Verboten Brewing nears opening of downtown Loveland taproom

LOVELAND — As co-owner Angie Grenz puts it, the last five months without a taproom — or even production facility — of its own has made the Verboten Brewing team “feel a little like gypsies.”

If all goes as planned, however, the nomad brewers will get to return to a sense of normalcy later this month. Verboten, which is building out a new brewery and taproom at 127 E. Fifth St., in downtown Loveland, is planning a March 19 grand (re)opening. Depending on how fast they can wrap up construction and get a certificate of occupancy from the city, they’re hoping for a soft opening as early as a week from now.

Opening the new space will bring to a close a period that’s been adventurous, to say the least, for the young brewery, which moved out of its original space at 1550 Taurus Court at the end of September with an eye on growth and increased visibility downtown. To keep restaurants, bars and liquor stores stocked, Verboten has been contract brewing its beers at Snowbank Brewing in Fort Collins. That’s in addition to keeping tabs on a $400,000 buildout of the new space and dealing with the revenue hit that comes with not having a taproom.

“”We have not enjoyed not having a taproom,” Grenz said Wednesday. “Aside from the income, it’s been hard to be away from our customers who come in every week. We see them around town in Loveland but we really miss being able to serve them in our taproom.

“We’re anxious to get back open.”

Grenz and her husband, Josh, opened Verboten in 2013 with Joe and Keri Akers, and quickly gained acclaim, winning two medals at the 2014 World Beer Cup. The group had been looking at making a move sooner. But an ownership change last summer that saw the Grenzes and Jason Bowser — a craft-beer industry veteran with experience at Odell Brewing and New Belgium Brewing — buy out the Akers’ stake jumbled the timeline a bit.

Verboten’s lease expired last summer, and the brewery was able to extend it a couple of times through September as the owners sought out a new location. But eventually Verboten’s landlord needed to move forward with finding its own new tenant.

Speed bumps aside, Grenz said the new location checks off a lot of the items on Verboten’s wish list.

The new brewery will be about 4,400 square feet, nearly triple the size of Verboten’s old space. Grenz said Verboten probably could have expanded enough to increase production and distribution at its old location, but said the spot wasn’t conducive to expanding the taproom. She said parking also was a challenge at the old spot, and the industrial location didn’t offer the same type of foot traffic Verboten is hoping to get downtown.

Verboten, which employs 10 people including the owners, will join Crow Hop Brewing and Loveland Ale Works downtown, as well as Laughing Leprechaun Meadery when it opens this spring.

“It’s an exciting time to be downtown and still relatively affordable enough (to land a downtown location),” Grenz said. “So we thought it would be a good move for us.”

Once the new spot opens, Verboten, which owns a three-barrel system now, is planning to upgrade to a 10- or -15-barrel system by the end of the year. In the meantime, Grenz said, the brewery will be at maximum capacity right away and probably still will contract brew a couple of its regular offerings at Snowbank to help keep up with demand until the new system is in place. After brewing nearly 600 barrels last year, the company is targeting 800 to 1,000 this year.

The new brewery will feature a 1,150-square-foot taproom, as well as some patio seating out front. The brewery will also expand its offering of barrel-aged beers, even putting “Verboten Brewing and Barrel Project” on its exterior signage. Of the 16 tap handles in the new space, Grenz said, the plan is to keep three or four reserved for barrel-aged beers.

Once the new brewing system is ordered, Verboten, which distributes in kegs and 22-ounce bomber bottles now, also will add a 12-ounce bottling line to begin distributing in six-packs.

All of the new features have meant an extensive buildout, although opening day is only about a month behind the original target. Verboten’s new space was formerly home to RoadNarrows, a robotics company that moved to Boulder, and MayerSeedLine.

“It’s something we’re really proud of,” Grenz said. “It’s a lovely space.”