Braxton Brewing announces opening date

COVINGTON – Braxton Brewing Co. has announced its much-anticipated opening date: March 27. The brewery has also revealed new details about its tap room and announced its first two flagship beers.

Brothers Jake and Evan Rouse; their father, Greg, vice president for production at dunnhumbyUSA; and locally renowned brewmaster Richard Dubé, the former vice president of brewing and quality at Christian Moerlein, are behind the new brewery at 27 W. Seventh St.

They shared new details about their tap room, which they're calling the "tap room of the future."

"Everything about the tap room is themed to the garage," Jake said. "We wanted to pay homage to where we started."

That was in Greg's Union garage, where Evan began home brewing. He started six years ago, after a visit to Upland Brewing Company in Bloomington, where the family stopped after dropping Jake off at Indiana University to study entrepreneurship. Though he was only 16 and couldn't order a beer himself, Evan was fascinated by the science and math involved in brewing, and the idea that he could create beers to suit individual tastes. He ordered a home brew kit from his iPhone on the car ride home and has brewed ever since.

As one might expect considering those origins, Braxton's tap room isn't modeled after garages used for parking cars and stowing lawn equipment, but encompasses more modern sentiments about business incubation.

"It's the new garage, the garage as the icon of American innovation," Jake said.

In keeping with the garage theme, a center room that can be booked for private events of up to 60 people (there is a minimum spend, but no booking fee) is flanked by two garage doors – a traditional one in front and a glass one in the back, to allow visitors to see into the brewery. That room will have whiteboard paint on one walls and offer a projector. Four metered taps will allow those using the room to pour their own beer.

Behind the bar, a large mural by branding studio Neltner Small Batch, which did the branding for Braxton, will be a focal point. Neltner owner Keith Neltner said the mural, which is about 15 feet high and about 25 feet wide, uses bold blues, golds and oranges. On one side, it shows Greg and Evan's past, making beer in the garage; in the middle, taps will come out of the wall below the brewery's "hop eagle" logo's talons; and at right, the Roebling Bridge represents Braxton's new home in Covington.

"It's a timeline, a progression of their beginnings to where they are now," said Neltner, who has also created murals at HalfCut in Over-the-Rhine and, with Artworks, for the Over-the-Rhine Brewery District.

Among the tap room's other offerings will be 1 GB wi-fi; a 20-tap Pegas growler filler; iPhone and Android chargers; a custom mobile app that will allow users to stay up to date with Braxton; and social media experiences in the tap room. (They're keeping details about the app and the experiences to themselves until closer to the opening.)

Braxton won't serve food but will partner with local restaurants, including The Gruff, which opened in Covington in January, and Four Seasons Catering. Braxton will have take-out menus so that visitors can order food from those businesses.

Evan and Dubé lead Braxton's brewing team, which also includes Conan Crofoot, Dave Dixon and Mike Roszkowski. Dubé tried to hire Evan four times when he worked at Moerlein (Evan was working at Hofbrauhaus at the time). When Dubé resigned from that position, Evan asked him to come on board at Braxton.

"The train was going to leave the station with or without me," Dubé said. "I started running and jumped on the train."

Evan and Dubé have announced Braxton's two flagship beers: Storm, a golden cream ale, and Jumper, an American hoppy wheat. Storm, one of the first beers Evan brewed at home, is an approachable beer that the founders hope will appeal even to those who haven't yet dived into craft beer. Jumper, Dubé's favorite, will have more layers but still be approachable, not too malty with some hoppiness, Dubé said.

Braxton will open with four beers on tap but plans to grow to 20.

"We're aiming for multiplicity; the goal is to brew just about everything under the sun," Evan said. Their portfolio will include a wide range: high-alcohol, low-alcohol, hoppy, sour, Belgian, barrel-aged – "you name it," Dubé said.

"Our group of brewers ... they have a tremendous library of well-developed recipes that we're going to use," he added. "The problem will be 'which one do we want to make in the list of wonderful beers we're going to have.'"

A custom 20-barrel brew house will scale with Braxton as the brewery grows. Jake said he expects Braxton to produce 2,000 barrels in 2015, with plans to grow organically if the market demands it. Dubé said they'll be cautious not to grow too fast so they can keep consistent quality. Packaging is in the plans, but not anytime soon.

As part of Braxton's dual record-setting Kickstarter campaign, the founders pledged to include backers' names in the tap room. They'll accomplish that with a 14-foot wide by 7.5-foot tall "hop eagle" logo, comprised of birch wood tiles bearing laser-engraved names. Sisters Christine, Michele and Melyssa Kirn of Grainwell, a wood shop just down the road on Pike Street, are creating it.

Last fall, Braxton became the most funded brewery project in Kickstarter's history, raising $71,000 from 654 backers from across the region and as far away as Tokyo and Kuwait. It also broke the single-day brewery funding record, reaching its $30,000 goal just 35 hours after the campaign's launch.

Dubé's beer pedigree and Greg's position at a high-profile local company have no doubt contributed to the buzz surrounding Braxton; however, more than 60 percent of the brewery's Kickstarter backers had no connection to the founders, Jake said. He cites the passion of those involved in the project and their accessibility as helping spur those early successes.

"It's the genuine belief that you're along for the ride with us," he said.

"You have to make yourself available," his father added. "You have to show the same interest and respect to every person."

For the March 27 grand opening, doors will open at 5 p.m., and a short program, including the unveiling and dedication of the brewery's mural, will take place at 7 p.m. Two bands (TBD) will provide live music throughout the evening.

Beer will also be available in bars and restaurants in Northern Kentucky beginning that day.

Regular hours will likely be 4-10 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday; noon-1 a.m. Friday and Saturday; and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday.

Jake said he's excited to finally be close to the opening, nearly a year after the founders first announced the brewery's plans. And he's happy to be part of what he sees as a period of growth in Covington.

"We really believe in the renaissance that's happening in Covington," he said.

Information: www.braxtonbrewing.com