Timnath to get first craft brewery this fall

Timnath will be joining the craft beer party this fall.

Craig Miller, a resident of the growing town just east of Fort Collins, is planning to open Timnath Beerwerks in November out of the Colorado Feed & Grain Building at 4138 Main St. It will be the 135-year-old town's first brewery.

"To have the first brewery in any town in Northern Colorado is kind of amazing," Miller said. "There's a lot of thirsty people on this side of the highway."

Miller, who grew up near Atlanta, moved to Fort Collins in 2001. He began homebrewing and fell in love with the town's brewery culture.

He moved to Timnath with his wife and two daughters in 2015. Miller has been planning the brewery with business partner Pete Meyer ever since.

"With the way this area is growing, we felt Timnth was pretty under-served," said Meyer, a developer for Brinkman Partners.

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While Miller will oversee brewery operations, Matt Smith, accomplished area homebrewer and Liquid Poet Society homebrew club board member,  will serve as head brewer. 

Timnath Beerwerks doesn't plan to distribute its beer outside of the taproom. The brewery will use a new seven-barrel brewhouse.

"We want to have a diverse lineup with different flavors — a little bit for everyone," Miller said. "We are planning to get more creative as we move along."

Timnath Beerwerks plans to cater to the many families living in the area.

"We want the atmosphere to be really community based," Miller said. "A place to gather and meet new people."

The brewery will operate out of a historic building that previously served as a grain elevator for feed, seeds, wheat, barley and corn. A 2012 fire partially destroyed the building.

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The facility previously housed Colorado Feed & Grain Roadhouse, a pub and live music venue that closed in 2005 after having its liquor license revoked. The new brewery will be located in a separate part of the building than the old roadhouse.

Interior remodeling on the brewery will begin soon.

"We really want to revive the building to show off its history and uniqueness," Miller said. "I think it's especially cool that we will be brewing beer in a place that used to house grain."

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