When the Rouse family opened Covington’s Braxton Brewing Co. five years ago, they launched with four beers and a building they were not sure anyone would want to come to. Three of those beers continue to be on offer, but Braxton quickly began adding new seasonal flavors and types of beverages, including IPAs, barrel-aged brews, ciders and hard seltzers.
The Rouses purchased a 130-year-old building that once had housed a Sears department store in the heart of Covington. The brewery’s taproom soon became a popular hangout for people of all (drinking) ages and was consistently near capacity. In the summer of 2019, the upstairs was renovated, and the 5,000-square-foot rooftop is now open to the public. This inviting space has lots of plants, along with a wide variety of seating and stunning views of the Covington and Cincinnati skylines.
The brewery’s public space expanded further with the opening of Braxton Labs inside The Party Source in nearby Bellevue. There, the company experiments with new flavors, and guests can choose from around 40 varieties of beer on tap. Most recently, the brewery opened Braxton Barrel House in Fort Mitchell, which has a taproom above a basement full of bourbon barrels containing Braxton’s popular barrel-aged beer. Housed in a former grocery store, the Barrel House uses the former loading dock as a hip patio, where friends can choose from about 20 beers on tap.
Although these expansions have been positive, they each might have been considered risky and were not in the company’s original business plan. This growth is a testament to how well Braxton has been able to shift gears and reach out in different directions.
One direction in which the brewery has gone is a sweet collaboration. The story is that Richard Graeter, of Graeter’s Ice Cream, was enjoying some beers in Braxton’s taproom when he got the idea for ice cream-flavored beer. Graeter’s has been making rich French pot-style ice cream for more than 145 years. The ice cream boasts fans all over the world, so when Graeter approached Jake Rouse, Braxton co-founder and CEO, with the idea, Rouse had no hesitation.
They spent countless hours in the lab perfecting the brew. But there wasn’t much debate about what the first flavor, which came out in 2017, should be.
“If you’re going to partner with Graeter’s, the first flavor had to be black raspberry chocolate chip,” said Rouse, referring to Graeter’s most popular ice cream, made with sweet berries and bittersweet chocolate chunks.
As with all things new and uncharted, Braxton and Graeter’s did not know exactly what to expect. But they should not have worried: The collaboration was an amazing success. In fact, the brewery had trouble keeping it in stock.
“It turns out that, for us, it was a phenomenal way to bring new customers to our brand and to introduce dessert-style stouts,” Rouse said. “We saw customers who had never had a craft beer before.”
The two companies have collaborated on a few other flavors since then, and each has been popular. The Graeter’s brews are considered seasonal, so check Braxton’s website for availability. Next up for fall: Key Lime Pie Ale.