Things To Do
|
Newsletter
|
Fraylife+
|
Fraylife+
  • Play

    Play

    • A Beginner’s Guide to Soccer
    • You Spin Me Right Round: D.C. Roller Skating 101 in 2021
    • Leading the League: The WNBA’s Natasha Cloud on Breaking Barriers + Inspiring D.C.
    • Spring Has Sprung: 10 Ways To Get Outside in the DMV
    • Play Week Combines Games + Social Impact
    • High and Go Seek Illustration
    • O Captain, My Captain: Washington Spirit’s Andi Sullivan
  • Life

    Life

    • Local Entrepreneurs Infuse CBD into Wellness
    • 19 Entrepreneurs Shaping D.C.’s Cannabis + CBD Industries
    • Upcycling in D.C.: Transforming a Culture of Consumption
    • The Green Issue: Experts + Advocates Make Case for Cannabis Legalization + Decriminalization
    • The District Derp Story
    • Grassfed Media Champions Cannabis Clients
    • Nat Geo Explorer Gabrielle Corradino on Plankton, the Anacostia + Conservation
  • Eat

    Eat

    • The State of Takeout in the District
    • A New Twist on Food Delivery: MisenBox
    • Next-Level Home Dining Experiences in D.C.
    • Foxtrot Market Is Officially Open for Business in Georgetown
    • Food Rescue + Assistance Programs Fill the Gaps in a Pandemic Food System
    • Hungry Harvest Helps to End Food Insecurity
    • Notable Summer Bar + Restaurant Reopenings to Try this Spring
  • Drink

    Drink

    • Pandemic Drinking: Derek Brown Leads the Way to Low-ABV Future
    • D.C.’s St. Vincent Wine Creates Covid-Conscious Experience
    • A New Way to Binge: Sobriety Anchors Business + Being for Gigi Arandid
    • King’s Ransom + The Handover in Alexandria Celebrate a First Year Like No Other
    • Wines of the World Are Just Around the Corner
    • Open-Air Drinking + Cocktail Delivery Changes in the DMV
    • Denizens Brewing Co.’s Emily Bruno: Brewing Change for Community + Industry
  • Culture

    Culture

    • The Artistry Behind D.C.’s Cannabis Culture
    • The Best Movies of 2021…So Far
    • The Survival of the Brutalist: D.C.’s Complicated Concrete Legacy
    • Plain Sight: A Street-Front Revolution in Radical Arts Accessibility
    • A Touch of Danger in Shakespeare Theatre Company’s “Romeo & Juliet”
    • Artgence + Homme: Where There’s Art, There’s a Story to Share
    • 21 D.C. Makers + Curators to Follow
  • Music

    Music

    • Emma G Talks Wammie Nominations and the D.C. Music Community
    • J’Nai Bridges: A Modern Mezzo-Soprano in a Changing Opera Landscape
    • Punk Legends The Go-Go’s Talk Four Decades of Sisterhood, Resilience + Zero Fucks Given
    • Ellen Reid “Soundwalk:” Exploring the Sonic Landscape at Wolf Trap
    • SHAED Releases First Full-Length Album in a “High Dive” of Faith
    • Obama + Springsteen Present “Renegades”
    • Christian Douglas Uses His “Inside Voice” on Pandemic-Inspired Debut Album
  • Events

    Events

    • Play Week 4.17-4.25
    • Midnight at The Never Get 4.30-6.21
    • Cannabis City Panel Presented by BĀkT DC + District Fray
    • Browse Events
    • DC Polo Society Summer Sundays 5.9
    • National Cannabis Festival’s Dazed & Amused Drive-In Party
    • Vinyl + Vinyasa 4.30
  • Fraylife+

Fraylife+
🎶 Feel the Pride, Hear the Power: WorldPride Choral Festival Hits DC
The Avett Brothers Return Under the Stars at Wolf Trap
Turn Up Your Thursdays: Carlyle Crossing’s Happy Hour Concert Series is Your Summer Soundtrack
Summer Vibes Only: Why Your Next Sunday Funday Should Be with the DC Polo Society
DelFest 2025: Music and Mountains Make Magic Again!
Spring ’25 Spirit Week: Spring Break
Home » Articles » Eat » The Ultimate Beer Travel Guide: Atlas of Beer

Eat

The Ultimate Beer Travel Guide: Atlas of Beer

Share:

November 4, 2017 @ 12:00am | Alex Thompson

When National Geographic gives you the opportunity to travel the globe all in the name of beer research, you go – immediately.

Beer geographers Nancy Hoalst-Pullen and Mark Patterson did exactly that, setting out on an epic 13-month, over 160,000-mile quest to discover the ins and outs of beer making and drinking around the world for their new book Atlas of Beer: A Globe-Trotting Journey Through the World of Beer.

Published by the National Geographic Society, this ultimate beer travel guide gives readers a truly unique take on the history, culture and tasting trends of all things beer across six continents – all from bar owners, brewers and industry experts. And readers also get some incredible travel tips, including how to order a beer in 14 different languages.

Connecting the world of geography and beer is a passion project for Hoalst-Pullen and Patterson, both academics with PhDs in geography and individualized experience across the beer spectrum. Hoalst-Pullen is an avid world traveler and beer writer, while Patterson is a well-versed homebrewer working on a script for a pilot series on the U.S. craft beer industry.

“If you look at the ingredients in beer, you have four of them: water, yeast, grains and hops,” Patterson tells On Tap. “And from those four ingredients, you can produce hundreds of styles of beers, and almost everywhere you go, these beers taste slightly different than [their] next-door neighbors. I think that is slightly a function of geography.”

Hoalst-Pullen adds that she finds it amazing that wherever you go, you’ll find that the beer there has a distinctiveness you won’t find in other places.

“If you go to a location and drink a particular style that originated there, you not only appreciate the beer more but the location as well,” she says.

Out of all the countries visited, the pair says Argentina and Belgium proved to be the most surprising – for quite different reasons.

“Argentina is known for wine, and so there are a lot of used wine
barrels sitting around that breweries have taken advantage of to age their beers in,” Patterson says. “And some of the brewers there are producing phenomenal beers.”

As for Belgium, the sheer variety of beers that this small country is producing is impressive, the authors notes.

“Belgium is really quite traditional,” Hoalst-Pullen says. “A lot of times, you have beers that evolve with ebb and flow. But Belgium uses some traditions that have been used forever, and the beers are timeless in many ways. I think that’s what makes Belgium unique.”

Both are quick to point out that the U.S. is by no means one to leave out of the conversation on impressive beers, with some lesser known areas (e.g., outside of Denver, San Diego, New England, etc.) producing some pretty incredible beers.

Hoalst-Pullen says they visited some noteworthy breweries in states like Texas and Ohio.

“You don’t tend to hear someone say, ‘Hey, let’s go to Ohio and drink beer,’” she says. “But they’ve got some pretty upstanding breweries there too. The same places are covered repeatedly in literature, and I think some of these other places really do have amazing breweries that are unfortunately overlooked.”

Along their travels, both authors picked up quite a few misperceptions about beer – the most popular of which were that beer served in a cold glass is best, and one should pour a beer with the least foam possible. Patterson explains that the foam is actually a pretty important part of the beer because it extenuates the beer’s aroma, but a cold glass will detract from the flavor. Another interesting perception the authors encountered frequently during their expedition was the viewpoint of American beers outside of the U.S., specifically when it came to the interpretation of an IPA.

“I found it interesting how those outside of the U.S. would say ‘Oh, this is an American-style IPA,’ and really it was more their own personal interpretation from their country with their culture infused into an IPA style,” Hoalst-Pullen says.

You can come and hear both authors speak about their travels, and their new book, at a Nat Geo Nights event from 7-9 p.m. on Thursday, November 30 at the National Geographic Campus. Guests will get to hear about beers from the far reaches of the world visited by the authors, and enjoy a guided beer tasting with food pairing led by James Bear Award-winning brewmaster Garrett Oliver of Brooklyn Brewery.

“I think we’re educators at heart, and we really enjoy talking to people about the book and about beer,” Patterson says. “We are always trying to weave geography into our conversations. And for me, I really like it when people say, ‘I know a lot about beer, but I didn’t know this about beer or about a particular style.’”

Hoalst-Pullen added, “If we can be entertaining and educational at the same time, and do all of it while drinking, is there anything better?”

Learn more about the Atlas of Beer event on November 30 here. Tickets are $100 each and include the beer tasting and food pairing.

National Geographic Campus: 1600 M St. NW, DC; 202-857-7700 www.nationalgeographic.org

Share with friends

Share:

Related Articles

<h3>No Articles</h3>
COMPANY
About United Fray Team Hiring: Join Our Team!
GET INVOLVED
Become A Member Corporate Wellness Contact: Media Pitches + Advertising Inquiries
EXPLORE
Eat Drink Music Culture Life Play Events Calendar
OUR CITIES
Washington D.C. Jacksonville Phoenix United Fray
Sign Up

Get the best of D.C. delivered to your inbox with one of our weekly newsletters.

Sign Up

© 2025 District Fray – Making Fun Possible.