Studying Beer a Year Abroad

Hello Everyone,
This summer I'm working on writing a proposal for a "Watson Fellowship" which would grant me 25,000$ to travel and carry out my proposed research, post graduation. I intend to design my study around the craft of brewing i.e. how this process differs throughout the world and how its uniqueness reflects or influences different cultures and identities. If accepted I would be expected to leave the country for a year without return, traveling to proposed destinations independently carrying out my research. Needless to say this is a pretty hefty project. Being that this forum holds a wealth of knowledge I would like to ask for any general suggestions or advise such as, key places to visit (already thinking about Germany, Belgium, Czech Republic but would like to find some places outside of Europe; maybe Japan?), interesting brewing styles to investigate, general beer history/guide books, or people/places to contact. Any help at all would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers.

That's a helluva opportunity you have. I really hope you get it.

Of course Germany, Belgium, and Czech would be amazing beer destinations, but it's really been done before. Why not chart new waters and visit places like East Asia? You mentioned Japan, which I think is a great idea. China and India would be very interesting as well. What is the brewing industry like in these countries? I'd sure read about it.

Good luck!

There's a BBC series called Oz and James drink to Britian... See if you can get a look at that online somewhere. In it they tour the UK and Ireland looking at the local and national history of beer. You could try something similar but on a European scale... Maybe even produce a small documentary on it...