Mount Hood Hops

The strangest thing last Saturday. I was gardening out front when I heard the jingle of what turned out to be a Morris Man.

A Morris Man! I said, and he said, Yes, I am a Morris Man, and we are dancing at the WISE Hall this afternoon -- to ring in the equinox!

Cool!

More banter, then he reached into his pocket and gave me some hops.

These are Mount Hood hops, he said. All the hops in the Pacific Northwest are mothered from these hops. Drop two of them in your beer, like you would a tea bag into water, and whoosh -- you'll get a boost!

Of hops!

Mount Hood hops!

I'm not big on hops -- I don't like IPAs -- but I don't tell the Morris Man that. Nor do I tell him that if I like hops, it is Saaz hops, because when I am not drinking lager, it is pilsner.

But really, I know very little about beer, and in saying what little I know, I only take us further from his friendliness, his giving.