Certified Beer Server

I decided after doing some reading about Ray Daniels to apply to the Cicerone program. For those of you unfamiliar with this program, it's kind of like a sommolier for beer. Check it out at www.cicerone.org. Anyway, the first step in the process is to pass the Certified Beer Server exam, and as you can see, I passed it today. Now it's on to the BJCP Guidelines and intense study of the different beer styles.

As an update to the hop story, the hops have been drying well and I've packaged both Nuggets and Cascades. My neighbor, while doing us a HUGE favor and cutting down the mulberry trees that have been growing like weeds, accidentally snapped my one good Wilamette bine, so I'm hoping the laterals will produce some cones. Anyway, thanks, Tom, for ridding both our yards of those horrific trees.

Hops Update #3: They're HERE!!!!

Looks like the cascades are crossing the finish line first this year, probably due to the sunlight they've received and their conduciveness to the midwestern climate. I have about a dozen full-sized cones that I'm watching carefully to determine harvest time. There are burrs on the nuggets, and the wilamettes are producing laterals at an almost alarming rate, so there's plenty to look forward to in the coming month.