Beer Ghost and Fiddler: An Evening of Hop History, Music, Books and Crafts

Milwaukee professor Jennifer Jordan will read from her new book, Beer Ghosts: In Search of Lost Hops and the Women Who Grew Them. In this book she takes readers back to a pivotal moment in the nineteenth century when Wisconsin produced much of the hops grown in the United States. Yet those long-ago hops are not the only ghosts in Jordan’s story. Haunting the pages of the book are the young women whose work at harvest time was key to the rise of the American beer industry. Foxes and Fireflies will be on hand with copies of Beer Ghosts and some ways to get creative. You can also sample Beer Ghosts Cream Ale, a beer brewed by Water Street Brewery and Old World Wisconsin in honor of this book, using hops that Jordan grew in her back yard, from rootstock found near an 1850s Wisconsin hop yard.