- What is Nebraska's brewing scene like?
- Nebraska features a thriving brewing industry with dozens of microbreweries, nanobreweries, brewpubs, and companies that combine brewing with wineries or distilleries.
- What are some major beer festivals in Nebraska?
- Some of the top beer festivals in Nebraska include the Western Nebraska Craft Beer Festival, the Benson Beer Fest, and the Haymarket Park BeerFest.
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1. Backswing Brewing Co.
Backswing Brewing Co. is dedicated to crafting golf-themed beers, opened by three friends who shared a love of great golfing and great beer.
It offers a public tap room facility in Lincoln that is open Wednesdays through Sundays for pints, tastings, and to-go sales. Flagship beers brewed by the company include its Backswing English-style IPA, its first beer released with the company’s opening, along with its German-style Backswing Wheat Ale and English-style Backswing Brown Ale.
Take a public tour of the Backswing Brewing Co. which will show you the brewery’s production history and beer-making process. Be sure to book ahead.
500 W South St #8, Lincoln, NE 68522, Phone: 402-515-4263, Map
2. Boiler Brewing Company
Boiler Brewing Company is located in downtown Lincoln within the city’s historic Grand Manse building, opened in 2016 by Tim Thomssen and Thad Aerts.
Thomssen, the company’s brewmaster, has received an impressive list of awards for his homebrewing efforts, including a 2014 Grand Champion award at the Masters Championship of Amateur Brewing. Tap room food is served by nearby chophouse Single Barrel, including shareable plates and full entrees.
Boiler Brewing Company tours are offered on the first Sunday of each month, and a live jazz music series is presented periodically. Brews on tap at the company’s tap room include its Mangoapricotpeach Sorbet and Blackberry Mimosa Goses, Black Currant Mead, Tanner Bananer’s Velvet Elvis Peanut Butter, Banana, and Chocolate Stout, and That! New England IPA. Cider offerings are also tapped, along with a non-alcoholic carbonated nitro cold brew offering.
129 N 10th St, Suite 8, Lincoln, NE 68508, Phone: 402-261-8775, Map
3. Bottle Rocket Brewing Co.
Bottle Rocket Brewing Co. was founded in 2014 by Gerald Homp, Jason Berry, and Ryan Koch, three Seward residents who dubbed themselves the Bottle Rocket Boys.
The brewery’s public tap room and brewhouse facility opened to the public in 2015 within a historic 1940s grain mill building, striving to provide the Seward region with superior craft beer. The brewery’s old mill space, loft, and beer garden may be rented for private special events. Craft root beers made in house are also tapped, and food trucks are parked on site periodically.
The Bottle Rocket Brewing Co. tap room is open to the public seven days a week, offering pints and to-go sales of its most popular beers, including its Wit Willy Belgian Witbier, Stout Constitution Cream Stout, 1868 Smalltown Brown Ale, and Punk Lite Beer.
230 S. 5th Street, Seward, NE 68434, Phone: 402-641-4314, Map
4. Brickway Brewery and Distillery
Brickway Brewery and Distillery is operated by brewmaster Zac Triemert, a local leader in Omaha’s brewing and distilling industry. It offers a public tap room facility within the city’s historic Old Market District and operates as the state’s first combination brewery and distillery facility since before the Prohibition era. Small-batch brews experiment with unique flavors such as jalapeno, pineapple, and lemongrass.
Craft spirits are also sold, including the company’s Honestly American Single-Malt Whiskey and Mostly Honest Bourbon. Upscale gastropub fare is served at lunch and dinner, including Philadelphia-style pretzels, beer cheese soup, and bahn mi sandwiches.
A wide variety of session beers and hop-forward ales are produced by the Brickway Brewery and Distillery, from classic styles such as hefeweizens and India pale lagers to unique brews such as its Drone Fleur Belgian Tripel, Bella Diva Imperial Chocolate Stout, and 10th Sanctum Barleywine.
1116 Jackson St, Omaha, NE 68102, Phone: 402-933-2613, Map
5. Code Beer Company
Code Beer Company is a Lincoln-based brewery located at the corner of N Street and Antelope Valley parkway, renovating a century-old historic building into a 15 bbl brewhouse and tap room facility. The brewery is open to the public seven days a week and showcases taps of 11 of its craft ales, including flagship year-round brews, seasonal specialties, and experimental one-offs.
Many brews showcase locally-sourced ingredients, such as the company’s Neb Hop Red Ale, brewed with hops grown at Plattsmouth’s Midwest Hop Producers. Food trucks are hosted on site periodically, with guests welcome to bring in their own food. Code Beer Company brews a wide variety of classic styles, including lighter blonde and cream ales, hop-heavy pale ales and IPAs, fruit-forward sour goses, and porters and stouts with coffee and chocolate notes.
200 S Antelope Valley Pkwy, Lincoln, NE 68510, Phone: 402-318-5888, Map
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