Millstream Brewing Company is proud to announce that it is taking on an exciting expansion this summer in Amana. Millstream Brewery will be opening the Millstream Brau Haus late in early fall in the historic Colony Inn Restaurant on Amana’s Main Street.
Millstream’s owners, Chris Priebe, Tom and Teresa Albert have always envisioned creating a true German Bierhalle for the Amana Colonies so when the opportunity arose to purchase the Colony Inn just next door to Millstream Brewing Co., they made leap. Millstream Brewing Co. will expand its operations with a restaurant Bierhalle, The Millstream Brau Haus.
The Colony Inn building originally just a frame structure, was constructed in 1860 and was known as the Amana Hotel. The building contained a kitchen and dining room which served meals to travelers. The Amana Hotel became a stopover for many early travelers. After the “Great Change” in 1932, the motel was sold and the name was changed to the Colony Inn. The Colony Inn was the first restaurant after 1932 under private ownership and open to the general public and served family style meals for the past 81 years.
Chris, Tom & Teresa have been listening to the needs of both customers and local residents - one reoccurring request has been for a venue to stay open later in the Colonies. The Brau Haus is planning on staying open until at least 10:00 pm each night. “Now that might not seem late to most but in our little village of Amana that’s pretty exciting!” said owner Teresa Albert.
What’s more The Brau Haus will be a perfect place for friends and family to gather. Live music, games and other events will be a part of the lineup throughout the year with TV’s for fans to follow the Hawkeye games or catch favorite sporting events.
“A need for a larger variety of food choices also led to our decision to open the Brau Haus,” said Albert. The Millstream Brau Haus will feature German style “Bierhalle” foods as the focus of the menu. Of course brats will be on the menu as the the Brau Haus is partnering up with the Amana Meat Shop & Smokehouse to create some unique brats for the menu.
The menu will be created by Chef Lord Nathan Kula of Williamsburg. Nate brings 22 years of restaurant experience to The Brau Haus and has been working over the past few months to make an authentic German food experience for all to enjoy.
“When you go to the Amana Colonies you want to enjoy the German heritage in as many ways as you can. Millstream Brewery is already Iowa’s oldest brewery, one of the oldest operational breweries in the Midwest and brews many traditional German style beers. Add to that the German Bierhalle and you will get the whole German beer experience at the Brau Haus,” Albert said.
Nathan Kula adds, “We are using several family recipes already and many local Amana families have offered their own family recipes for us to use as we will keep changing and evolving our menu.”
In addition design elements in the The Brau Haus will reflect a unique atmosphere. As Albert explained, “The tables that you will sit at were harvested locally from the Amana timbers. Over the last few months Millstream has been taking painstaking measures to preserve them and turn them into the bierhalle tables, one by one.” Seating is being created from huge cedar logs once used as telephone poles between the villages.
The remodeling has just started and will continue for the next month or so. The main seating area will be turned into the bierhalle as the second floor will be torn out to expose a vaulted ceiling and an “Oma’s Loft” will be created. The bierhalle will be one big room with long tables and benches that will be shared.
“We believe the quote that ‘There Are No Strangers Here, Just Friends You Haven’t Met Yet’ That is the feeling we have in Millstream’s outdoor biergarten and we want to convey that same feeling in the new Brau Haus!” states Albert. For now plans for the two smaller dining rooms are to be used for private parties.
Of course the main emphasis will continue to be on Millstream award winning beers. “We look to expand from 10 taps to 20 in the Brau Haus! This will allow us to be able to brew a wider variety of beers and have release parties as we tap them, ” noted Albert. Brewmaster, Chris Priebe, is looking forward to creating new brews for everyone to enjoy. Near future plans are to put in a pilot system to support these fun brews. Millstream celebrated its 30th anniversary last fall and is looking forward to another 30 years with the Brau Haus!
