All About Beer Magazine - Volume 36, Issue 2
May 1, 2015 By Heather Vandenengel

Fifteen acres of former pasture land at Black Hops Farm in Lucketts, VA, will be converted into Virginia’s largest hop yard and the Mid-Atlantic’s first commercial-scale hops processing facility.

The facility is committing to purchase at least 3,500 pounds of Virginia hops over the next three years, an average of 61 percent of its purchases, as it supports existing local hop farms and encourages growth in the Virginia hops industry.

“This is a significant win for the Commonwealth as it fills a critical need for current and future craft brewers and builds on my administration’s efforts to increase Virginia’s position in the fast-growing craft beer industry,” said Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, who announced the project.

Black Hops Farm LLC will invest $1 million in the project. The Commonwealth of Virginia is providing a $40,000 grant through the Governor’s Agriculture and Forestry Industries Development Fund, which will be matched by Loudoun County.

Maryland’s Flying Dog Brewery also recently announced that it will build a separate farm brewery on the same property. Called Farmworks Brewery, it will include a 15-barrel brewhouse, cellar, coolship and tasting room. It will also have a barrel-aging and sour beer facility and is set to open in summer 2015.