Pete Dulin

Expedition of Thirst: Exploring Breweries, Wineries, and Distilleries across the Heart of Kansas and Missouri (University Press of Kansas, 2017)

Set out with a true aficionado and affable guide to sample a dizzying array of beverages made in America’s heartland. Expedition of Thirst maps routes that crisscross eastern Kansas and western Missouri, with stops at some 150 breweries, wineries, and distilleries along the way. Pete Dulin, a seasoned writer on the subject, explains how and why these businesses produce beer, wine, and spirits tied to regional terroir and represent the flavors of the Midwest from the Flint Hills to the Ozarks. More than a travel guide, his book is a cultural journal exploring the people, places, and craft that make each destination distinct and noteworthy.

Dulin shares the stories of many of these brewers, winemakers, and distillers in their own words. Expedition of Thirst captures the character of the small business owners and makers and offers insight about their craft. For good measure, Dulin delves into the history, culture, and geography that have shaped these producers and their practices, from the impact of Prohibition to the early influence of immigrant winemakers and brewers, regional agriculture, and politics. As informative as it is engaging—even intoxicating—his Expedition is sure to work up readers’ thirst to travel and discover firsthand the singular regional pleasures so richly described in these pages.

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Kansas City Beer: A History of Brewing in the Heartland (The History Press, 2016)

Westbound immigrants, pioneers and entrepreneurs alike arrived in Kansas City with a thirst for progress and beer. Breweries both small and mighty seized opportunity in a climate of ceaseless social change and fierce regional competition. Muehlebach Brewing Company commanded the market, operating in Kansas City for more than eighty years. Built in 1902, the iconic brick warehouse of Imperial Brewing still stands today. Prohibition made times tough for brewers and citizens in the Paris of the Plains, but political “Boss” Tom Pendergast kept the taps running. In 1989, Boulevard Brewing kicked off the local craft beer renaissance, and a bevy of breweries soon formed a flourishing community. Food and beer writer Pete Dulin explores Kansas City’s hop-infused history and more than sixty breweries from the frontier era to the twenty-first century.

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KC Ale Trail

Supon Publishing (Out of Print)

Published in 2014 at the onset of the modern wave of local craft brewing, KC Ale Trail explores 23 modern breweries and the growth of craft brewing in Kansas City and the surrounding region. The book features full-color photographs, beer recommendations, and profiles of breweries in Kansas City, Lawrence, Topeka, Manhattan, and Springfield, plus interviews with notable figures in the craft beer industry.

Last Bite: 100 Simple Recipes From Kansas City’s Best Chefs and Cooks (2012)

Last Bite: 100 Simple Recipes from Kansas City’s Best Chefs and Cooks features recipes from forty top local chefs, cooks, and James Beard Foundation Award winners. Noted Ulterior Epicure food writer Bonjwing Lee writes, “Pete Dulin had the foresight to capture this moment in Kansas City’s culinary history with the following collection of recipes from some of our city’s finest, contemporary talent. Together, they form a patchwork of flavors that represent Kansas City, here and now.”

Roy Inman’s vivid color photographs are a showcase of these easy-to-prepare recipes previously published in the “Last Bite” column in Star Magazine in The Kansas City Star. A special section includes Inman’s original portraits and Dulin’s profiles of these talented chefs and cooks. Last Bite is an essential collection of recipes for cooks at home and a perfect gift for food lovers.

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