Lakefront Brewery delivery truck
Photo by Val

Preparation:

This week I watched:
Palm Springs
Yakima Chief Hops Pioneers
Yakima Chief Hops: 2020 Virtual Harvest
Farm Tour: Coleman Agriculture
Farm to Pint: Life Cycle of Hops
Understanding the Supply Chain
This week I read:
Archeaologist Jon Shellenberger’s 2017 Letter to Yakima Hops President re: “Branding”
A Respectful Message to All Member of Our Community
https://washingtonbeer.com/washington-hops/
https://www.ci.tumwater.wa.us/doing-business/craft-brewing-and-distilling-center
https://www.ars.usda.gov/pacific-west-area/corvallis-or/national-clonal-germplasm-repository/docs/ncgr-corvallis-humulus-germplasm/
https://www.ars.usda.gov/northeast-area/geneva-ny/plant-genetic-resources-unit-pgru/docs/about-pgru/national-apple-rootstock-breeding-program/
http://treefruit.wsu.edu/orchard-management/pollination/
The Cooking Gene

Hops on the bine
Photos by Val

Lakefront Brewery on the Milwaukee River
Photos by Val

#6a Tasting Lab: Hops

Resources

Sensory: Flavor in Beer
Hop Sensory Analysis in 5 Easy Steps
The Chemistry of Hops and Beer
The Language of Hops

Lab Practice: Hops Sensory Evaluation

Photos by Val

Hop cone and pellet teas
Photo by Val

For this week Lakefront Brewery was gracious enough to give me permission to pick hops off their bines they have growing in front of their brewery/restaurant. They have over 12 different varieties growing along this fence line. I was able to pick 8 varieties that I was able to know the name of, Hallertau, Magnum, Perle, Wye Viking, Tettnanger, Teamaker, CTZ, and Centennial.
Yakima Chief Hops donated three different hop pellets to the class for our tasting. HBC 472 from Sodbuster Farms in Salem, OR, HBC 522 from B.T. Loftus Ranches in Yakima, WA, and HBC 630 from C & C Hop Farms in Moxee, WA.
All hops have a strig, bracteole, bract, and lupulin glands. The lupulin gland is where the resins and essential oils of the hop is located. All three species of genus Humulus are herbaceous vines, meaning it does not have a woody stem, that have a hooked type of climbing hairs that help to twine the bine in an upwards clockwise motion. All species are also dioecious, meaning they have separate male and female plants.

#6b: Foodoir: Your Story of Tasting Place

“Corn is not just a food to those who grow it, any more than yams or rice or wheat are mere sustenance to cultures of which they have been a part of for centuries. The Corn Mother is life itself. Food was often expressed not as a thing in these cultures but as a member of your family. Corn, like sugarcane in New Guinea, was built into a genealogy that went back to the beginning of time.” Page 204
-Michael Twitty

Thanksgiving and Christmas are my favorite times of year. I love being able to cook for my family and friends. This year I get to add some new people into my family and I am so excited to cook for them.
For me Thanksgiving just isn’t Thanksgiving if there isn’t Mimi’s sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes, candied carrots, and our family bread biscuit. I usually make most of the Thanksgiving dinner, minus the turkey. For Christmas dinner, it is usually similar to Thanksgiving dinner, but with ham instead of turkey. For as long as I can remember we always made sweet potato casserole for holiday dinners and it will always be that way. I don’t think I could ever have a holiday meal and not have sweet potato casserole on the table.
I usually start my Christmas cookie baking just after Thanksgiving. There are so many family cookies I make from pecan fingers to Mrs. Brocks rocks, most of these cookie recipes come from Mimi. I feel very connected to my present and past family as I bake and everyone eats the cookies. I end up making so many cookies that I make up some cookie plates to donate to those that might not have cookies for Christmas.
For me I feel so much joy from cooking food for my family. I am looking forward to being able to bring Bob, Amanda, and Diego closer as a family. Cooking and eating is the best way to become a closer family.