Finally, some streaming beer content and it even name checks my hometown!
And if you want some companion material, head HERE.
Beer Book Review – Hops by Kenneth Helphand
History. Beer has plenty of it if you look behind the curtain of hops. Kenneth Helphand has compiled some really cool photographs including some Dorothea Lange ones in his book about the hop world way, way back in the day.
This is a specific book. You are not going to get what varietals were made or even much talk about the end product. This is first and foremost a curated set of photos of the people in the hop fields. You also get recollections from people who went picking and from newspaper mentions as well. It does lead to a certain sameness. A group of people in front of a row of hops or surrounding a barrel filled with the days pick. But then you look a little closer and you see Chinese faces, Native American faces, recent immigrant faces.
You see, the everyday racist slights in the advertisements for workers. Or a YWCA camp set- up as a safe haven for women working the fields. You also get a glimpse into camp life with dances, movies, company store and living in tents until the harvest is complete.
It also leads me to want a similar book but of the current hop season. Let’s see the faces who grow and pick and bale our hops now.
Also, love to see my last name in a book…even if he is just standing around
Review – Anthem Dry Hopped cider
I do like cider but rarely do I get it. I usually see so many beers that I want that the apples get shunted off to the side for another day. But when I saw a cider that was dry hopped with Cascades, well I picked it up.
Anthem ciders are crafted at the Wandering Aengus Ciderworks in Oregon. This one was an extremely light yellow and very bubbly. It wasn’t sour but it was stomach gurgly inducing acidic. The aroma was a battle of apple farm and that signature Cascade hop. A bit muddled to me. The taste grew on me even though it was much brighter tasting when cold. Again, though I got quite a bit of fight between these two distinct flavors. They didn’t seem to quite flow together. And though it did catch my eye and get me to pick up a cider, it did not win me over in the end. But it sure is a pretty beverage to look at.
