NORFOLK, Va. — Michelle Baudanza knows a lot about hops.
She’s the Norfolk Botanical Garden’s herbaceous plants curator.
“We here at the garden grow three different varieties of hops," Baudanza said.
She was excited when COVA Brewing’s head brewer, Matt Topping, called recently and asked about harvesting the hops.
“They’re a community partner," said Baudanza. "It was really fun to work with them personally to harvest some of these hops."
A post on the garden's Facebook page shows the hops being harvested August 22.
Topping is excited for the opportunity to use the hops.
“This year we’re working with Berry Arts Museum on their Fantastic Planet event coming up in October, and we wanted to do something that focused on local and sustainable agriculture," Topping said.
The brewery is also using Virginia grown malted barley from Murphy & Rude in Charlottesville.
Topping said he would love to harvest hops from the botanical garden again next year and beyond if possible.
Baudanza said the garden is not opposed to working with other businesses, but right now the focus is on helping COVA.
