Geography Of Beer: How A Bubbly Brew Took Over The World
Hooray for beer!
By Ina Yang Posted 04.03.2014 at 12:45 pm
The geographies of light beer…
Georgia
(Apr 15, 2014) —
Link To Article
http://www.popsci.com/article/science/geography-beer-how-bubbly-brew-took-over-world
Hooray for beer!
By Ina Yang Posted 04.03.2014 at 12:45 pm
Beer, that magical fermented brew, is the third-most consumed beverage on the planet.
Only water and tea are more popular.
These and other facts—complete with academic-level history and analysis—are crammed
into a new textbook called “The Geography of Beer”. The $129 printed compendium ($99 for an ebook) traces the origins of beer and explores flourishing cultures tied to the alcoholic
drink.
In one of our favorite chapters, Mark Patterson and Nancy Hoalst Pullen, two geography professors at Kennesaw State
University who co-authored the textbook, apply their knowledge of food production
and the beer industry to track down how geography influences beer styles, taste, and
manufacturing. The 212-page textbook also features a collection of essays by beer
lovers who explore, for example, the surge in popularity of the U.S. microbrewing industry.
Chapter 17 is another favorite. Authors Matthew Zook and Ate Poorthuis studied a year's
worth of tweets to suss out Americans' beer preferences, and their “lightbeer cyberspace"
(see map, above) analysis reveals the dominance of Coors in the western U.S., Bud
Light in the South and on the East Coast, and the Midwstern pocket claimed by Busch
and Miller Lite.
Below are a few other fun takeways to share with your friends over a cold one:
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Back in the Bronze Age (roughly 3000 to 1000 BC), beer ingredients included fruits
and cereals. (Chapter Two, Max Nelson)
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To date, the Brewers Association has classified more than 140 different styles of
beer. (Chapter One, Mark W. Patterson and Nancy Hoalst-Pullen)
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IPA stands for India Pale Ale, a kind of beer that originated in the 1600s and was
the preferred drink by British colonists in Tropical India. (Chapter 12, Jake E. Haugland)
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From June 2012 to May 2013 there were close to a million geocoded beer tweets sent.
(Chapter 17, Matthew Zook and Ate Poorthuis)
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Midwestern states are more likely to tweet about beer while wine-related tweets generally
come from northern and central California, Oregon and Washington, where wine is grown
in the region. (Chapter 17, Matthew Zook and Ate Poorthuis)
Also featured in Science Daily, April 1, 2014, at http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/04/140401102346.htm
A leader in innovative teaching and learning, Kennesaw State University offers more than 150 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees to its more than 41,000 students. With 11 colleges on two metro Atlanta campuses, Kennesaw State is a member of the University System of Georgia and the second-largest university in the state. The university’s vibrant campus culture, diverse population, strong global ties and entrepreneurial spirit draw students from throughout the region and from 126 countries across the globe. Kennesaw State is a Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2), placing it among an elite group of only 6 percent of U.S. colleges and universities with an R1 or R2 status. For more information, visit kennesaw.edu.