Hill Top Hops Brewhouse is a small batch brewery located in Brooklyn, Nova Scotia. Owned by John and Adrienne Peters, the brewery arose out of their love for the local brewing community, which they got into through hop farming for the past 3 seasons. They will be celebrating their Grand Opening this Saturday, January 19th, from noon. We caught up with Adrienne to learn more about their hop farm and brewery, beers they have available, and plans for the future.
Can you tell us about yourselves?
We are John and Adrienne Peters we live in Avondale, Hants County. We have three young children and are passionate about living and thriving in our community. We own a hop yard in Scotch Village, 15 min away from our home, called Hill Top Hops. And we’ve recently opened Hill Top Hops Brewhouse in the Brooklyn area, adjacent to the Tidal Bore Farm Market, about 5 minutes from where we live.
How did the hop farm come to be?
John definitely has a green thumb and really enjoys being outside and gardening. By trade he is a Pipefitter with UA Local 56, but knew he always wanted to farm, and enjoyed brewing beer at home. As the opportunities presented themselves, he decided to make his two passions a reality. John loved the idea of starting some “farming” and growing hops seemed like something different. Not a lot of people were doing it, our family has land we had access to, so we thought why not! Soon after that came talk of craft beer and experimenting, and that’s what brought us to where we are today. Since starting the hop farm, John has had some great collaborations with the guys at Alexander Keith’s Historic Brewery, including an exclusive ale, and selling them hops for their Annapolis beers (Hants County Hop On Harvest Ale in 2016 and Annapolis Hop Field Pale Ale in 2017). He had been brewing at home as a hobby for years prior to opening the brewhouse.
Can you tell us about the Hill Top Hops ethos?
Hill Top Hops Brewhouse has a rustic, warm and inviting atmosphere. We are a very hands on business, doing all our work ourselves with the help of our friends and family. We’re especially grateful to John’s dad, Fred, he’s been very helpful with renovations and put in a lot of time with John. Our mission is to have many great memories made there. We use only local NS hops, the majority of which are our own. Today we grow AlphAroma, Cascade, Centennial, Chinook, and Columbus. When we want to use a hop that we don’t grow, we will look to our friends in the hop growing industry for those varietals. We have purchased hops from Levy’s Country Acreage, and from our good friends at Wicked Hops in Stewiacke. We brew on a 220 litre (2 BBL) brewhouse.
Which beers will you have available for Saturday?
The beer that we have on tap for our Grand Opening are:
Avondale Cream Ale – Lightly hopped with our Cascade hops. A smooth drinking beer. 4.6%
The Tidal Bore Blond – A blend of our hops including Columbus, Chinook & Cascade. 5.3%
Hants County Proud Pale Ale – A medley of our Columbus, Centennial and Chinook dry hops.
Cashmere Pilsner – A crisp and citrusy 5% beer. Brewed with Cashmere hops from Levy’s farm.
Hop Storm IPA – Six kinds of hops in 5 additions, all from our farm. A strong and delicious 6.6%
Red Tale – A Red Ale, has Galena, Columbus and lots of Centennial hops from our hop yard and is a 6% beer.
We will be offering other great specialty beers throughout the year.
We are licensed for on-site sales, we have a hospitality room and retail permit. We sell 1L and 500ml refillable growlers, and will offer keg sales in the very near future. We exchange our own growlers, and will fill other breweries’ growlers.
Can you tell us about your plans for the future?
Our vision is to expand and build a brewery at the hop farm in Scotch Village, provide hopyard tours, tidal bore viewing and more, as well as keep our current location running.
Any parting words?
We are excited to be part of the craft beer world, so far it has been an inviting one.
Congratulations to Hill Top Hops on their Grand Opening this weekend! Drop by their location at 7232 Highway 14 from noon Saturday, January 19th, to enjoy their six beers onsite or to go in growlers. Going forward, the brewery taproom is open Wednesday and Thursday 12 – 8 PM, Friday 12 – 10 PM, Saturday 10 AM – 10 PM, and Sunday 12 – 6 PM. Keep an eye on their social media (Fb / IG / Tw) for updates on opening hours, new releases. Congratulations to the Peters family on the opening!
Will you have gluten-free beer?