaborations have raised over 522,000 euro for the Dutch ALS foundation. March sees the release of the latest edition – No Time Like Now – with 80 breweries taking part.

“The idea for the campaign arose when our Facebook group Beer Geeks celebrated its fifth anniversary back in 2018,” recalls Ferry Wijnhoven, founder of the group. “By this time, the page had reached 10,000 members and to celebrate, we wanted to do something special.”

The Beer Geeks came up with the idea to brew a craft beer together with as many Dutch breweries as possible, with the proceeds going to a good cause. “Since the start of this project, we have raised over 522,000 euro for the Dutch ALS foundation, Stichting ALS Nederland,” says Wijnhoven. “Our hope is that this will help researchers in getting closer to finding a cure for ALS.”

Photo: Victor Krijt

From one beer geek to over 18,000

The Beer Geeks community was set up in 2013. Inspired by the TV show Tournée Générale, where musician Jean Blaute and TV presenter Ray Cokes make a road trip across Belgium to explore its beer culture, Wijnhoven decided to search for unknown beers himself from the Netherlands, Belgium, Scandinavia, Italy, and the US.

“A couple of friends where doing the same thing, which I loved. At first, I shared my beer adventures on my own Facebook page, and eventually I created a closed group where I could talk about beer with a couple of friends,” he says. “That was the start of Beer Geeks.”

Photo: 117 seconds (Mats van der Scheer)

The friends reviewed beers, posted beer news and inspired each other to try new beers and flavours. At the time, the Dutch craft beer revolution was in full swing and new breweries opened every week, or so it seemed. “My friends also invited some of their friends, who invited their friends, and so on. The group was the first of its kind; vibrant, lively and exciting.”

The Beer Geeks became known for saying it like it is, not trying to please anyone. Soon, the beer industry started to notice – including brewers and retail – and they joined, too, in addition to more consumers. The founder smiles and says; “Those were the golden days of the Dutch craft beer revolution!”

No Time Like Now is an Italian grape ale, dry-hopped with Nelson Sauvin hops and fermented with Kveik yeast.

One member’s ALS inspired the rest

The Beer Geeks group started to meet also in real life, for instance during brewery tours and tastings. “This strengthened the bond further,” says Wijnhoven, and emphasises that as a member of the community, you were never alone. “There was always someone there, wanting to share a beer and a story. We grew fast; after three years, there were 5,000 members.”

After five years, the Beer Geeks community had reached 10,000 members, which called for a celebration. One of the members, the brewer Ronald Vandestreek, agreed to brew a beer for the group if the profit would go to charity – and the Beer Geeks Beat ALS charity was born.

Photo: @bartberendsenfotografie

One of the group’s earliest members was Oscar Wagner. When he joined the group, Oscar was already diagnosed with the muscular disease ALS. “This disease is a real killer, literally,” says Wijnhoven. “When you get diagnosed, you have more or less 3 to 5 years before it kills you. In the meantime, all your functions start to fail; every muscle will eventually stop, including your heart. We all knew about his disease and saw him getting worse.”

On 24 December at 8pm, Oscar decided to end his suffering, via euthanasia. “To this day, every year on 24 December at 8pm, we drink a Struise or a Westmalle, Oscar’s favourite beers, and post with the hashtag #abeerforoscar, to remember him and pay our respects.”

When the Beer Geeks decided to brew a beer in celebration of the anniversary and reaching 10,000 members, it was immediately clear that the charity should be the ALS foundation.

Photo: Victor Krijt

From Body and Soul to Beyond the Horizon

In December 2018, Beer Geeks Beat ALS brewed its first beer, Body and Soul, at Vandestreek brewery in Utrecht, with around 60 breweries taking part. It was a 10% stout (because of reaching 10,000 members), with added Leffe and green apples. The beer was released at Rock City Brewing in Amersfoort, with a live auction. The goal was to raise 10,000 euro, but the proceeds eventually reached 47.621 euro.

The following year, the group brewed Road to Nowhere at Jopen brewery in Haarlem, with some 80 breweries. The beer was released at Davo brewery in Deventer and raised 109.000 euro. When Covid came into the picture, the project was paused, but the group still managed to raise over 107,000 euro in 2020-2021 and over 35,000 euro in 2021-2022, through other events such as auctions, raffles, tastings, and more.

Beer Geeks Beat ALS: Dutch brewing collaboration for charity

Late 2023, Beer Geeks Beat ALS was back in full force and brewed Vida la Vida, with 84 breweries taking part. The brewing took place at Lighttown Brewers in Eindhoven, with the release party at Jopen in Haarlem. This edition of the collaboration raised over 90,000 euro.

Photo: 117 seconds (Mats van der Scheer)

And last year saw not one but two collaboration brews. The first with Brouwerij de Molen, a non-barrel-aged and a barrel-aged version of Hemel & Aarde, which was released at the bar De Hoppenaar in Arnhem. The second was a sea salt rosemary stout called Beyond the Horizon, brewed with a whopping 89 Dutch breweries, and released at Stadshaven brewery in Rotterdam. “I’m pretty sure this is the world’s largest collaboration in beer,” smiles Wijnhoven. Together, the two collabs raised more than 105,000 euro.

Photo: Victor Krijt

2026 edition, with 80 breweries taking part

This year, once again the team has organised a massive collaboration, bringing together 80 breweries to make a beer for the ALS charity. The brewing of No Time Like Now took place on 16 January at Baxbier Brewery in Groningen. “We brewed an Italian grape ale, dry-hopped with Nelson Sauvin hops and fermented with Kveik yeast,” says the community’s founder. “I’m really excited to see, and taste, the result!”

“The community is as strong as ever, and many people are passionate about our campaign, which is fantastic,” adds Wijnhoven. “Of course we would love to stop, because that means a cure has been found. But as long as there’s no cure or medicine, we will continue with our charity event.”

Photo: 117 seconds (Mats van der Scheer)

What is ALS?

ALS is relentless. After the first symptoms, people with this nerve/muscle disease die within three to five years. In the Netherlands, 1 in 400 people develop ALS. The Dutch ALS Foundation funds scientific research into the cause and treatment of ALS and the related diseases PSMA and PLS. Recent technological developments have made the chance of a breakthrough greater than ever.

Source: Stichting ALS Nederland

More information about Beer Geeks Beat ALS:

beergeeksbeatals.nl
beergeeksbeatals.alsacties.nl

Facebook: Beer Geeks Beat ALS
Instagram: @beergeeksbeatals
YouTube: @beergeeksbeatals3842