Drinking in the Culture: Tuppers' Guide to Exploring Great Beers in Europe.

It's been over thirty-five years in the making. Bob & Ellie Tupper —long-time observers of the good beer scene in the Washington, D.C. area, reviewers of nearly thirty-thousand beers, and veteran beer-travelers— have just self-published their first book:

Drinking in the Culture:
Tuppers' Guide to Exploring Great Beers in Europe.

Here's how the husband-and-wife describe their three-hundred twenty-four page book:

Drinking in the Culture is the first-ever guide to finding, not just good beer, but good beer places in two dozen of the best cities in the world to drink local beer. Here are gardens, cellars, plazas, and ancient halls, all featuring unique and superb local brews amid the rich history and culture of Europe.

For each of the 24 cities, this versatile guide offers:

• A quick orientation to the city as you arrive.
• The history and culture of that city, and how they have affected the local beer culture.
• A "sixpack," or more, of the best places —brewpubs, gardens, festivals, and breweries— to experience the beer culture of that city and region.
• Suggestions for hotels and out-of-the-ordinary sights.
• Day trips and excursions for more good beer.
• Plus local advice, travel strategies, and tips on getting there, getting around, and staying safe.

Bob Tupper has taught high school history and government for 45 years; Ellie Tupper is a writer and editor for an international scientific society. Since they started taking notes on beers in 1979, their database has grown to over 26,000 entries, and their quest for new brews has taken them all over Europe and the U.S.

The books' website, CultureAlePress, is 'live,' but currently without bells and whistles, and missing an ability to order teh book there. Such will appear soon, the Tuppers tell me, including errata and updates. In the meantime, the book can be purchased on-line, at Amazon, for example, where you should disregard the "Temporarily out of stock". At present, each book is printed to order.

I've just begun reading Drinking in the Culture, and taking a vicarious European beer vacation. A review to follow.

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• For more about the Tuppers, read beer journalist Tammy Tuck's interview, at the Washington City Paper.
• There is yet no distributor of the book, so, at present, bookstores might find it difficult to obtain copies. But, the Tuppers told me, they are close to signing with a national distributor.


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