This is a Cascade hop cone -- beautiful bright green color, strongly aromatic, slightly sticky.

Hops are a key ingredient in beer -- for flavor, aroma and bitterness.

And it turns out that some of the best hops in the entire world -- no, the universe -- are grown in our own Oregon backyard, in the Willamette Valley.

On Tuesday, September 6, 2011, the trucks from Sodbuster Farms rolled up to the hop house, fresh from the fields, loaded down with hops still covered in morning mist.

Fresh, y'all.

The early-morning sun broke through across the valley treetops, with the mist rising up off the freshly tilled fields.

Where was this magical place? Silverton, Ore., just outside Salem. Seven o'clock in the morning.

Way earlier than most brewers like to be up and about. But today, 9/6/11, was a special day -- The Running of the Brewers.  

The hop vines were strung up inside the hop house, like Mother Nature's finest feather boas.

Next, they'd be put into the farm machinery for hop harvesting...

And out they came, tumbling down, through the harvester.

Smelled like hoppy, piney, wonderful goodness.

Finally, tumbling down from above like manna from heaven, the fresh hops not hours old after being born from the earth, were being packed up into 50- and 25-lb. bags.

Our brewers began to stretch and strategize as they awaited their precious cargo and could take off on "The Running of the Brewers."

One last hurrah before taking off -- a toast to the Beer Gods!

Time: 8 a.m. or somewhere thereabouts.

And here we are, at one of the first deliveries of fresh hops of the day!

This John Barleycorns brewer will act fast in getting these hops, literally hours old, into the kettle.

But first, he takes a moment to model his brand-new Thundercone t-shirt.

And here's our Fulton Pub brewer, dumping his Cascade hops into the mix.

We can almost taste the Thundercone now...

But we can't, since it needs a few weeks to craft and because we've got more deliveries to make on "The Running of the Brewers"!

Ah, smell that freshness! There's nothing like it in the world, as our brewers know.

A fresh hop ale is truly a beer to be experienced.

Just a few more stops to go before all the McMenamins brewers have their hop drops.

This must be what Santa Claus feels like -- except instead of toys to kids, we brought hops to brewers.

They really are like kids on Christmas morning...

The excitement is palpable. This is one of the most fun days within McMenamins' breweries. Because they all know the resulting beer -- Thundercone Fresh Hop Ale -- is something special.

Just stick your face right in there and smell it... that is one of the signature scents of Oregon. 

Into the brew went all those little hop cones, bubbling away in giant vats and cauldrons.

We are wizards.

Beginning 9/23/11, Thundercone Fresh Hop Ale will be on tap at every single McMenamins location, from north to south, east to west. 

But it won't last long, friends. So get yours quick -- in fact, get a pint and have 'em fill up a growler for you to take home.

It's good stuff, made by good people. Cheers.