If you live in the Yakima Valley, you never become accustomed to the fresh offerings right from the field. There’s always more to try and buy straight from the source. On Wednesday, I travelled down to Sunnyside, Wash. on a perfect Valley day to the town’s weekly farmer’s market to check out the offering’s in honor of … Continued
Yakima Valley hops took a journey east in April, stopping in Grand Rapids, Michigan, for some experimentation. Last hop harvest, the rooted team toured hop fields and harvesting facilities in Moxee and Toppenish. One variety in particular, Comet, stood out to brewers. Comet is an older hop variety that was released by the USDA in 1974. … Continued
The beloved cherry. Precious and delicate. By far the most vulnerable and one of the most valuable crops we have here in the Yakima Valley. To be a cherry grower, you are at the mercy of Mother Nature. She can be testy at times or downright brutal. You see, it’s a nervy business, and requires … Continued
The beer is alive. No, really, it is. And, it’s being held by its master in a cellar beneath the The Beer Shoppe, in downtown Yakima, Washington. While sitting at the wooden bar with a fresh pour of cask ale, I met the owner of the shoppe, Jeff Clemmons and the shoppe’s British Cellar Master, Tony Mitchelhill, someone … Continued
Savory Tradition of French Canadian Tourtière Over 125 years ago, clusters of families immigrated to the Yakima Valley from Quebec, Canada, through the Midwest, lured by the chance to establish new lives in the fledgling agricultural community that was just beginning to emerge. Driving around Moxee, Washington today, we see a visible legacy of these … Continued