Braxton Brewing Co.

There’s always a buzz, a delightful din, in the spacious taproom of Braxton Brewing Co. Once home to an architecture firm, the 100-year-old space is generally filled with people enjoying a wide breadth of both experimental and traditional brews, often amidst local artisans plying their crafts.

The company began when then-16-year-old Evan Rouse started brewing beer in the family garage on Braxton Drive. He started to enter brewing contests and win them — even though he wasn’t yet old enough to consume his products. After graduating business school and a short career in the tech industry, Rouse’s brother Jake teamed up with him to found Braxton Brewing Co. in 2014. The brothers’ vision for their brewpub went beyond just consuming beverages.

“We always viewed it as a hub for the local community and wanted it to be that place for locals to gather,” says Jake.

Ready for summer, the brewery is back to planning its slate of community events, with artisans working in The Garage event space, hosting Sunday farmers markets, bringing in a local coffee company for morning co-working sessions and partnering with Cincinnati icon Graeter’s ice cream to offer samples.

The collaboration with Graeter’s extends to the taps as well, with creative flavors like Graeter’s Black Raspberry Chocolate Chip Milk Stout and Graeter’s Caramel Macchiato. Braxton Brewing Co. also continues to push boundaries with a wide array of smoothie sours like Orange Creamsicle and Pineapple Upside Down Cake, but the brewery also offers plenty of traditional IPAs, lagers and ales that are perfect for summertime sipping.

The brewery’s offerings also include a line of hard seltzers in a variety of fruit flavors that are ideal for hot, lazy days. Be sure to try the punches — the brewery’s newest seltzers — ideally from the rooftop bar as you take in views of Covington and across the river to Cincinnati.

27 W. Seventh St., Covington, Kentucky, 859/261-5600, braxtonbrewing.com