July 16, 2008 -- Despite high fuel prices and a weak dollar, “The Year in Beer” continues for a Carmel Valley, California, couple – and in July, Chris Nelson and Merideth Canham-Nelson will mark a major milestone in their beer travel adventure, when each visits their 400th brewery.

Earlier this year, the self-professed beer geeks embarked on an ambitious project to travel to a major beer event or destination each month. They are half way through and still going strong. At the moment, the couple does not have any sponsors helping to defray costs, but that’s not stopping their tap-inspired travels. Nelson states, “We picked an expensive year to do this, but we’re having a great time.”

And what adventures they’ve had. So far, they’ve washed down moose sausage with home brew in Alaska, drank liters of lager at Germany’s second largest beer festival, and ordered room temperature bottles of Guinness “off the shelf” in Ireland. “A lot of people have said that we are living their dream, but you know what? We’re living our dream, too”, remarks Nelson.

 

As if the first part of the year wasn’t enough, the second half of their adventure reads like a beer lover’s dream with travels to four of the world’s premier beer gatherings. At the end of July, the couple heads to Portland for the Oregon Brewer’s Festival. August takes them to the Great British Beer Festival in London. Then it’s off to Munich in September for Oktoberfest and Denver in October for the Great American Beer Festival.

In addition to attending festivals, this beer-loving couple has also been to hundreds of breweries throughout North America and Western Europe. This year marks a major milestone: while in Portland in July, each will be visiting their 400th brewery. With strict guidelines on how they figure the list of breweries, Nelson and Canham-Nelson like to note that these are 400 different breweries.

Summarizing the adventure so far, Canham-Nelson says, “The year has been exactly what we wanted it to be. We’re traveling, meeting interesting people and going to new places. And, best of all, we’re doing it together. Plus, we’re already planning for next year’s adventure.” With six months down, the next six months of The Year in Beer promise to be even more exciting.

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If you would like to know more about beer travel, or to schedule an interview with Chris Nelson and Merideth Canham-Nelson, please call Chris Nelson at (831) 659-4973 or e-mail Chris at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it   Web: www.thebeergeek.com