NEBRASKA CRAFT BEER: A HISTORY AND GUIDE TO BEER MADE HERE

NEBRA BOLO BREWING CO. Valentine

FLYOVER BREWING CO. Scottsbluff

PALS BREWING CO. North Platte

KINKAIDER BREWING CO. Broken Bow

80

LOST WAY BREWERY Holdrege

HANGING HORSESHOE BREWERY Imperial

LOOP BREWING CO. McCook

ASKA BRUSH CREEK BREWING CO.

JOHNNIE BYRD BREWING CO.

Atkinson

Wayne

DIVOTS BREWERY Norfolk

BOOTLEG BREWERS Taylor

SCRATCHTOWN BREWING CO.

HWY 14 BREWING CO. Albion

Ord

THUNDERHEAD BREWING CO.

GOTTBERG BREW PUB

KINKAIDER BREWING CO. PRAIRIE PRIDE BREWING CO.

Columbus

BOTTLE ROCKET BREWING CO.

Grand Island

Seward

Kearney

THUNDERHEAD BREWING CO. Axtell

STEEPLE BREWING CO. FIRST STREET BREWING CO. Hastings

FAIRFIELD OPERA HOUSE BREWERY & GRILL Fairfield

LAZY HORSE BREWING

SCHILLINGBRIDGE BREWING CO.

Ohiowa

Pawnee City

STONE HOLLOW BREWING CO. Beatrice

EASTERN NEBRASKA Seward

Bottle Rocket Brewing Co.

102

Norfolk

Divots Brewery

102

Gottberg Brew Pub

103

Albion

HWY 14 Brewing Co.

103

Wayne

Johnnie Byrd Brewing Co.

104

Lazy Horse Brewing

104

SchillingBridge Brewing Co.

105

Stone Hollow Brewing Co.

106

Bootleg Brewers

106

Brush Creek Brewing Co.

106

Fairfield

Fairfield Opera House Brewery & Grill

107

Hastings

First Street Brewing Company

107

Broken Bow

Kinkaider Brewing Co.

108

Grand Island

Kinkaider Brewing Co.

108

Lost Way Brewery

109

Grand Island

Prairie Pride Brewing Co.

109

Ord

Scratchtown Brewing Co.

110

Steeple Brewing Co.

110

Axtell

Thunderhead Brewing Co.

111

Kearney

Thunderhead Brewing Co.

111

Bolo Brewing Co.

115

Flyover Brewing Co.

115

Imperial

Hanging Horseshoe Brewery

116

McCook

Loop Brewing Co.

116

Pals Brewing Co.

117

Columbus

Ohiowa Pawnee City Beatrice CENTRAL NEBRASKA Taylor Atkinson

Holdrege

Hastings

WESTERN NEBRASKA Valentine Scottsbluff

North Platte

LINCOLN, OMAHA & SARPY COUNTY BREWERIES ON INSIDE BACK COVER

R E E B T F A R C A K S A NEBR

ADE EER M

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B E TO

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UID ND G

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BLAKE URSCH

EDITOR Kristine Gerber DESIGNER Christine Zueck-Watkins ILLUSTRATOR Matt Haney COPY EDITOR Thad Livingston PHOTOGRAPHY Chris Machian Brendan Sullivan RESEARCH ASSISTANCE Gabby Ayala Bill Baburek Brewers Association Phil Cahoy Heath Henery History Nebraska PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Bryan Kroenke MARKETING AND FULFILLMENT Michelle Gullett Rich Warren IMAGE CREDITS Listed on page 118 A PRODUCT OF THE OMAHA WORLD-HERALD Todd Sears Publisher Melissa Matczak Executive Editor Copyright 2019 Omaha World-Herald.

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior consent of the publisher, the Omaha World-Herald.

Omaha World-Herald 1314 Douglas St. Omaha, NE 68102-1811 omaha.com | owhstore.com First Edition ISBN: 978-1-7322317-2-6 Printed by Aradius Group

Introduction

4

Early Breweries

6

Prohibition

50

After Prohibiton

62

Craft Breweries & Tap Rooms Today

76

Image Credits & Acknowledgements 118 Create Your Own Taster’s Notes 120

Metz Brewing Co. 1861-1917 Fred Krug wasn’t the only one trying to establish a brewing empire in Nebraska in the mid-19th century. Plenty of others tried, but few withstood the test of time.

A listing of early Omaha breweries reveals unfamiliar names — P.B. Ballon, Cronemeyer & Windspear, The Brewer & Bemis Brewing Co. and more — that all appear to have fizzled out after just a few years in business.

Others changed hands, passed from owner to owner over the years, enduring and evolving into brands that we would recognize today.

Enter Metz.

Born in Germany in 1832, Fred Metz Sr. was, like Krug, a German immigrant. Born in Hesse-Cassel, Germany, his father trained him to be a forester. But Metz had more far-off ambitions.

FRED METZ SR., STATESMAN

Early Breweries Metz Brewing Co.

In 1871, Fred Metz Sr. was elected as a Republican to the Nebraska Senate.

16

That year, he participated in the impeachment trial of Gov. David Butler, who was accused of using $16,000 of state money for personal purchases. Butler was later removed from office, and remains the only Nebraska governor ever impeached.

Metz was again elected to the state Senate in 1884, this time as a Democrat.

When he came of age, he moved to America, first settling in New Orleans. Later, he would tell friends that “his only assets upon reaching the shores of the great American gulf were millions of vermin … and one counterfeit dollar,” according to “History of Nebraska,” published in 1907 by J. Sterling Morton.

In 1856, he returned to Germany and brought his brother Phillip with him back to America. The brothers stayed for a time with relatives in St. Louis, before Fred moved to Bellevue to invest in a dry goods store. Phillip stayed in St. Louis to train as a brewer.

In 1863, Fred, “thrilled by the prospect of riches in the faraway Colorado mountains, moved from Bellevue to Denver, crossing the Plains with his family and a business partner in tow. In later years, Fred would tell stories of the journey, including one which involved the party meeting a group of Native Americans, to whom the German gifted a large amount of tobacco.

Phillip, meanwhile, had moved to Omaha where, in 1861, he established a small brewery with a man named Joseph Baumann at Sixth and Leavenworth Streets. In 1864, Fred sold his interest in the dry good business and bought out Baumann’s share of the brewery, establishing Metz & Bro. brewery with Phillip.

The two senior Metzes would operate the brewery together until 1875. That year, while on a hunting trip, Phillip Metz was shot and killed when the wagon he was riding in hit a bump, causing his gun to discharge. His loss dealt a blow to the brewery — Phillip was the brewmaster.

Fred Sr. ran the business himself until the early 1880s, when his sons — Charles and Fred Jr. — began investing in the brewery.

By 1888, Metz Bros. Brewing Co. was operated by four of Fred Sr.’s sons, Charles, Fred Jr., Arthur and Louis. Fred Sr. served in an honorary role as president. By then, the brand had become an Omaha staple, and newspaper stories boasted of the latest technology in place at the brewery, like the city’s first artificial refrigeration machine.

But more than a decade later, operations were getting cramped at the old brewery at Sixth and Leavenworth. In 1899, the brothers began building a new facility immediately south of the old one, across Leavenworth Street.

“The manufacturing industries of Omaha are to be increased by the addition of one of the largest and most improved breweries in this section, fully equipped with the latest and best machinery for the production of the amber fluid hallowed by the devotees of Gambrinus,” The World-Herald reported at the time.

Early Breweries Metz Brewing Co.

J. Cerveny Bar on the southwest side of 20th and O Streets, proudly served Metz Beer when this photo was taken between 1910 and 1915.

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Z R O T S MEM

BIL A R O

Below: Storz brewery giveaway booklet featuring their brands, noted: “Storz Tonic was given highest award and gold medal by the jury of awards at Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition, Portland, Oregon, 1905. This endorsement was based on its superior brilliancy, flavor, and palatable and nutritious qualities.�

Early Breweries Storz Brewing Co.

Right: Storz bottle opener with bottles.

30

IA

31

Early Breweries Storz Brewing Co.

Names and dates taken from “American Breweries� by Donald Bull, Manfred Friedrich and Robert Gottschalk.

Early Nebraska Breweries

Early Nebraska Breweries

While the Omaha breweries tended to dominate the pre-Prohibition Nebraska beer scene, other towns in the state maintained breweries in the years before the state went dry.

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Alliance

Bloomington

C. J. Abbott Brewery: 1933

Ernst Arnold Brewery: 1882-1901

Atkinson

Brownsville

Frank Krajicek Brewery: 1889- 1890 Mary Krajicek Brewery: 1890-1894 Frank Wosterschill Brewery: 1894-1901

C. Schreiner Brewery: 1882-1891

Beatrice Coffin & Sonderegger Brewery: 1879-1879 Wiswell & Sonderegger Brewery: 1879-1880 Wiswell & Hochstrasser Brewery: 1880-1882 Getzloff & Nass Brewery: 1882-1884 Carl Mallon Brewery: 1884-1886

Buell August Boerner Brewery: 1874-1875

Colfax Martin Jetter Brewery: 1878-1884

Columbus

Early Nebraska Breweries

Columbus’ first brewery was founded by a man named Charles Brenner in 1866 and it was smack in the middle of the frontier.

According to “One Hundred Years of Brewing,” published in 1903, Brenner “was often obliged to barricade himself in his brewery and defend himself against the attacks of the Indians.” Brenner ran the brewery until 1875, when the next owner, J.H. Kersenbrock took over. Kersenbrock “as late as 1876 shot and killed deer from the doors of the plant.” The brewery became the Columbus Brewing Co. in 1905. During Prohibition, the brewery survived by selling artificial ice and soft drinks. After repeal, the brewery sold beer until 1954. It was notable for its All-American and Pawnee brands.

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A still near North Platte in 1933.

HIDING PLACES When Nebraska went dry in May 1917, it was following in the footsteps of Iowa, which had begun banning alcohol the previous year.

On May 24, 1917, just weeks after the Nebraska ban went into effect, the Dakota County Herald reprinted a story from the Sioux City Journal describing how bootleggers were responding to Prohibition in the Cornhusker State: “A short time ago, a number of metal horse collars were shipped into Dakota City (Nebraska). The collars are used only for heavy draft work and in the artillery branch of the army. The great numbers of this kind of harness where there was no apparent need aroused the suspicions of the authorities.

Prohibition

An investigation was made and it was found that each collar contained several gallons of whisky. Every horse in Dakota County is now eyed with suspicion.”

58

The newspaper went on to describe other ways Nebraskans were hiding their liquor: “During a raid made by Sheriff Cain a ‘plant’ was found beneath a sitting hen. The biddie was placed there shortly before the raid but could not content herself when the officers appeared at the door. She cackled so furiously that they lifted her from the nest and found the whisky buried in a deep hole filled with straw.”

During Prohibition, a young woman named Louise Vincinquerra reigned as Nebraska’s bootlegging queen.

Described as a dark-eyed Sicilian beauty, Vincinquerra lived a roughand-tumble gangster life in the heyday of illegal liquor. She was known throughout the state for her exploits, and she had a knack for wiggling her way out of trouble with the law. She was so confident, in fact, she once bragged to newspapers that she made $45,000 bootlegging liquor, according to The World-Herald archives.

“I have easily spent two-thirds of it,” she said. “Easy come, easy go.”

In 1926, Vincinquerra asked her first Louise Vincinquerra, Oct. 9, 1935. husband, Sebastiano Vincinquerra, for a divorce. Enraged, he aimed his revolver at her while she slept and emptied it, shooting her pillow to the left and right of her head, according to “Nebraska History.” Vincinquerra then grabbed a gun of her own and began firing it at Sebastiano, chasing him out of the house until he escaped in a waiting car.

Vincinquerra would eventually marry and divorce an ex-Prohibition agent, Earl Haning.

In 1933, after Haning was shot and killed in the basement of Vincinquerra’s home, her first husband, Sebastiano, was tried and convicted of second-degree murder. His conviction was later overturned.

After several run-ins with the law, Vincinquerra eventually moved to Hastings, but found the town didn’t take kindly to her notoriety, and she returned to Omaha.

She moved to Bisbee, Arizona, in the early 1940s. In 1948, she was shot and killed on a desert highway. She was 49 years old. Her son, Carl Vinciquerra, became a national Golden Gloves champion boxer.

THE END OF PROHIBITION MARCHAPRIL 1933 President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Cullen-Harrison Act, an amendment to the Volstead Act (Prohibition law) allowing for the sale 3.2 percent alcohol beer and light wines. 19 states, including Iowa and Missouri, soon adopt laws allowing for low-alcohol beverages.

AUGUST 1933 Beer becomes legal in Nebraska. Omahans gather outside Storz to celebrate.

DECEMBER 1933 The 21st Amendment is ratified, repealing federal Prohibition. Liquor is still illegal in states with their own dry laws, including Nebraska.

NOVEMBER 1934 Nebraska repeals its state Prohibition law. Liquor is now legal.

Prohibition

NEBRASKA’S BOOTLEGGING QUEEN

59

Krug & Falstaff With the legalization of beer, the Fred Krug Brewery Co. of Omaha planned to reopen, though “the Krug brewery would need extensive repairs before it could be put into service,” The Omaha World-Herald reported. “Outside it looks desolate, for most of the windows are out, but most of the machinery is still inside.”

In February 1935, Krug leased its brewery to St. Louis-based Falstaff Brewing Co. Falstaff later purchased the plant and became the first brewer to operate in two different states. Falstaff chemists reported Omaha water ranked with St. Louis and Milwaukee in desirability. In May 1936 the Falstaff plant officially opened at 25th and Deer Park Boulevard with Omaha-brewed beer on tap.

After Prohibition Krug & Falstaff

In April 1944 The World-Herald reported the Omaha plant was the only brewery in the Midwest to send beer to American troops around the world. An average of 35,000 cases of beer were packed in boxcars each month.

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Betty Moss inspects each bottle and places it on a small conveyor leading to the filling and capping machine at Falstaff Brewing Co. on Sept. 2, 1945.

During the 1960s, Falstaff was the No. 3 brewer in America, pumping out 4.9 million barrels a year. The beer lived up to its slogan, “The Choicest Product of the Brewers Art,” which appeared on cans. Falstaff was the top-selling beer in Omaha in the late 1970s, with more than 1 million cases per year distributed in the area. The beer’s popularity, fans say, was tied to the smooth, bitter taste that resembled oldtime German lagers.

Employees and families lining up for a Falstaff company parade In 1975 Paul Kalmanovitz, outside the Omaha plant in 1950. Workers often socialized at company an eccentric and secretive picnics, parties and sporting events. millionaire who didn’t believe in advertising his products and who opened and closed breweries on whims, bought Falstaff for between $10 million and $20 million. Kalmanovitz also owned the Pearl Brewing Co. in San Antonio, Texas; General Brewing in Vancouver, Washington; and S&P Co. in Tiburon, California. His S&P company bought the Pabst Brewing Co. in 1985 for $63 million.

In 1990, Pabst licensed the Falstaff brand name and continued to produce Falstaff beer through other breweries. In May 2005, Pabst Brewing Co. ended production of Falstaff, according to a World-Herald story. Before the end, Omaha’s Falstaff devotees, many who grew up working at the plant, held farewell parties and stocked up on six-packs and cases.

Sales in Omaha, one of Falstaff’s four largest markets at the time, were just .07 percent of Omaha’s total beer market. Producing Falstaff had become A closed Falstaff brewery, 3302 S. 25th St. in Omaha on April 8, 1987. unprofitable.

After Prohibition Krug & Falstaff

In October 1984, lagging sales forced the Omaha factory to shut down leaving 35 people unemployed. Kalmanovitz, promised to reopen at a later date. It never happened. Despite efforts to save it, the plant permanently closed in June 1985. The Omaha Falstaff brewing operation was dismantled in 1992 and most of its brewing equipment was shipped to a brewery in China.

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Granite City Food & Brewery Joshua Powell, Brewer 1001 N. 102nd St. Omaha, NE 68114 402-393-5000 www.gcfb.com/location/omaha-nebraska Hours: Monday-Thursday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Friday-Saturday 11 a.m. to Midnight Sunday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Notes: ___________________________________ ___________________________________

Craft Breweries & Tap Rooms Today Omaha

Tasting Outdoor Serves Room Seating Food

82

Retail Items

Beer To Go

Brewery Tours

Infusion Brewing Co. Nick Hoyt, Dave Link and Max Stewart, Brewers 6115 Maple St. Omaha, NE 68104 402-916-9998 www.infusionbrewing.com Hours: Monday-Thursday 3 to 11 p.m.

Friday 3 p.m. to 2 a.m.

Saturday Noon to 2 a.m.

Sunday Noon to 11 p.m.

Notes: ___________________________________ ___________________________________

Tasting Outdoor Snacks Room Seating

Retail Items

Beer To Go

Brewery Tours

Infusion Brewing Co. Nick Hoyt, Dave Link and Max Stewart, Brewers 6271 S. 118th St. Omaha, NE 68137 402-934-2064 www.infusionbrewing.com Hours: Monday-Tuesday 4 to 10 p.m.

Wednesday-Thursday 3 to 10 p.m.

Friday 3 p.m. to Midnight Saturday Noon to Midnight Sunday 1 to 8 p.m.

Notes: ___________________________________

Retail Items

Beer To Go

Brewery Tours

Jaipur Brewing Co. Gyanendra Bhandari, Owner/Brewer 10922 Elm St. Omaha, NE 68144 402-392-7331 www.jaipurindianfood.com Hours: Tuesday-Thursday Lunch 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Sunday-Wednesday Dinner 5 to 9:30 p.m.

Thursday-Saturday Dinner 4:30 to 10:30 p.m.

Notes: ___________________________________ ___________________________________

Tasting Outdoor Serves Room Seating Food

Retail Items

Beer To Go

Brewery Tours

Craft Breweries & Tap Rooms Today Omaha

Tasting Outdoor Snacks Room Seating

83

Create Your Own Taster’s Notes 120

BEER:

BEER:

BREWERY:

BREWERY:

STYLE: ABV:

STYLE: ABV:

DATE VISITED:

DATE VISITED:

/

/

/

/

APPEARANCE

TASTE

APPEARANCE

TASTE

AROMA

FINISH

AROMA

FINISH

OVERALL

OVERALL

BEER:

BEER:

BREWERY:

BREWERY:

STYLE: ABV:

STYLE: ABV:

DATE VISITED:

DATE VISITED:

/

/

/

/

APPEARANCE

TASTE

APPEARANCE

TASTE

AROMA

FINISH

AROMA

FINISH

OVERALL

OVERALL

BEER:

BEER:

BREWERY:

BREWERY:

STYLE: ABV:

STYLE: ABV:

DATE VISITED:

DATE VISITED:

/

/

/

/

APPEARANCE

TASTE

APPEARANCE

TASTE

AROMA

FINISH

AROMA

FINISH

OVERALL

OVERALL

OMAHA METRO Midtown Benson Downtown Midtown Westroads Benson Southwest Rockbrook Elkhorn Midtown West Downtown Midtown Downtown

5168 Brewing Benson Brewery Brickway Brewery & Distillery Farnam House Brewing Granite City Food & Brewery Infusion Brewing Co. Infusion Brewing Co. Jaipur Brewing Co. Jukes Ale Works Scriptown Brewing Co. Thunderhead Brewing Co. Upstream Brewing Co. Vis Major Brewing Zipline Taproom

80 80 81 81 82 82 83 83 84 84 85 85 86 86

Kros Strain Brewing Co. Lucky Bucket Brewing Co. Nebraska Brewing Co. Nebraska Brewing Co. Pint Nine Brewing Co. Soaring Wings Vineyard & Brewery

88 88 89 89 90 90

5168 Brewing/Local Beer Patio Backswing Brewing Co. Blue Blood Brewing Co. Boiler Brewing Co. Code Beer Co. Cosmic Eye Brewing Empyrean Brewing Granite City Food & Brewery Green Flash Brewhouse & Eatery Kinkaider Brewing Co. SchillingBridge Cork & Taproom White Elm Brewing Co. Zipline Brewery Taproom Zipline Beer Hall

91 91 92 92 93 93 94 94 95 95 96 96 97 97

SARPY COUNTY La Vista La Vista La Vista Papillion La Vista Springfield LINCOLN Southeast South Salt Creek Indian Village Downtown Telegraph District Meadowlane Downtown Meadowlane Downtown Downtown Fallbrook South Salt Creek West Lincoln South Lincoln

OMAHA & SARPY COUNTY

144th St.

168th St.

JUKES ALE WORKS

5168 BREWING BENSON BREWERY

W. Maple Rd

INFUSION BREWING CO. GRANITE CITY FOOD & BREWERY

W. Dodge Rd

FARNAM HOUSE BREWING

SCRIPTOWN BREWING CO.

UPSTREAM BREWING CO.

JAIPUR BREWING CO.

W. Center Rd

LUCKY BUCKET BREWING CO.

KROS STRAIN BREWING CO.

SOARING WINGS VINEYARD & BREWERY

72nd St.

PINT NINE BREWING CO. Capehart Rd.

BRICKWAY BREWERY & DISTILLERY 13th St.

NEBRASKA BREWING CO.

36th St.

INFUSION BREWING CO.

VIS MAJOR BREWING

84th St.

204th St.

THUNDERHEAD THUNDERHEAD BREWING BREWINGCO. CO. Kearney

Platteview Rd.

ZIPLINE TAPROOM

NEBRASKA BREWING CO.

LINCOLN SCHILLINGBRIDGE BREWING CO.

GREEN FLASH BREWHOUSE & EATERY ZIPLINE TAPROOM

Adams St.

CODE BEER CO.

EMPYREAN BREWING

70th St.

27th St.

KINKAIDER BREWING CO.

GRANITE CITY FOOD & BREWERY

Vine St. O St. 48th St.

BOILER BREWING CO.

Van Dorn St.

BACKSWING BREWING CO.

56th St.

WHITE ELM BREWING CO.

W. Van Dorn St.

COSMIC EYE BREWING

A St.

Pioneers Blvd.

14th St.

BLUE BLOOD BREWING CO.

5168 BREWING/ LOCAL BEER PATIO

Pine Lake Rd.

Old Cheney Rd.

ZIPLINE BEER HALL

R E E B T F A R C A K S A NEBR

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Omaha World-Herald writer Blake Ursch explores the history of Nebraska craft beer from the early breweries that satisfied the thirst of working immigrants to the craft brewery movement of today. Each craft brewery in the state is listed and an illustrated map makes it easy to visit and drink the great craft beer being made here.

$19.95 ISBN 978-1-7322317-2-6

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