Tag: Nebraska

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Midwestern Brewery # 1 – Zipline Brewing


Our first stop in the middle of the U.S. is in Lincoln, Nebraska and Zipline Brewing founded by the trio of Marcus Powers, Tom Wilmoth, and James Gallentine in 2012. As is evidenced by their name, they are aiming at adventurers.

Here are the beers that I would sample….

Copper Alt – “A hybrid style between an ale and a lager, this bronze-hued brew goes down easy with subtle nuances of chocolate and hazelnut.” 2015 Great American Beer Festival Gold Medal Winner!

German-Style KÖLSCH – “A refreshing ale that drinks like a lager, our German-style Kölsch pours straw yellow with hints of honey malt character and a smooth, crisp finish.”

IRA – “IRA brings together the alluring red hue and malty body of a red ale with all the citrus, grapefruit, and piney hoppiness you’d expect from an American IPA.”

Alpha Modern – “This contemporary IPA explodes with smooth and juicy hops, ushering in a new age of alpha.”

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Nebraska Brewery # 4 – Upstream Brewing Company


Our final Nebraskan beer stop is in Omaha which the Upstream Brewing Company website explains is “Derived from the Native American meaning of Omaha,“upstream” or “against the current”..”,

They have been around since 1996 and now have two locations in Omaha to serve their year-round beers and these two seasonals, both with rye that caught my eye. (I apologize for the awful rhyming.)

Rye Lemonade
“Available only at our Legacy location. Upstream Brewing Company’s Rye Lemonade Lager has a distinctive, refreshing flavor; rye’s main contribution as an ingredient is its enhancement of the overall complexity of the beer’s flavor. Although the crisp, slightly spicy rye flavor does emerge somewhat distinctly (usually at the finish), and makes this beer a well balanced rye lager with a nice refreshing flavor that holds a nice lemon zest flavor and aroma due to the addition of lemon and orange zest in at the end of the boil in the brew kettle. This is a great beer on the patio after a long hot day.”

Gianduja Imperial Rye Brown Ale
“Pronunciation: zhahn-DOO-yuh. Gianduja is the name given to a European style of chocolate made from milk chocolate and hazelnut paste. This unique rye beer was created with this fantastic European chocolate in mind that starts with a delicately dark malty background that includes four different types of malted rye for an in depth layered rye backbone to start things off. Look for flavors of milk chocolate from the additions of lactose (milk sugar), coco nibs and hazelnut paste added to the brew.”

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Nebraska Brewery # 3 – Empyrean Brewing Company


Our third featured Nebraska brewery is Empyrean Brewing Company and boy have they grown like gangbusters.

It may be due to beers like the newly bottled….
Super Nova Summer Fest
“Easy drinking with hints of sweet corn, bread and caramel, finishing with a blast of citrus hop character and just enough crisp to balance the sweet. It’s a toast to rolling surf, Baja hoodies, beach BBQs and the elusive green flash.”

…or ….
Fallen Angel Sweet Stout
“A smooth-drinking, late-winter wonder. We’ve crafted this English-styled stout using roasted malts and a healthy dose of lactose sugar to produce a creamy-rich beer with hints of roasted chocolate.”

You can find their brews all across the state.

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Nebraska Brewery # 2 – Nebraska Brewing

I first encountered Nebraska Brewing at the GABF a couple years back. I saw a few people in their logo’d shirts and I thought to myself that their brewery must be an oasis to thirsty Nebraskans.

Fast forward to today and you can get some Nebraska Brewing offerings in Portland and even here in LA. I’ve already alerted you to the new Toasted Barn beer. So let’s take a look at two other offerings…..

Hop God
“A beautiful golden crossbreed of a Belgian Tripel and a West Coast IPA. A remarkable explosion on the palate with spiciness, tropical fruit, and a firm citrus bitterness that will leave you begging for more!”

Itty Bitty Betty
“Producing Black Betty results in some significantly sweet spent grains, so we decided that instead of giving it all to the pigs, we’d extract some of that goodness and make a smaller beer out of it. By using different yeast and hops, we created a nice sweet stout that really stands apart from Black Betty.”

Available: Now

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Nebraska Brewery # 1 – Lucky Bucket

Here is the back story on this Nebraska brewery….“After years of working a local brewpub and experimenting in the garage, three guys decided to take their know-how and passion for great beer and bottle it.

Lucky Bucket Brewing Company is Nebraska’s newest craft brewery, growing almost as fast as we can brew it. Our first release, Pre-Prohibition style Lager, is getting some welcomed praise for representing the true character of beer, reminiscent of a time when beer actually had flavor. Keep an eye out for our latest releases including a very floral and flavorful American IPA and our first barrel-aged release, Certified Evil”

Check out their beer page HERE to watch some videos that talk more about their concoctions. Quite the coup to already have a beer with Oakshire and 50/50.