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Profs & Pints: Nation of Drunkards

Profs and Pints presents: Nation of Drunkards," a history of alcohol in America, with Matthew R. Pembleton, adjunct lecturer at American University, fellow at the DC Policy Center, and author of Containing Addiction: The Federal Bureau of Narcotics and the Origins of Americas Global Drug War.

The United States has often been described as a nation of drunkards. The (often excessive) consumption of alcohol is as American as apple pie, but so, too, are intense arguments about the harm and impact of drink on American life.

Drinking patterns and public attitudes toward alcohol and intoxication have changed dramatically over time, in ways that can teach us a lot about American culture and society. The same nation that once consumed an average of five to seven gallons of liquor per person per year also embarked on the hopeless quest of Prohibition and launched a War on Drugs.

How do we make sense of these contradictions in the American character? Let Profs and Pints show you American history through the saloon door and the bottom of a bottle, and learn about the rise, fall, and return of alcohol in America.

The talk will take you from the Whiskey Rebellion to the Craft Beer Revolution. You'll revisit George Washington and the rise of the distilling industry, Johnny Appleseed and the ubiquity of hard cider, the Market Revolution and the Great Whiskey Binge, Nativism and the Lager Bier Riots, Temperance and the womens movement, Prohibition, and the renaissance of American brewing.

You'll have the option of purchasing a tasting flight featuring several of the libations that will be discussed. (Advance tickets: $12. Doors: $15, save $2 with a student ID. Tasting flight is a separate charge and, of course, available only to those 21 and over.)