Couple opens Hayden Taphouse with hopes of offering a place where locals, visitors can gather for drinks, fun

John F. Russell/Steamboat Pilot & Today
Anna and Derek Martin, owners of the Alpenglow Wine Bar, plan to open the Hayden Taphouse in the old brewery space at 200 North Walnut Street in February or early March.
“So we are opening as a taphouse, and we plan to have 32 taps as long as we can sit that many kegs in the walk-in — which I am pretty confident we can,” Derek said. “We’ll have 32 taps of beer, a few small selection wines, three cocktails on tap and a ton of beers and also some non-alcoholic options on tap as well.”
Derek said the concept of the Hayden Taphouse is a beer and bourbon-focused taproom offering a diverse selection of beverages as well as food from Sage and Spirit, which will return to Hayden with a classic menu and innovative, changing specials when the taphouse opens.
The new venue will also be a place where guests can enjoy a variety of arcade games, including timeless classics like “Pong,” “Pac-Man,” “Street Fighter” and “Mortal Kombat.” There will also be Skee-Ball and shuffleboard.
“We wanted to create a space where people of all ages can gather, play and enjoy themselves,” Anna said. “It’s more than a taphouse — it’s an experience.”
The new taphouse opens in the former location of the Yampa Valley Brewing Company in Hayden. That location, as well as the Hop House in Steamboat Springs, closed in 2024.
Derek and Anna have big plans for the 4,000-square-foot space. In addition to bringing the taphouse back, the couple plans to expand their wine production in the former brewery.
The couple also produce wine and mead (honey-wine) using Colorado grapes.
The Martins will continue to operate the Alpenglow Wine Bar, which opened in July of 2023.
The wine bar is open from 4-9 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday, and offers a diversified beverage selection that includes several wines, a curated selection of beers on tap — fewer than will be available at the taphouse when it opens — and cocktails. Derek said the space can also be reserved for special events and hosted Steamboat Comedy last year.
“The wine bar is pretty cool. We love that space inside the historic granary,” Derek said. “We’ve been doing a lot more birthdays and, surprisingly baby showers recently.”
He said the taphouse is nearly ready and his hope is that the liquor licenses needed to open will be in place by late February or early March.
Derek said a lot of people were heartbroken and upset when they learned the Yampa Valley Brewery’s tap room was closing last fall.
“A lot of people just abandoned going to the brewery because they caught wind of it,” he said. “I just told the landlord to keep me posted, and that we would interested … it just developed from there, and it made sense.”
The Martins said with the wine bar and production, he was paying rent on four different locations, and the operations were spread across Hayden.
“It will be nice to have everything, including production, under one roof, and then we will have the wine bar right next door,” Derek said. “It kind of consolidates things into that little district.”
He said that the town of Hayden approved the Granary Entertainment District last year that allows customers to wonder between the two locations with their drinks. He said the district could also be beneficial for his businesses moving forward.
“Between the tap house we’re going to be opening soon, the Alpenglow Wine Bar, the historic granary and the coffee shop it’s cool to have an entertainment district,” Derek said. “When you include all those as well as Sage and Spirit, which will reopening when we reopen the tap house, it’s just a great place to be.”
John F. Russell is the business reporter at the Steamboat Pilot & Today. To reach him, call 970-871-4209, email jrussell@SteamboatPilot.com or follow him on Twitter @Framp1966.

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