Feeling Hops, Hops, Hops! :)

It's that time of year again... The long, hot days of summer (or in our case, cold and rainy) are coming to an end, you can smell the hint of autumn in the air (or, again, in our case, you can feel it and see it in the changing leaves already... grrr!), Oktoberfest is right around the corner, the apples are close to harvest, and the zwiebelnkuchen (onion cake) und zwetschgenkuchen (plum cake) is making its way into the markets... Yep, it's official, fall is quickly approaching... Yikes!

And, since moving to Germany, another reminder of the season is seeing all of the hops fields in full bloom... That's right, the hops are just about ready to be harvested! For those of you unfamiliar with hops, they are one of the main ingredients in a very popular beverage over here... You guessed it... Beer! :) Hops are actually small flower clusters and are used as a flavoring and stability agent in beer... They add a slightly bitter or tangy flavor to it. And, being that Germany is very well known for their beer intake, I'm sure you can imagine just how many hops fields you can find growing around here! :) Literally, you find them everywhere! Just the other day, as we drove into Ravensburg (a 20 minute drive away), I counted about 30 hops fields on the way... Crazy!

(On a side note, after my sister's trip over here last year, I view hops fields in a different way... While she was here, I was trying to point out hops fields as we passed them, and I would get so excited trying to get her attention, that I would yell "Hops! Hops! Hops!" like a crazed woman and point out the window as we drove by... So, to this day, I still can't go past a hops field without wanting to yell "Hops! Hops! Hops!", and most often, when I do, Brian (or whoever else is in the car with me) usually looks at me as if I'm a complete lunatic! :) I know, I'm a dork! But, at least I feel safe in knowing that my sister still totally gets me! :))

Being that next year, Brian and I will officially be living back in the States during hops season, I wanted to share the hops season with you, my dear readers, this year... So, Brian and I headed out to the fields the other day to capture the true essence of hops season... It'll make you feel almost as if you're here experiencing it with us! :)

These little flowery bulbs are what give beer its delightful flavor! :)

A typical hops field... This one still isn't fully matured...

(And, just to clarify, the hops don't actually curve towards the top... That's result of Brian's crazy fish-eye lens! :))

I learned from a friend that the hops only grow one direction up the wire... And, if you try to reverse their natural direction to force them to grow the opposite way, they'll simply stop growing... Sounds like they're rather finicky! :)

A more mature hops field that was located down the road...

Hops! Hops! Hops! :)

There are just row and after row of hops plants here!

Pretty soon these lovely little plants will be put to good use at the upcoming Oktoberfest celebration in Munich! :)