Our Story Begins With
Matt and Terry Centofane put in the inaugural crop.
Research Work in Lublin, Poland
Headed to Poland to purchase harvesting equipment and gain the knowledge of generations of hop growers.
Quality Control In the Field
Employing the IPM system of scouting and sampling as a New York State Grown & Certified Producer.
About Us
Located on Cemetery Hill road in Oneonta, NY, Hilltop Hops & Barley Co, Inc. sits on land that was once part of the historic hop yards of Otsego County, New York. In the hop heydays of the late 1800s, “the Otsego County hop was considered the best of America and the equal of any in the world.” The hops of Otsego county were ideal for the comeback of the New York State Hops farming industry.
Established in 2014, the Hilltop Hops Team of Terry and Matt Centofante began researching the hop industry and developed a business plan. Their first Cascade hop plants went into the ground in 2015. Additionally, smaller quantities of hop varieties of Newport and Fuggle were planted. A total of 5 acres of hops were planted that year. Family and friends gathered to harvest their crops and processed approximately 100 pounds of hops. Homebrewers enjoyed that year’s harvest. In 2016, the farm purchased a small hop harvester and began the fabrication of an Oast. In 2017, an additional 10 acres of rhizomes and plants of 7 varieties know to be disease resistant in the northeast were planted. Even with the small harvests from 2 years of plantings, the Team realized that speeding up their crop processing would be necessary for a successful, profitable hop yard.
Together with Farm Manager Adam Dulkas, Terry and Matt traveled to Poland in search of a Wolf Harvester. They also went to learn hop processing from generations of farmers in Lublin, Poland. The year 2018 was one of the major construction. The Wolf Harvestor arrived in a thousand pieces that had to be put together like a jigsaw puzzle. The state of the art Oast was designed and built. Refrigeration was installed. In 2019, 15 acres of excellent quality hops were harvested and are now available for purchase by brewers around Otsego County and beyond.
Shop Hops
Cascade
$8.00
Available in 1, 5 & 11 lb pelletized mylar bags.
Chinook
$10.00
Available in 1, 5 & 11 lb pelletized mylar bags.
Fuggle
$10.00
Available in 1, 5 & 11 lb pelletized mylar bags.
Newport
$10.00
Available in 1, 5 & 11 lb pelletized mylar bags.
Willamette
$10.00
Available in 1, 5 & 11 lb pelletized mylar bags.
Contact us directly for more information on how to purchase. 607-343-5987