Braun Taphaus Arvada Colorado

A January Saturday morning with clear blue skies and sun on the mountains found us on a walk from our house to Old Town Arvada. In the 3.5 miles walk we passed 2 breweries (Odyssey Beerwerks and Arvada Beer Company) before reaching our destination, Braun Taphaus. Not a brewery but a purveyor of craft beer and food, with twenty taps and an impressive selection of bottles, Braun offers something for most tastes.

Situated on the railroad tracks and near the iconic water tower, Arvada was established in 1850, and is the site of the first gold discovery in Colorado. After the gold played out and the miners moved to the mountains, the area became a farming community, providing produce for the front range. The old town area fell into disuse in the 1970's and 1980's, but was not razed for new housing, instead designated a historical district. The one and two story brick storefronts were preserved and in the last 10 years have become a hub for an eclectic mix of shops, restaurants, and mixed housing. The area is poised for more development as the urban light rail system will expand with a stop in old town being added in 2016.

Braun Taphaus is named for the owners, the Bar-on family. While living in Austria they were known as Braun, but changed the spelling to Bar-on when immigrating to Israel. Owners of the Udi's Bakery chain in Denver, Braun is a new venture for the family.

With a choice of twenty taps to sample, we were able to pick six (OK, seven) beers to sample.

• Dry Dock Apricot Blonde - A blonde ale with strong apricot up front, but a crisp clean finish from Dry Dock brewery in Aurora, Colorado 
• Koenig Ludwig Weissbeir - A German import, cloudy, with banana, orange and spice notes 
• Magic Hat #9 - magic Hat is a Vermont brewery, and #9 is listed as "not quite a pale ale". Amber colored with a caramel aroma and a light finish. 
• Left Hand Ambidextrous Sticke Altbeir -  Left Hand is a Colorado brewery known for adventurous brews.The dark sticke altbeir has notes of burnt sugar, bread, and some taste we debated for some time before deciding we needed a better vocabulary. 
• Prost Dunkel - A dark amber lager from the Denver based Prost Brewery, specializing in German style beers. With a strong roasted malt taste, I was surprised when Mari claimed this one as her favorite of the afternoon. 
• Great Divide Espresso Oak Aged Yeti Stout - A pioneer of the Denver craft beer scene since 1994, Great Divide was a one man production shop for several years, peddling beers directly to local shops. The Yeti Imperial Stout is a favorite, and this version has a strong coffee taste from the espresso, with added flavor notes from the oak chips, making it Joe's favorite of the day. 
• Sierra Nevada Ovila Abbey Quad with Plums - Recommended by our waitress, this Belgian style Quadrupel is made with plums from the Abbey of New Clairvaux in Vina, California. A dark beer with malt and fruit tastes, the plum is an subtle after taste in the back of the mouth.

The menu describes the food as comfort food, which I will not debate. Mari had the chicken fingers and a salad, while I enjoyed the house cured pastrami paired with the sweet potato fries. A full lunch, dinner and weekend brunch menu has plenty of choices for any palate.

With a rotating selection of craft beer on twenty taps, additional bottles, and a kitchen providing comfort food, we will be returning to the Braun Taphaus often.

On our walk home, we stopped by the Arvada Historical Society, housed in the McIlvoy House, donated to the city by Clemancy McIlvoy in 1919. One of the stipulations was that no alcohol was allowed on the property. I wonder how she would feel about the brewery and taphouse located just a few doors down the street?