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Blog Entry 68 of 123 Gladys Mercier, Arvada.
I like living in Arvada.I am a member of Trinity Baptist Church and have many good friends there.I lived in the same house in Denver until I married, so as you can see, I am a native.My husband and I adopted 2 Korean sons who are now adults, 1 is a State Patrol Sgt., the other is an upholsterer. My husband died Sept.1st,2005. My family is a real blessing to me.I will probably write most about them, especially my great grandchildren (3)

Blog Url: http://denver.yourhub.com/~happy

Listen up, All You Beer Drinkers!

Contributed by: Gladys Mercier   on 5/13/2007

I have never been a beer drinker. I came from a very strict Baptist home where my mother would never have let a can of beer cross the threshold.
Recently though, my good friend Nancy has been telling me about her experiences helping at her grandfathers hop farm in the Willamette Valley in Oregon when she was growing up.
I didn't know how much work went into growing hops or even what they were!
Here is Nancys description of hops.
" Yup, hops are the green things that beer is made out of. They look like miniature bunches of grapes with the green flaps overlapping very tightly. The heads are about the size of a large boysenberry. They grow on vines on high wires held up by lots of tall poles which have to be let down when the picking starts. They are picked into tall slatted wooden baskets and spread in drying sheds on large slatted shelves before they are taken to the beer making plants..
Those were the days because then grandad had a camp ground with lots of log cabins and the migrant workers would come and camp there while they picked hops. They had lots of kids for us to play with. They would sing around the campfire in the evenings, a culture long gone now.
It was fun to go back each year and see who came back to the Sloper Hop Ranch for the season."

Nancys grandfather invented a motorized hop training sled and had a patent.
The sled could be used to cut the vines down for the pickers.
Growing hops was an interesting and risky business in the Willamette Valley because of all the rain and flooding. One year, the hop dryer shed burned down because the heat got too high.
We both wonder if they grow hops like this in these days of high technology. Nancy says there are not many hop yards even in the Willamette Valley now.

Nancy and her husband, Roy Johnson have moved to Boise, Idaho and I miss them very much. They are good people!

The next time you enjoy that cold pint, remember all the work that went into making it!


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Showing 1-4 of 4 comments
Submitted By: Ann Himel
posted on 5/16/2007 @ 10:00:34 PM
Rated Blog Entry
Gladys - always a pleasure to read your blog. I've always thought the best beer was ice-cold and consumed after mowing the lawn on a hot day. Now I know who to toast when I down the next cold one - after I watch Phil mow!
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Submitted By: Charmaine Robledo
posted on 5/15/2007 @ 12:30:58 PM
Rated Blog Entry
I never really knew what hops looked like until those Samuel Adams commercials, in which they show how much hops they use in their beers.
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Submitted By: William Boucher
posted on 5/14/2007 @ 11:52:51 PM
Rated Blog Entry
Awesome!
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Submitted By: Bill Prather
posted on 5/14/2007 @ 4:49:09 PM
Rated Blog Entry
Thanks, Gladys. I'm enjoying one now! Thanks, too, to the hops growers out there!
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Showing 1-4 of 4 comments
CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION

Gladys Mercier

Arvada , CO

Gladys Mercier has posted 123 blog entries and 948 comments since joining on 12/9/2005. Gladys Mercier 's average blog rating is 4.99.
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