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The Original Hop Yard, in Pleasanton, California, is located on what was once the largest hop farm in the world. From the 1880's to the beginning of World War I, the Pleasanton Hop Company operated on nearly 1900 acres of swampy marshland along what is now Hopyard Road. The fields began about a half mile west of downtown and extended north for over one mile. At harvest time, more than one thousand men, women and children would gather in Pleasanton to pick hops for about a penny per pound. Most of the hops were exported to London, where they commanded the highest premium.
The Pleasanton Hop Company was forced to dismantle around 1913 due to the war, the growing Prohibition movement, and the loss of water rights to the Spring Valley Water Company. Most of the land was converted to dairy and beet farming, thus ending Pleasanton's reign as a world famous hop producing region.
We have tried to recapture some of that heritage here at The Hop Yard. The renaissance of small brewpubs and microbreweries has allowed us to step back to the pre-Prohibition era when the Pleasanton Hop Company was in its heyday, and places like the Livermore Brewery were producing nationally renowned beers.
Proprietors Eric Otis Nostrand, Barry Just Barry Mori, Rob Hilde Hildebrand, and Erik Heth, all Tri-Valley natives, have created a simple place, reminiscent of simpler times, for friends and neighbors to gather and enjoy themselves. So please, indulge yourself with the fine fare from our kitchen, and sample some of this region's unique brews on tap.
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