Hops Meadow Farm Showcases Whole Leaf Hops at Hampshire County Farm Crawl, July 15-16, 2023

The Mid-Atlantic craft beer industry is booming, with discerning consumers in the DC, MD, and VA areas clamoring for higher quality ingredients. Hops Meadow Farm in Romney, West Virginia, helps consumers get up close and personal with humulus lupulus, a key component of craft beer, otherwise known as hops.

“Here in the DC area, we have more than 30 breweries. The brewers are doing great things with craft beer – focusing on the ingredients and complex flavors. So you can stop in anywhere for a pint and overhear conversations about aromas and IBUs and hops. There’s a lot of knowledge flowing. But how many of these people have ever seen a hop?” says Antonia at Hops Meadow Farm.

Brewing with whole-leaf hops is a dying art. Across the United States, a small cadre of craft brewers of fighting to keep this art alive. In the canyons of Colorado and New Mexico, brewers forage for wild hops. Hops plants abandoned centuries ago by German miners climb roses and willows instead of trellises. Their roots drink from mountain streams instead of irrigation lines. These hops carry the flavors of the American West – full of bold sunsets and freedom.

“Terroir is such an important part of hops flavors. Cascade hops grown in Tennessee don’t taste like those from the Pacific Northwest. The climate is different. The soil is different. And so the flavors are different. West Virginia is the Mountain State, Almost Heaven. There’s no place like it on earth and no flavors like our flavors. That’s what we’re bringing to the table with our hops,” she explained.

For most of the season, the hops yards are off-limits to visitors. But once a year, Hops Meadow invites visitors on-site to experience hops. During Hampshire County Farm Crawl, July 15-16, 2023, visitors can see, touch, taste, and smell whole leaf hops.

“Farm Crawl is our biggest event of the year. It’s a chance for people to fall in love with hops. You can see the hops plants growing in the fields. You can smell different types of hop cones. We have candied hops so you can taste the different flavors. The candied hops are amazing. All the terpenes and volatile compounds are intact. It’s an entirely new way to interact with the hops plant,” she continued.

“I love Farm Crawl. People come from across the country to experience West Virginia agriculture. Hops Meadow Farm allows people to see, touch, taste, and smell hops, surrounded by the mountains of West Virginia. We make it fun for the whole family. For adventurous types, we have a mini-foraging experience to learn about hops in the wild. For everyone else, there’s music playing, product samples, and a good time in beautiful surroundings with great people.”