SINGAPORE, Dec 17 — So you missed out on what is probably the best job in the world.

On Thursday afternoon (Dec 15), Danish brewer Carlsberg awarded marketing manager Royston Lim Qi Lun the much-coveted job of tasting its beer for four hours — for a sweet paycheque of S$20,000 cash.

But you can still get lucky with the brand’s new promotion. Head to any coffeeshop islandwide this weekend and stand a chance to win S$1,788 cash when you order a Carlsberg Green Label beer. Other prizes include getting S$1 and S$5 off on your next purchase. Just look under the bottle cap to see what you have won, and claim your prize from the Carlsberg promoters working there.

For Lim, who beat 13,700 applicants to nab the top job, his stroke of good luck originated from spontaneity. He applied on the spur of the moment on the last day of applications on Dec 4, because he wanted to “get one pint of beer” from his pal. His friend had promised to buy him a pint in exchange for him signing up.

The 32-year-old, together with four other finalists — Kenneth Kong, 35, a head DJ at a nightclub; workforce manager Clifford Joseph James, 40; Cheryl Ong, 22, who recently graduated from university; and Francine Tang, 28, a marketing executive at a home furnishings company — were shortlisted based on their online applications and a phone interview.

They then had to undergo four rounds of “job interviews” with a four-man panel on Thursday — which involved coming up with an impromptu set of wedding vows to demonstrate their love for Carlsberg and displaying their skill in pulling a pint from a beer tap.

For the latter, only Lim, who brews beer at home as a hobby, managed to pull a perfect pint of beer. “I was nervous. When I usually do it at home, you just put the bottle in. There is no foam. But I know the character of beer so I know that if I do it vertically, it will create a lot of foam. So I have to do it at an angle to create the head,” explained Lim, who works in Fischer Audio.

He eventually emerged as the winner after the panel gauged the applicants on their conversational ability, personality, and their passion for Carlsberg.

Carlsberg Singapore’s general manager Jimmy Toh said Lim stood out because “he demonstrated a lot of passion for the Carlsberg brand, and I think he also exhibited a lot of knowledge about beer and the Carlsberg brand as well”.

He added: “And when it came to the practical execution and even to the last question (when a panel member asked applicants why they should be chosen as a Carlsberg ambassador), he was the only one making sense.” Still, “all the contestants came really close, so we had to take a longer time to deliberate on the winner,” he said.

For Lim’s efforts, he was immediately rewarded with a Carlsberg suitcase filled with S$20,000 of cash before he was driven — by a personal chauffeur, no less — to three spots — Chor Dee Coffeeshop at Fu Lu Shou Basement 1, Blk 261 Serangoon Central Drive and No.5 Emerald Hill — to start his new “job”.

Describing his win as a “dream come true”, Lim said he would be giving his family and friends a treat ­— to beer, of course. “Eventually, the rest I will save up for my better future,” he added.

For the rest of us, well, there’s always the good old coffeeshop. — TODAY