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Peak Releases Organic Espresso Amber Ale

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Peak Brewing, the organic brewery in Portland, Maine, has released theior newest creation, Peak Organic Espresso Amber Ale!

The Espresso Amber Ale is brewed with Maine-roasted, organic fair trade espresso in collaboration with Coffee By Design. The beer is in partnership with Transfair, a non-profit that works to ensure that farmers and farm workers behind Fair Trade Certified goods are paid fair, above-market prices, helping to support a better life for farming families, community development and environmental stewardship. Peak Organic Espresso Amber Ale is the first Fair Trade Certified beer brewed in the United States.

Peak Espresso Ale

The new brew is a flavorful, robust ale with toasty notes from the espresso in the front palate that delicately compliment the sweeter notes from the malts in the back palate.

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Great Divide Releases Super-Limited Beers

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Great Divide Brewing Company is releasing unique, barrel-aged versions of their Yeti Imperial Stout and Old Ruffian Barley Wine.

The Barrel Aged Old Ruffian Barley Wine was aged for 20 months in used barrels from Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey, Colorado’s only whiskey maker. As it also does for the Yeti, the aging process mellows Old Ruffian’s edge while adding gentle notes of oak, whiskey and vanilla to the 12.7% ABV and 85 IBUs beer. (The original Old Ruffian won a Gold medal at the 2006 Great American Beer Festival and a Silver medal at the 2007 GABF.)

Great Divide

Barrel Aged Yeti Imperial Stout has also been aged for 20 months in Stranahan’s barrels. The rich and robustly roasted beer of 12.2% ABV and 75 International Bittering Units (IBUs) picks up flavors of oak, vanilla and whiskey through the extended aging process. These flavors add greater complexity to the already rich beer, while tempering its assertive nature.

Both of these beers are packaged in 750-ml bottles, then bottle conditioned for a natural carbonation and additional character. The two barrel-aged beers will be available in limited supplies (just 470 bottles of each beer) and will be sold only in Colorado. The suggested retail price for these beers is $25 per bottle.

“Our intent,” says Great Divide founder Brian Dunn, “was to age each beer in the barrels for 9 months. But we got busy with other projects, primarily the addition of a new bottling line, and the beers ended up aging for more than a year and half.” While the labels on the bottles state that the beers were aged 9 months in barrels, both beers were in fact aged 20 months in barrels.

“I think the beers really benefited from our procrastination,” Dunn adds. “When it comes to aging beers in whiskey barrels, I believe the longer the better. The additional time delivers a beer with more oak character than whiskey character, and that’s what we prefer.”

“These are not blended beers,” Dunn points out. “Each of these beers are uncut, 100% from the whiskey barrels.”

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Rogue Hop Farms First Release

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It’s harvest time in the Rogue Nation. The Rogue Department of Agriculture and Rogue Ales Brewery announce the release of Independence Hop Ale, the first beer brewed with hops from Rogue Farms’ hop yard in Independence, Ore., once called the “hop capital of the world.”

A limited release fresh-hop beer, Independence Hop Ale was brewed in two 50-barrel batches, following the harvest cycle of the hops. The first batch was brewed with 500 pounds of fresh, unkilned Centennial hops. The second was brewed a week later with 750 pounds of wet Cascade hops picked, stuffed into sacks, driven 77 miles to Newport and tossed in the brew kettle before they had a chance to start drying. After fermentation, the two batches were blended together. The result is a light copper-colored, unfiltered ale marrying the two distinctive hop characters of each batch.

Independence Hop Ale is brewed with 8 ingredients: Two-row, Munich, Caramel Wheat and Carafoam malts, fresh, unkilned Centennial and Cascade hops, proprietary Pacman yeast and free range coastal water.

Rogue Independence Hop Ale

In May of 2008, Rogue entered into a strategic alliance with heritage hop growers the Coleman family. Rogue planted 22 acres of hops and will add 20 more this fall on the former John I. Haas Alluvial Hop Farm just south of Independence. The land, at the end of Wigrich Road, is part of a historic hop farm called the Wigrich Ranch, that in the 1920s was the largest hop yard under a single trellis in the world.

Rogue Farms’ hop yard puts the brewery in the position to be able to brew beer with proprietary hops, much like wineries are able to make estate wines. That means from bine to bottle, from plant to pint, beers with Rogue Farms on the label will be 100% pure Rogue. Rogue hops will be picked, kilned and baled on site.

In 2009, Rogue will add proprietary malted barley from Rogue Farms’ newly acquired barley farm near Tygh Valley, Ore. for a beer made with all-Oregon ingredients to celebrate Oregon’s 150th birthday.

Independence Hop Ale will be available in Oregon and Washington in serigraphed 22-ounce bottles and on draft while supplies last. The Rogue Post Office has issued a commemorative stamp in honor of the hop farm and has a 24-hour webcam where Rogues can watch the Rogue hops grow.

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Matt Brynildson To Do Guest Beer At Marston’s

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Firestone Walker Brewing’s award-winning brewmaster, Matt Brynildson, was recently invited to brew at Marston’s Brewery in the United Kingdom. Brewers selected from Japan, Australia and Denmark will join Brynildson to bring their talents and recipes to the U.K. for the JD Wetherspoon International Beer Festival.

“To think that we can bring our U.S. styles to the U.K., the home of pale ale, is a great honor in itself, but to be able to brew the Firestone Walker beer in the home of the original “Burton Union” is just an awesome privilege,” said Brynildson.

The trip has some additional significance as well. Marston’s and Firestone Walker share a unique link as they are the only two breweries in the world fermenting beer in a union of oak barrels. The use of oak barrels for fermentation is a centuries old method of brewing all but forgotten with the advent of stainless steel.

Matt Brynildson

Matt Brynildson with a bevy of beer babes at the Boonville Beer Festival.

Matt will be brewing a “California style” pale ale, based on his own recipe, at the Marston’s Brewery later this month. The beer will be exclusively featured at the 2008 JD Wetherspoon International Beer Festival happening October 30th through November 16th at 650 JD Wetherspoon pubs across the U.K.

Brynildson has been awarded with several honors in his career thus far. In both 2006 and 2004, Brynildson was named World Beer Cup Champion Brewmaster for Mid-Size Brewing Company. In 2003 and 2007, he was named Great American Beer Festival Brewmaster of The Year for Mid-Size Brewing Company. Brynildson was also the 2007 recipient of the Russell Schehrer Award for Innovation in Brewing.

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Full Sail Turns 21 Today

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Today, in 1987 — 21 years ago — Full Sail Brewing in Hood River, Oregon, was founded. And they’ve been working over the past year to come up with a beer worthy of coming of age, finally old enough to drink.

They say your 21st birthday is a rite of passage — the milepost that marks your evolution from child to adult, with all the attendant privileges & responsibilities. We say it’s a great excuse to brew a killer doppelbock. Concocted by our brew crew in celebration of our epic and glorious 21st birthday, we bring you “21” a deep amber colored lager brewed in the doppelbock style,” said Jamie Emmerson, Full Sail’s Executive Brewmaster.

“Twenty-one years ago, we dreamed of opening a brewery. That dream became a reality, and now here we are celebrating our 21st birthday. Our little brewery never would have made it without the support of friends, fans, and family over the years. Many thanks for all you’ve done to help us reach our 21st birthday,” said Irene Firmat, Full Sail’s CEO and Founder.

Full Sail

“This beer is a labor of love. From brewhouse to bottle, 21 was given the care that only an employee-owner can provide with all the time and attention that a beer this special deserves. Summer’s brewing gives this beer a luxurious 12 weeks of lagering creating a deep amber colored brew in the German Doppelbock style. Its ample malt body complements the generous warming alcohol with just a hint of Noble hop character. 21 will be released in specially hand labeled bottles this September. Tastes like a great way to celebrate your birthday,” added Emmerson. 21 is part of Full Sail’s Brewmaster Reserve line up. This special anniversary beer will be available in 22 oz bottles in limited quantities in September.

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Pints for Prostates Delivers Men’s Health Message Using the Universal Language of Beer

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The symptoms of prostate cancer rarely show before the disease has progressed, but a simple PSA blood test can serve as an early warning and save men’s lives. But how do you reach men in their late 30s and early 40s, when statistics show they often skip regular physicals and avoid doctor’s offices?

Pints for Prostates

“Pints for Prostates is an awareness campaign designed to reach men through the universal language of beer. We want to communicate with them in a friendly and non-threatening way about the need for regular PSA testing,” says Rick Lyke, the drinks writer for All About Beer Magazine and many other publications. Lyke was diagnosed with prostate cancer in February. “Early detection is the key to fighting prostate cancer and a PSA test and a physical exam are the best method to catch it early.”

Read more about this, courtesy of Julie Johnson Bradford at All About Beer magazine.

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Bill Leinenkugel Passes Away

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Yesterday, Bill Leinenkugel, age 87, lost his lengthy battle with cancer and passed away. In 1971, Bill took over as President of the then-small Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, brewery — Leinenkugel Brewing — that his great-grandfather founded. During his reign, he expanded markets, came up with the idea for the Leinie’s Lodge and oversaw a merger with Miller Brewing in 1988. After Bill’s retirement, his son “Jake” took over and is now the fifth-generation family member to do so. Until last month, Leinenkugel was sold in 38 states, and is still brewed in Chippewa Falls (though some is also brewed in Milwaukee). At the end of last month, Leinenkugel had nearly completed a national rollout of the brand at the hands of new owners MillerCoors.

Bill Leinenkugel

Bill Leinenkugel (at left), and his three sons, John, Dick and Jake, at the Leinie Lodge in Chippewa Falls.

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4th Annual Great American Distillers Festival

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I was eating my breakfast during a recent visit to Portland when I overheard some tourists at the next table ask the waitress if she could recommend a “must see” for Portland. The waitress couldn’t come up with anything but I was all too happy to help her out by answering the question.

“Don’t you know where you are?” I asked, “This is the craft beer capitol of America.” I went on to explain about the craft beer movement and gave them a bunch of information on the Oregon Brewer’s Festival and the Portland beer scene. The tourists, two gents from North Carolina, were very excited and thanked me, and the lord who brought me to them, before embarking on a tour of the city with a new purpose.

I told you that, so you’d understand this. Most people know Portland is a big craft beer town but a Mecca for craft spirits? I knew Rogue and a few others were micro-distilling craft spirits here, but I had no idea there was a community of eight micro-distillers plying their trade right here in River City! Obviously “I didn’t know where I was” and The 4th Annual Great American Distillers Festival really opened my eyes.

The Great American Distillers Festival is a gathering of small distilleries from across the country who come to Oregon, the “Mecca of craft distilling”, to share their products, their passion, and their expertise in hand-crafting spirits.

Gerding Theatre

The event was held at the Gerding Theater, a very distinctive building originally built in 1891 to house the Portland Armory. The old historic building resembles a medieval fortress in the Brewery Blocks of the Portland Pearl District. The facilities renovation into a modern theater arts complex was completed in October 2006 and last year the Great American Distillers Festival found a home there.

Four days of peripheral Portland events led up to the first day of the festival. Starting with Monday’s opening reception at Rogue Ales Public House & Distillery with a keynote address by a man well known in the brewing world, Bill Owens, author and President of the American Distilling Institute. (Look up Alimony Ale, a beer whose bitterness could only be rivaled by the aftertaste of a bad divorce.) Bill presented a snapshot of the state of the craft distilling movement and his vision of its future. The forecast in a nutshell? Whiskey and other “brown spirits” are the coming trend.

Other events were the “Shot and a Beer” at the Horse Brass Pub , a tasting of barley-based whiskeys and beer at McMenamin’s, and two nights of cocktail events at participating bars pairing distillers with local bartenders. Distillers and members of local and national press were treated to a tour of several of the Portland area’s eight craft distilleries. All this led up to the official festival opening on Saturday, August 23rd.

GADF

When I arrived at the event that day the air was filled with excited chatter and the heady aroma of powerful spirits. 30 craft distillers from as far away as Maine were set up on the second floor with 50 varieties Rum, Vodka, Gin, and Whiskey with a sprinkling of Brandies. I made my way up and walked the floor checking out display after display of carefully, lovingly, handcrafted spirits. Listening to the distillers describe their products and processes, I felt an immediate kinship with the passion of the craft beer culture.

GADF

After working my way around the room I put the camera aside and I stepped up to the Bluecoat gin display, the first of many samples of the micro-distiller’s tastiest vodkas, rums, gins, whiskeys, brandies I planned to try.

Sampling straight spirits can be kind of rough on the ol’ taste buds, but it’s necessary to truly appreciate the finished product. You can still taste a difference between spirits when they’re combined with mixers, but a sample of the undiluted ambrosia logs the flavor into your sensory memory and allows you to search out and identify those flavors when combined in a drink later. At least that’s my theory, and I’m sticking to it.

GADF

I’m not overstating when I say I logged a lot of sensory memory on the second floor that day. By the time I was done I had alcohol breath that would rate a health hazard warning label in California, and a handful of new favorites and a list of others I plan to try in cocktails.

A couple straight favorites were:

Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey, an excellent American Whiskey started in and with the Flying Dog Brewery in Denver, Colorado. I first tried this Whiskey as an immature product at the distilling room in Denver during a tour of the Flying Dog Brewery two years ago. The oak-aged final product is surprisingly smooth and reminds me more of a good bourbon than a whiskey.

Rogue Hazelnut Spiced Rum, which is made by distilling white rum with mulling spices and 20 pounds of hazelnuts, then blending it with Rogue aged rum. This rum has won several international gold medals and tops my favorites list. Rogue Spirits is a division of Rogue Ales and carries all the careful craftsmanship and outside of the box creativity Rogue is known for.

Sub Rosa Tarragon & Saffron infused Vodkas, two culinary inspired vodka’s that surprised and delighted me with their innovative use of herbs.

GADF

Festival events included a mixology competition, so after sampling the raw product, I made my way downstairs to attend the Mixology contest. The second annual Mixmaster Mixology Contest sponsored by Rogue Spirits and Imbibe Magazine gave attendees a taste of many of the featured spirits in cocktails designed by the distillers themselves and in cocktails created by some of Oregon’s most talented bartenders.

Twenty bartenders started the two-day competition, each mixing their own creations using any of the spirits featured in the festival. The top four mixologists made the finals, where they had to create a cocktail using a surprise ingredient – in this case one of four Loft Liqueurs. Jamie McBride of Portland’s Park Kitchen took the top prize of $1,000. Blair Roberts of Acadia claimed second place and a $500 check from Loft Liqueurs. Third-place bartender Chris Churilla of Cloud 9 in Corvallis did not walk away empty-handed, booze bloggers the Munat Brothers, pooled the cash they had leftover from the weekend and handed him a cash prize of $77.77.

GADF

Between the contest and the bar setups in the lobby I was able to try some incredible new tastes in cocktails, try a Hot Monkey Vodka Bloody Mary, fantastic! As I mentioned at the beginning, the Great American Distillers Festival really opened my eye’s to the wider scope of what the Portland Craft Beverage scene has going on, and a new list of places to visit on my next trip to Beervana. Maybe we need to update the name to Bev-vana. To see more pictures taken at GADF go to Flickr.

To visit micro distillers, a good starting point is House Spirits Distillery, several other small-craft distillers are nearby. Always make appointments for tours and tasting. Most small craft distilleries don’t have the staff to handle drop-ins.

Portland Micro Distillers:

Clear Creek Distillery, 2389 N.W. Wilson St., 503-248-9470 or clearcreekdistillery.com. Tours every Saturday at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. or by appointment. Features eau de vie, grappa, single malt whiskey and a line of fruit liqueurs.

House Spirits Distillery, 2025 S.E. 7th Ave., 503-235-3174 or housespirits.com. Tours by appointment. Features Aviation Gin, Krogstad Aquavit, Medoyeff Vodka. Also a tasting venue for Ransom Spirits, ransomspirits.com. Features muscat grappa, gewürztraminer grappa and malt-based gin. Sub Rosa Spirits, subrosaspirits.com. Features saffron- and tarragon-flavored vodkas.

Rogue Spirits Portland, 1339 N.W. Flanders St. 503-222-5910 or roguespirits.com. Features hazelnut spice rum, dark rum, white rum. Tours by appointment. Rogue also has a distillery in Newport, Ore., where it makes vodka, gin and whiskey.

Integrity Spirits, 909 S.E. Yamhill St., shares facility with a restaurant, pub and, soon, a brewery. 503-517-2030 or www.integrityspirits.com. Tasting by appointment. Features vodkas (including Oregon hazelnut), gin and absinthe.

Highball Distillery, 610 S.E. 10th Ave. 503-803-3989 or highballdistillery.com. Tasting by appointment. Features organic vodka.

New Deal Distillery, 1311 S.E. 9th Ave. See newdealdistillery.com. Tours by appointment. Features its signature New Deal Vodka, Portland 88 vodka and infused vodkas: hot pepper, basil and chocolate.

Artisan Spirits, 1227 SE Stark St. 503-781-2357 artisan-spirits.com.

Indio Spirits, Inc. (Tasting facility), 7110 SW Fir Loop STE 240, actual distilling occurs in Cottage Grove, Oregon. indiospirits.com 503.620.0313

Solo Distillery & Tapas Restaurant, 1300 NW Lovejoy St. (503) 220-0080

Nearby Distilleries:

Edgefield Distillery, 2126 S.W. Halsey St., Troutdale, Ore. (east of Portland). 503-669-8610 or mcmenamins.com. Features whiskey, brandies, gin and coffee liqueur.

Dolmen Distillery, McMinnville, Oregon

Ransom Wines & Spirits, McMinnville, Oregon

More information on the festival and American craft distilleries can be found at www.distillersfestival.com.

Sponsors for the 4th Annual Great American Distillers Festival included: Rogue Spirits, Portland Center Stage, PDX Magazine, Imbibe Magazine, Portland Tribune and the Portland Development Commission. Festival partners included the Oregon Bartenders Guild and the Oregon Distillers Guild.

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2,000 Pints For the Queen of England

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On Wednesday, a truck showed up at the delivery gate for Windsor Castle, the Queen of England’s private residence, laden down with twelve beer barrels, enough to fill 2,000 pint glasses. Unfortunately, the staff had no record of so large an order. It turns out the beer was meant for the Windsor Castle Pub, in the nearby Berkshire County town of Maidenhead. Apparently they were ordered in anticipation of World Cup qualifying match between England and Croatia. The beer finally made it to the pub about three hours after the start of the football game.

Happy Queen

Queen Elizabeth II. I think that’s the same face I’d make, too, if 2,000 pints showed up on my doorstep.

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Canned Yellow Snow

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Strap on your snow shoes and keep your eye out this winter for Rogue’s Yellow Snow IPA in a 5 Liter Can. The can uses a convenient “Pull and Turn” tapping system that makes this the perfect gift to share with friends at the mountain, the lodge, or the local motel. Yellow Snow is Rogue’s tribute to winter sports everywhere—downhill skiing, snowboarding, cross country, ice hockey, ice fishing, snowmobiling, and even curling. Yellow Snow IPA is Dedicated to Common Sense.

Yellow Snow

Yellow Snow will be available November 1 in select mountain communities across the country. In addition to the 5 Liter Can, Rogue’s Yellow Snow IPA is available in 64oz jugs, 22oz bottles, and on draft. Yellow Snow IPA is created from 6 Ingredients: Two-Row Pale, Cara Foam & Melanoiden Malts; Amarillo Hops; Free Range Coastal Waters & Top Fermenting Pacman Yeast. Pale golden in color with a hoppy fruity aroma. Big hop flavor up front complimented by medium body and hoppyness mid-pallet. It finishes with a characteristic, lingering

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PBR For Sale?

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Paul Kalmanovitz was a Polish immigrant who made millions in real estate before turning his attentions to beer in 1950. In that year he bought the Los Angeles-based Maier Brewing Co. Over the next couple of decades he bought out other struggling breweries, too, eventually ending up with a sizable portfolio of brands that included Ballantine, Blatz, Carling Black Label, Lone Star, Lucky Lager, Falstaff, National Bohemian, Old Milwaukee, Olympia, Primo, Rainier, Schlitz, Schaefer, Schmidt, Stag, Stroh’s and Pabst. When Kalmanovitz passed away in 1997, he left a sizable estate, something on the order of between a quarter and a half-a-billion dollars. Despite litigious distant relatives, most of the money eventually wound up in a charitable trust, the Kalmanovitz Charitable Foundation. Unfortunately, for reasons not entirely clear, the I.R.S. “frowns” on a charity owning a beer company. The I.R.S. gave the foundation until 2005 to sell the beer portion of the estate, but they were unable to find a buyer so they were given an extension until 2010.

But Pabst’s recent success with its retro brand positioning may command a higher price, if a potential buyer can be found. The problem is who? Neither A-B or MillerCoors seem interested and not even the largest microbrewery could afford it. That leaves the global beer companies. Obviously, InBev is a little tied up with the buyout of A-B. There’s also Carlsberg, Heineken and a few others, but so far none have shown any interest, either. That leaves non-beer investors, but historically such ventures have been risky at best. The more money they can get, the better funded the charity can be, and the more worthy causes they can help. That means it’s in their best interests to wait for the best price. For that reason, some critics have accused the foundation of dragging their heels. Of course, the I.R.S. isn’t known for their patience so at some point a sale will have to take place, and possibly in the next two years.

Pabst Blue Ribbon

Cash to spare? Wanna buy a beer company? Strike now or be bowled over.

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Ohio Brewery Recalls … T-Shirts

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Trying to squelch a beery urban legend that has been misquoted by historians and beer enthusiasts since the early days of Repeal, Dick Stevens, owner of the Elevator Brewery & Draught Haus has decided to belly-up to the bar, so to speak, and replace t-shirts sold at the award-winning brewery and eatery that incorrectly attributes Benjamin Franklin to a much quoted phrase that the Founding Father never uttered. Beer-themed web sites, brewing organizations and even “beer writers” are fond of quoting Franklin and his supposed love of beer – “Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.”

But after recently hearing a lecture by Chicago-based brewing historian, Bob Skilnik, that convincingly asserts that Franklin was writing about rain, its nourishment of grapes, and ultimately, its conversion into wine, Stevens decided to do his part in correcting this historical inaccuracy.

Franklin Quote

“We do everything we can to serve up the best tasting beers at the Elevator,” says Stevens, “always striving to brew them true to style. To then sell or give away t-shirts that quote a historical untruth is simply not our style. I hope that we can set the record straight about this little white lie that has been repeated for years. I have no doubt that ole Ben enjoyed a tankard or two of beer with friends and associates, but this beer quote, while well-meaning, is inaccurate.”

He adds, “To all our customers who have purchased the erroneously quoted Ben Franklin t-shirts, we do apologize and ask that they return the t-shirts to the Elevator where we will immediately exchange it for a new t-shirt, free of charge. Let me emphasize that this recall will entail absolutely no cost to our loyal customers, and help them save face.”

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Odell’s Homegrown Support For Brewing Education

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Last week Odell Brewing presented a one-half barrel brewing system to the Brewing Science and Technology class at Colorado State University. Odell Brewing has collaborated with the class since its first year.

Doug Odell

Doug Odell presents brewing equipment to CSU students on September 4, 2008.

The class, offered to students aged 21 and over, covers the science and technology involved with brewing, fermenting, finishing and evaluating beers. The donated brewing system will now allow students to brew regularly in a classroom environment. Last year, students also brewed Easy – An IPA on Odell’s five barrel pilot brewing system. The class will once again select a recipe to brew at Odell Brewing.

“This system will allow recipe repeatability in brewing from semester to semester, and is a huge step beyond the home brewing equipment we used previously,” said class instructor Professor Jack Avens Ph.D. “The Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition and I have enjoyed a long relationship with Odell Brewing Company, and I want to continue this supportive relationship for the educational benefit of my students.”

“Odell Brewing has built its business around innovation and is excited to share its passion by investing in the education of the next generation of brewers.”, said Wynne Odell, brewery owner.

Ali Hamm, a graduate student researching organic hops grown in Colorado, is the teaching assistant for this year’s class. Ali completed the Brewing Science and Technology course in 2007, and some of her organic hops were used in the class beer that year. This year, Odell Brewing will again use Ali’s hops in its Hand Picked Pale Ale.

Ali Hamm

Ali Hamm and Chris Armstrong mix locally grown organic hops for the Hand Picked Pale Ale.

Both the Hand Picked Pale Ale and the CSU class brew will be available at the Odell Brewing tap room later this fall.

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Hop-Picking To Be Featured on Dirty Jobs

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The hit cable television show Dirty Jobs, where host Mike Rowe and his crew are “shown performing difficult, strange, and/or messy occupational duties alongside the typical employees” was in the Yakima Valley last week shooting an episode during the hop harvest. According to the Yakima Herald-Republic, “Rowe spent two days picking and inspecting hops, working the kilns that dry the hops and making bales, [HopUnion owner Ralph] Olson said. In addition to visiting HopUnion, which provides hop leaves, pellets, extracts and oils to the craft brewery industry, Rowe worked in the fields at Loftus Ranches in Moxee.” The episode is expected to ait sometime this winter, though no date has been set.

Dirty Jobs

HopUnion’s Ralph Olson with Dirty Jobs’ host Mike Rowe.
(photo by Debbie Byrne, Yakima Herald-Republic.)