Several years ago, the owners of West Sixth Brewing got an idea for growth.
With the brewery’s two Lexington taprooms bustling and its beer production eclipsing even their rosiest projections, the founders realized they had no desire to push into other states, looking to become the next national beer conglomerate. Rather, they wanted to do something different, something that strengthened the company’s ties to its Kentucky home. So, in 2016, West Sixth bought a farm.
“We decided we wanted to grow deep as opposed to wide,” said Kelly Hieronymus, West Sixth’s creative director. “We asked ourselves: What can we do five years down the line for this industry to grow in our state?”
"Beer is an agricultural act.” —West Sixth creative director Kelly Hieronymus
A farm seemed the perfect answer. It would allow the company to grow many of the ingredients used in its beers. And it would give them a chance to showcase the agricultural elements of the brewing process to the farm’s visitors, Hieronymus said. “We think beer is an agricultural act,” she said. “So we want to educate and show the process of making that beer, and show how it connects to a place.”
After two years of work, the West Sixth Farm opened its doors to the public in June. Nestled on 120 acres, the farm boasts a mix of hills, flatlands and creeks—a “microcosm” of Kentucky’s geography, Hieronymus said.
The West Sixth Farm’s taproom, with its picnic-table lined pavilion, sits on a small hill. Tidy lines of waist-high apple trees, interspersed with blackberry and raspberry brambles, grow along an incline from the taproom. Farther up the slope rests the hops yard, where rows of plant strands hang suspended from 35-foot poles. Nearby, a pair of cattle graze in a field, and hens cluck about in a portable chicken coop. Throughout the farm, as well, weaves a series of bumpy trails—for hiking or mountain biking—carved out through a cooperative effort between West Sixth and the Kentucky Mountain Bike Association.
The farm represents West Sixth’s foray into “agri-tourism,” Hieronymus said, where visitors get a behind-the-scenes glimpse into how their favorite products are made from the ground up. It’s an approach that helped make Napa Valley a destination a few decades ago. And one that Kentucky’s bourbon producers seized upon recently with great success with the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. Additionally, the farm provides West Sixth with an outdoor space to host events—the site features a pavilion for small groups, as well as a large flat area suited for larger occasions (a few weddings are already booked for later this fall).
“We wanted to have a gathering place for people to come out and experience what we’re doing, something that’s authentic and shows off Kentucky,” Hieronymus said.
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Ginny Slone and Bryan Taylor, both of Lexington, check out the farm’s hops yard. / Photos by Reggie Beehner
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The working farm also raises hens and some cattle, bees, an orchard and other agricultural endeavors.
The farm isn’t intended to serve as the sole supplier for the ingredients in West Sixth’s beer production—the quantities of hops and grain required are simply beyond the farm’s capacities, Hieronymus said. “We’re not trying to produce massive amounts of product,” she said. “We’re trying to learn, so it’s a place where we can experiment with our ingredients and try new things, which is one of the coolest things.”
One example is the hops yard, she said, adding that it’s not so much for production as it is to give visitors a chance to see what a hop cone looks like. “We knew we wanted to have hops,” she said. “But they take lots of pruning and training because they grow like a weed. You really have to train them go grow up the vine, clockwise. And we wanted to give people an opportunity to interact with that.”
The apple orchard is something of a learning experiment for the company, as well. Cider apples, she said, are difficult to grow organically in Kentucky without the use of pesticides. Though the apple trees are still a few years from maturation, she said the company hopes to one day produce a small-scale estate cider at the farm.
The company’s success on the farm, as well as its potential failures, are all part of the larger picture of what constitutes of brewery. “People need to know where their products are coming from, how they are being made and the passion and ideas behind it,” Hieronymus said. “Telling that story is important to us.”
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Guests enjoy libations in the West Sixth Farm taproom and pavilion on a recent Saturday evening. / Photos by Reggie Beehner
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Although the farm is open to the public only on Saturdays and occasional Sundays, it’s already become something of a destination, drawing hundreds of people each week. “We even already have our regulars,” said Jesse Brasher, the farm’s taproom manager. “Several of the neighbors nearby drop in every week.”
Even with temperatures soaring into the mid 90s, the West Sixth Farm showed no signs of slowing down. “It didn’t stop people from coming out,” Brasher said.
On a recent Saturday afternoon, the farm buzzed with signs of life. Cars, many topped with kayaks and mountain bikes, lined the gravel parking lot leading to the taproom. Sun-glassed patrons tossed cornhole bags, while children leaped and danced across several oversized tires that dot the pavilion. Families set off in groups for a stroll of the grounds, ambling up the hill to the chicken coop and pausing by the retention pond to toss a few rocks.
Mike Bradley, owner of Amazing Gracie food truck, says he routinely serves more than 150 plates to patrons of West Sixth Farm on any given weekend. / Photo by Reggie Beehner
“The atmosphere here is really amazing,” said Bryan Taylor of Lexington, who walked through the hops yard, adding that the farm testifies to West Sixth’s commitment to “giving back to the community.”
Mike Bradley, who serves up BBQ nachos and burritos from his Amazing Gracie food truck at the farm from noon to 8 p.m. most Saturdays, said he routinely serves more than 150 plates during a shift. The only difficulty, he said, is keeping up with demand. By 6 p.m., his menu already had several items crossed out with the words “sold out” scribbled in.
“I can’t complain,” Bradley said. “It’s been really great.”