Wiley Kraut Fest

Yesterday we went to the party of the year---the Wiley Kraut Fest. Who would have thought that a party where about 50 people sit around and smash cabbage to make sauerkraut would be so much fun....but it was. It was top notch, and I bet that everyone else in attendance would agree with me. Not only was there this really fun and unique experience of making sauerkraut, but there was amazing food, great beer (Guinness...my favorite!), fun new faces, perfect fall weather, and activities to keep the kids busy and happy.
This was the first round of kraut makers. We sat on a long bench with a 5 gallon bucket and a wooden mallet in front of us. Pound, pound, pound the cabbage. The cabbage was added 5 lbs. at a time, for a total of 40 lbs. per bucket! (and a very carefully measured 3 Tablespoons of salt per each 5 lbs. of cabbage) Dan is down at the end with the orange bucket, while Mike Wiley supervises.

Nate and I take our turn at smashing the cabbage.

While some were busy working their magic at the cabbage smashing, others did the prep. There was a whole other area set up with cutting, slicing, and weighing the fresh cabbage. The back of Mike's truck had 800 lbs. of cabbage!

Everyone helped. Nate carries the cabbage.

Chris watched the scale--5 pounds exactly. The kraut-master of this event was VERY picky about having the exact weight measured out.

Chris and the kraut-master. They were a good team once he realized that Chris really did kn0w what he was doing.

Mike finally gets his turn to make some kraut after being quite the busy host. He and Mary sure know how to throw a party!

There were even awards at the end of the night. The salt lady was acknowledged for her great ability to salt each bucket without missing a beat. She really was good at her job!

The other fella won a kraut award for being such a hard worker. I saw him chop more cabbage than anyone else there! The teamwork at this event was awesome.

Here's some video of the second group in action. Thanks so much for the great party, Wileys! We sure hope that this was the first of many kraut fests to come.