Iron Gauntlet Brauhaus: Veteran-owned brewery serves up German-inspired beer

By Rachel Strickland | Photos courtesy of Iron Gauntlet Brauhaus

Due to its proximity to Fort Hood, the city of Killeen has no shortage of businesses and restaurants that support military veterans and active-duty soldiers alike. Iron Gauntlet Brauhaus, a veteran-owned brewery, is among them but goes just a little bit above and beyond the call of duty. Since 2020, the folks at Iron Gauntlet have been serving up unique brews to the residents of Killeen and the surrounding areas at their military-themed brewpub.

Retired Army veteran Lara Crum, owner and brew master of Iron Gauntlet, began her journey into the world of brewing in 2019 with her own homebrew store, Black Hawk Brewing Supply. It wasn’t until she started winning awards for home brewing, including first place at the Larry Joe Taylor Fest, that she decided to open a brewery. “It was a hobby that I turned into a business,” she says. “Now I get to drink every night with my friends.”

Crum reminisces that after being stationed in Germany, American beer just didn’t taste the same –– it was either too expensive or too hoppy for her taste, so she started brewing it herself. In fact, one of the many things that sets Iron Gauntlet apart from other breweries in the area is that they serve a lot of German-inspired beer.

“Most of my beer is not Americanized,” Crum says. “And I won’t ever have more than two IPAs. If you walk into any brewery in Austin, they’re going to have a ton of IPAs, but there’s so much more beer than that. German beer’s better anyway.” Laughing, she adds: “You don’t see IPAs in Germany at all. They think they’re gross.”

Just because Crum brews some German-inspired beers, doesn’t mean that an American crowd won’t enjoy them. Iron Gauntlet has a lot of tasty brews on tap, including a braggot, a beer/mead hybrid, and a graf, a beer/cider hybrid, which Crum says was made famous by Stephen King’s book series, The Dark Tower. They also offer a fizzy hard seltzer and countless flavored syrup options so the drinker can customize the seltzer to their liking.

Crum taught herself how to brew beer by watching countless YouTube videos and through lots of trial and error –– in fact, she’s only ever had to throw out one batch. She now brews all the beer on tap at Iron Gauntlet with her own equipment that sits on display in the brewery’s main room. She explains that there is a core recipe for every type of beer, but that there is a level of creativity to it as well. “There’s a style guide, and then you put your own spin on it,” she says.

As for the names of the beers served at Iron Gauntlet, Crum confirms that they are all military themed. Their best seller is the “Molly Pitcher,” an Irish Red that is named after the brave wife of an artilleryman in the Revolutionary War. The rest of the brewery keeps with the military theme, which includes deer heads on the wall that have names and metals of honor.

Iron Gauntlet opened in November 2020. Even though local COVID-19 health protocols only allowed Crum to open with 50% occupancy, she wasn’t worried.

“I mean, we had people asking us daily when we were going to open,” she says.

Now, she can fill the place to 100% capacity, with more people sitting at their outdoor tables.

Iron Gauntlet easily holds its own among the other breweries in the area because it is one of only two that are veteran-owned; however, it is conveniently located a quick 10 minutes from Fort Hood, which easily draws in the military crowd. Crum believes that people like to support veteran-owned businesses when looking for a place to hang out or book an event, and the fact that she’s a woman gives her a unique edge.

“It’s rare to see a female veteran in the brewing community,” she says. “I’m one of the few.”

Crum loves to give back to the community any way she can, and during winter storm Uri in February 2021, the folks at Iron Gauntlet filled up the brewing tanks with snow that they then boiled into clean water for people in need. Crum claimed that they “gave away about 80,000 gallons of water that was either boiled or just straight from the tap when no one had it.” Her gesture of kindness to the community was recognized by the Greater Killeen Chamber of Commerce. She was given the award for Community Hero in the small business category, and it is displayed prominently on the wall of the brewery.

Crum says that she tries to make Iron Gauntlet fun and family friendly. “Killeen doesn’t have anywhere for you to just hangout and watch football where it’s OK for you to bring your kids. There’s nothing like that around here,” she says. “So, we just want to give Killeen something to do.”

There’s undoubtedly something for everyone to enjoy at Iron Gauntlet, including a rotating schedule of live music, food trucks, karaoke, comedy tours, ax-throwing trailers and the occasional brewery-wide game of Cards Against Humanity. They host monthly dog adoptions, and they celebrate special occasions with events like Painting with a Pint, murder mystery nights and pajama parties.

To learn more, visit irongauntlet.beer or call 254-833-5020.