Surrounded as they are by stainless steel, poured concrete, and warehouse-like confines, it’s no wonder that brewers are a species prone to the pastoral itch. But while the romance of sun-dappled hills and freshly turned soil is strong, operating a rural outpost is as much about tourism as it is about agriculture—just ask Lexington, Kentucky’s West Sixth Brewing, which in June 2018 opened a three-barrel brewery and taproom on a 125-acre farm north of Frankfort.
A 40-minute drive from its production brewery, West Sixth Farm’s taproom doubled its sales in its second year. It is now gearing up for a third season of farm tours, workshops, and harvests. The farm includes a four-acre cider-apple orchard, 325-plant hop yard, honeybees, egg-laying chickens, 600 blackberry and raspberry bushes, an herb garden, pawpaws, sour cherries, two grass-fed black Angus cattle, mountain biking and hiking trails, and a fishing pond. The farm is open to the public Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays for eight months of the year.
“What better way to go deep in the state of Kentucky than buying a farm?” says Birch Bragg, farm manager at West Sixth Farm. “That helps us achieve our goal of becoming the beer of Kentucky.”
Left: The rural brewery has attracted locals who lacked the “third space” that a taproom can provide. Right: One of two head of black Angus cattle who (temporarily) live on the farm.