Düsseldorf beer culture: could it happen here?

In Düsseldorf, the local breweries make altbier, a dry, slightly roasty dark amber ale. Cologne has its own city beer, kölsch, a light-bodied straw-gold ale that’s crisp and refreshing. <...>

These aren’t quaint local choices, surviving only on the patronage of German beer geeks; they dominate the local markets.I’m happy to say that prospects for the future of these two beers are good. Despite the consolidation that has shaken the German brewing industry, the local markets remain devoted to their city beers. [emphasis mine]

A Tale of Two Cities

I've used beer-writer Lew Bryson's northern German travelogue, which he posted yesterday at Condé Nast Portfolio.com, as an example of beer culture, admittedly monoculture.

Could such beer culture happen here in Washington, D.C. and Baltimore? I wrote a few years ago about Baltimore as a beer-drinking town.

Pride in local beer was fierce in that town. But it's a rarer commodity here in the greater Washington, D.C. area. We readily embrace the world, yet only infrequently celebrate the local.

Comparison of D.C.'s beer culture to Philadelphia's here.