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Deconstructing Dinner|"Global Hops Shortage / Biodynamics and Microorganisms" Episode
www.cjly.net/deconstructingdinner/041708.htmThe beer industry is always a fascinating one to take a look
at, as beer was one of the first industrialized food and beverage
products. The focus for the first segment of this episode will be on
the recent global shortage of hops - the key flavouring component of
most beers. At the March 2008 Certified Organic Associations of BC conference, Host Jon Steinman sat
down with brewer and farmer Rebecca Kneen of Sorrento, BC's, CrannÃg Ales.
CrannÃg is Canada's only Certified Organic farmhouse microbrewery and
growing on the farm are some of the hops that end up in their beers. In
2002, Kneen published a manual on small-scale organic hop growing and
she is extremely excited at the attention the manual has received since
the hops shortage hit home.
We also listen in on a workshop hosted at the COABC conference
by Biodynamic farmer and egg producer Karl Hann. Biodynamic agriculture
is a method of organic farming that treats the farm as a unified and
individual organism, emphasizing balancing the holistic development and
interrelationship of the soil, plants and animals as a closed,
self-nourishing system. Hann's presentation was titled "The Good, The Bad and The Balance".
He explored the importance of microorganisms in the soil and uses the
biodynamic farming philosophy to convincingly illustrate how disruptive
and destructive most dominant farming practices are today.
Voices/Guests
Rebecca Kneen, Craft Brewer / Farmer, CrannÃg Ales (Sorrento, BC) -
Crannograve;g Ales is Canada's only Certified Organic farmhouse
microbrewery, one of only a handful of such breweries in the world.
They brew unfiltered, unpasteurized ales using only organic
ingredients, some of which come right from their own farm - Left
Fields. Located on the farm is a hopyard, which is home to over seven
varieties of hops. The hopyard forms the basis for ongoing research
into organic small-scale hop production.
Karl Hann, Farmer, Biota Farm (Abbotsford, BC) -
Karl is a biodynamic farmer and egg producer. He was a Green Party
candidate for the Abbotsford riding during the 2004 federal election.
Karl was born and raised in Romania and has been living and farming in
Canada for over 20 years.
[ Fri, 18 Apr 2008 21:15:00 GMT ]
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