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Tour Hours Tuesday through Saturday 9:00 am-5pm. Call to schedule.
Mondays
5:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Tuesdays
CLOSED
Wednesdays
By appointment
Thursdays
5:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Fridays
4:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Saturdays
12:00 pm-10:00 pm
Sunday
1:00 pm-6:00 pm
HOW IT ALL GOT STARTED—Virginia’s First Historical Farm Brewery
Owners Julie Haines and Dave Fulton love Virginia history, the rolling hills of the piedmont and its diverse
nature, and entertaining with great wine and beer. Since moving to Woodbourne, Julie and Dave hosted
friends and family from all over the world, and with each visit, their guests would rave about the unique
beauty of the historic farm and surrounding pasture. After considering several agritourism options for the
farm, they happened upon the incredibly talented German-American home brewer Michael Nicholson.
Dave and Mike shared an intense love of beer and homebrewing, and began to work together on ideas:
exploring everything from hops plant varieties to recipes with the farm’s rich “garden goodies.”
As the months passed, the idea of opening Virginia’s First Historic Farm Brewery took shape. The night
Shine spent in open fields confirmed the land was meant for something special. Dave and Julie
relied on their science and engineering backgrounds to construct Central Virginia’s largest private hops
yard, where they are continuing to test and monitor the viability of several hops varieties, in concert with
Virginia State University. The hillside Tap Barn seemed the perfect place to drink the magical elixir of Bald
Top: overlooking the rolling hills and hops yard with its 25 foot telephone poles towering skyward – and
now lovingly referred to as “Hop Henge.”
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WE'RE ALL ABOUT THE HOPS
THESE HILLS WERE MADE FOR BREWIN'
HOMEGROWN HOPS & OUR BEERS
We currently grow 5 varieties of hops, each having unique characteristics in terms brewing use, alpha acid content, and essential oil and flavor characteristics given to our beers, commonly described with terms such as floral, fruity, grassy, spicy, earthy, rooty, citrusy, woody, herbal, flowery, etc. We selected fairly common and versatile varieties which are frequently used in our beers and others’ across the US.
An all-purpose hop, with citrus aroma and flavors of grapefruit and spice.
A bittering hop, piney aroma with mild spicy, and raisny bitterness flavors.
A bittering hop, with a slightly pungent, resiny, flavor and mild aroma.
An all-purpose hop, with herbal aromas and spicy and very bitter flavor.
A bittering hop, with very aromatic and a pleasant bitterness.
Every year we seasonally offer a variety of beers made with our hops. Stay tuned to find out what's in store next season!
We built and planted this hop yard in May 2016 as part of a 3-year pilot project in conjunction with Virginia State University, Rappahannock Electric Cooperative, the Virginia Cooperative Extension Agency, local farmers, and friends. Our project objective is to study hop growth productivity in different locations across the state to better inform other aspiring hop growers on optimal plant varieties and growing conditions. We are also observing the types of insect and molds that may threaten productivity and effective ways to control them. Our yard is 0.6 acres in size and has over 450 hop plants. In our inaugural year, we brewed two batches of beer using our hops. Next year we hope to have enough to at least in part support our brewery and other local brewers’ hops needs. If successful, we will consider expanding this operation and make it a key element of Bald Top Brewing’s operations.
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HOP YARD
OUR STRAINS
We currently grow 5 varieties of hops, each having unique characteristics in terms brewing use, alpha acid content, and essential oil and flavor characteristics given to our beers, commonly described with terms such as floral, fruity, grassy, spicy, earthy, rooty, citrusy, woody, herbal, flowery, etc. We selected fairly common and versatile varieties which are frequently used in our beers and others’ across the US.