What started as a rough sketch on the back of a cocktail napkin has become two Kennesaw State geography professors’ recently published book on beer culture.
Authors, self-proclaimed “beer-doctors” and geography professors at KSU, Mark Patterson and Nancy Hoalst-Pullen will be reading from their newly published book “Atlas of Beer: A Globe-Trotting Journey Through the World of Beer” at the Horace W. Sturgis Library on Oct. 30 at 12:30 p.m.
The book elaborates on the 160,000 miles across 28 countries Patterson and Hoalst-Pullen have traveled in search of the most creative, memorable and great-tasting beer.
“It’s a narrative on the history, on the culture of beer, on the geography of beer written at [the average person’s] level,” Patterson says.
The book provides cultural differences on beer drinking around the world along with practical advice, tips and tricks for beer drinking and amusing beer facts. It includes a variety of beers from numerous countries, with a collection of 100 maps and 300 color photographs.
“I think it’s interesting because even though it says it’s the Atlas of beer, it’s more than just that,” Hoalst-Pullen says. “It’s getting the stories behind the locations of the styles where they’re from.”
Before beginning to work on the book, Patterson and Hoalst-Pullen were invited to Washington D.C. by National Geographic to give a presentation on it.
Representatives from National Geographic were impressed by the presentation, resulting in the professors receiving a contract and a grant from the National Geographic Expeditions Council for the book.
“I think anyone who likes beer will like the book,” Hoalst-Pullen says. “If anyone can appreciate beer, they don’t necessarily have to like it, but they can appreciate it, or even if they like geography, history or culture.”
Far from being strangers to the subject of beer culture, Patterson and Hoalst-Pullen previously published the book, “The Geography of Beer: Regions, Environment, and Societies,” which is more of an academic text.
The textbook has been used in the Geography of Beer course taught by Patterson. Both professors are currently working on a second edition of the book that will cover the geography of beer and will concentrate on the economics, culture and policies involved with making beer.
Both professors brew beer at home and are advocates of the craft beer business. They hope to engage with people at the book-reading event and to discuss beer culture.
“I hope we can break down some stereotypes of beer,” Patterson says. “Beer just isn’t something that people drink for a good time but is a legitimate academic subject, and I think by studying the geography of beer you can gain a lot of insight into the entire brewing culture history.”
The professors didn’t publish their book with the intent of it being a course textbook but to inform the public on the various aspects of beer through a “coffee-table” book that can be purchased both in stores and online.
