E-Malt.com News article: USA, VA: Good Ship Brewing Co. becomes Hopewell’s first brewery

Seven years after it was first announced, beer is finally flowing from Hopewell’s first brewery, Richmond BizSense reported on January 16.

Good Ship Brewing Co. opened last week at 204 E. Cawson St. in the city’s downtown area.

Hopewell native Donnie Barber began planning Good Ship in 2019, but the pandemic prompted him to pause work on the brewery and instead focus on his namesake homebuilding company Barber Construction Co. In 2024, he decided to move forward with the brewery’s buildout, and on Jan. 5, Good Ship opened its doors.

“I’m Hopewell born and raised, and we’ve had to leave and go to Williamsburg or Richmond to go to a nice brewery,” Barber said. “I just got tired of it and I had this epiphany. Even though it’s kind of cliche, but it was like ‘Field of Dreams’. I really had this vision that if I built it, they’d come. I really did.”

So far his hunch appears to be right.

Barber said Good Ship’s first Friday night brought a capacity crowd and that it hasn’t just been Hopewell locals turning up for a drink.

“It’s crazy because I went around and met everybody (last weekend). I know most of the people in Hopewell, and I went around and I just didn’t know a lot of people,” he said, noting that many were elsewhere in the Richmond area.

“I found myself quite emotional,” he said. “The outpour of support has just been crazy.”

The brewery has room for up to 16 beers but opened with four on tap: a brown ale, wheat beer, light lager and hazy IPA, the last of which Barber said has been the most popular. Each is priced between $6.50 and $7.50.

A number of different wood-fired pizzas highlight Good Ship’s food menu, which also includes appetizers like ahi tuna, Cuban spring rolls and dumplings.

“We have a sushi chef so we’re pumping out some ahi tuna and other stuff. We’re trying to be very diverse,” Barber said.

Good Ship spans about 14,000 square feet and includes an outdoor beer garden and indoor stage for live music. Barber owns Good Ship’s building, as well as an adjacent 10,000-square-foot building at 208 E. Cawson St. He’d previously considered the neighboring space for a arcade-bar, but after the size of the initial crowds at Good Ship, Barber said he’s reconsidering that plan.

“I realized that our spot might not be quite big enough. Next door could be just an extension of (Good Ship),” he said. “We’re lucky, as we have a big building next door that we can evolve right into, if need be.”

Good Ship is open daily for lunch and dinner, and Barber said he plans to soon expand the hours to be open until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. It’s currently open until 10 p.m. daily.

Good Ship is the 44th brewery in the region and the second to open in recent weeks. Just before the New Year, Väsen Brewing Co. opened its new Forest Hill taproom.


16 January, 2026