Introducing My Quarterly Beerscapes Newsletter!

For those who just want to get things over with and sign up for my Beerscapes Newsletter, here’s a link that’ll take you to the subscription form. For those who want to know what’s in store, read on!

It’s been awhile since I last checked in with you outside of my regular blog posts. High time for a quick update, along with an invitation to sign up for my Beerscapes Newsletter!

Covid aside, 2020 and the first few months of 2021 have been great. I rolled out my Tuesday Photo Series on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/tempestinatankard/) a little over a year ago, and the response has exceeded my wildest expectations. I’m really glad this is resonating with so many of you! It’s perfect for me because I get write about all those memories that have sustained me over the past year. And hopefully the travel focus has helped you take your mind off of the immediate present while giving you some bucket list travel ideas for the future.

Why a Newsletter?

The short answer: social media. Anyone remember Myspace or Friendster? A newsletter gives me a way to get my beer writing out to you directly without the need for Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, should they become less popular or cease to exist in the coming years.

When?

First issue due out in early April — any day now! Quarterly after that.

What’s in Store?

There’ll be plenty of Germany for those of you who have come to know me as a German specialist, along with Central Europe, Belgium, and other parts of Europe. Much of the material will have a connection with beer culture, beer history, or beer travel. The newsletter will also include short vignettes about a wider variety of beer regions and beer styles than on my blog. I’ll also use the newsletter to pass along news about my writing, and to keep you up to date about progress on my book on the German beer scene (which is coming along nicely).

Here’s a sampling of sections. I won’t include every section in every quarter, but I’ll eventually settle on a rhythm:

• “On This Day In Beer.” Dates, festivals, and events that give beer culture its spice, with the occasional short anecdote. Examples: legendary and historical figures like Gambrinus, events like Annafest, patron saints of beer.
• “Trivial Pursuit, Beer Culture Edition.” What’s a Köbes? What’s a hauf ‘n a hauf? How about Zoigl? These will be short snippets on everything from gantries and snugs to Frühschoppen and the “beer angel” of the Hofbräuhaus. You might not know what any of these things are just yet, but you’ll find out over the coming months and years.
• “A Sense of Place.” Without places that foster a sense of community and conviviality, beer is just a tasty beverage. This “bucket list” section will spotlight a tavern, taproom, brewery, or beer garden somewhere in this wide world of beer where the memory of the experience will stay with you for years.
• “Beer’s Artistic Side.” Etchings, beer placards, caricatures. Robert Burns and John Barleycorn, Eduard Grützner’s monks, Max Liebermann’s beer gardens.
• “Beyond Beer.” A glance beyond the rim of our beer mugs. Wine, scotch, bourbon, saké, coffee, and cocktails.

Sign Up!

To all of you who started following my work over the course of the past year or so, thanks so much! And a huge thanks to all of you who’ve been along for the ride over the years. It’s all of you who keep me inspired to write about my experiences with the history and culture of beer. Cheers to sharing a beer in person someday!

Now sign up for my newsletter, and share this post with all your friends who are into beer! Thanks, and take care out there! Prost!

©2021 Franz D. Hofer and A Tempest in a Tankard. All rights reserved.