Long before Prohibition or the rise of mega-brews, American beer was much more regional and most brewers were family-owned. Legend has it that it was better too. We’ll never know that for sure, but even though mainstream beer is ruled by your SABMillers and Anheiser InBevs, the microbrewing industry is around to provide lots of tasty alternatives.
Having lived in the Midwest for most of my life, I’ve grown familiar with many brewers based in this region. I don’t consider myself as thorough as Beer Advocate, but I know what I like, and I enjoy trying new things. What I especially like finding are new breweries in the Midwest. Coming across a quality brewery here does many things for this region. One, it provides competition to the microbrews out in Oregon and Northern California. Two it provides some homemade culture and industry in a region too often derided as flyover territory.
This is by no means a top 10 list (Those are way overdone by blogs and sites writ large). It’ s just a random list of good to great brewers I’ve found across Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri and other places. Feel free to check them out for yourself. If this is a bit Nebraska-heavy, I apologize. I’ve just spent the last 5 years living here and have managed to find a number of them. Comments to add to this are greatly, greatly appreciated.
Lucky Bucket Brewing Co.
Home base: LaVista, NE
Specialty: beer and vodka
Best brew: Lager
Lucky Bucket is only one on here that makes hard liquor too, called Joss Vodka. It’s beers are limited to just a lager, IPA and a belgian-style strong ale. The lager is very tasty; hoppy without being bitter, dark cinnamon in color, and with a light caramel finish. Brewmaster Zac Triemert went to Scotland to earn his Masters in Brewing and Distilling, so he brings a ton of brain power to the brewing process. They aim to capture pre-Prohibition recipes and flavors.
Tallgrass Brewing Co.
Home base: Manhattan, KS
Specialty: Lagers/ales
Best beer: Tallgrass Ale
Tallgrass proves there are good things in Kansas. The Tallgrass Ale is fantastic. It’s a red ale with this smooth texture, no aftertaste and some characteristics of a scotch ale. Founder Jeff Gill is a geologist-cum-brewer, and believes in canned beer – kind of an edgy attitude for the microbrewing crowd. He explains why in his Canifesto.
Schlafly Beer
Home base: St. Louis, MO
Specialty: Ales, Hefeweizen
Best beer: Pale Ale
Schlafly is brewed right my old stomping grounds. It’s a shame it isn’t quite as big as Boulevard, but it does make up for the swill being made across town by InBev Budweiser. Schlafly has broken out into two brewpub restaurants in the area, and is served in several bars also.
Schilling Bridge Brewing Co.
Home base: Pawnee City, NE
Specialty: Scotch ales, lagers
Best beer: 70 Schilling Scotch Ale
Schilling Bridge is also a winery. It’s beers are limited to a wheat, lager (Which I’ve already said was just so-so), scotch ale (Which is fantastic), stout, IPA and a seasonal. The scotch ale tends to show up in bars and disappear, so I don’t know if this is due to demand or if the brewery struggles to meet supply.
Empyrean Brewing Co.
Home base: Lincoln, NE
Specialty: Variety
Best beer: Third Stone nut brown/Burning Skye Scotch ale
Empyrean is aces for producing great tasting beer. It has a huge variety of them too, from a golden lager, to stout, nut brown ale, scotch ale and others. Empyrean is widely available in Nebraska, and is the primary beer served at Lazlo’s. It’s also available at the several Old Chicago restaurants around Omaha.
Nebraska Brewing Company
Home base: Papillion, NE
Specialty: Pale ales
Best beer: Hop God
NBC exists primarily as a brewpub restaurant inside a shopping complex. It’s beers were okay at first but have grown better with time. They are fond of wheats and pale ales there, so if you like your beer strong and hoppy, it’s the place to go. Hop God is an IPA/Belgian blend that is both sweet and bitter in the same cup. I didn’t like it on the first try, but after the second I was hooked. Their nut brown is very good too, and they serve growlers you can get refilled for cheap.
Update: NBC has won numerous awards this year at the US Open Beer Championship and Great American Beer Festival.
Home Base: Minneapolis, MN
Specialty: American India Pale Ale
Best beer: Furious
It’s so good to get a Twin Cities brewer on here. Surly cops the eclectic attitude of Uptown and puts it all over their cans and straight into their beer. Furious, their American India Pale Ale, is boldly served up in an aluminum container, with a amber-gold color flowing from inside. Furious has fruity undertones and finish with a hoppy haze hanging over the flavor. If you ever get a chance, saunter down to the Town Talk Diner and have a Surly with some fried pickles.
Home Base: Omaha, NE
Specialty: Variety
Best Beer: Dundee Scotch Ale or their changing Cask Conditioned Ale
Upstream is a very popular brewpub in Omaha’s Old Market district. It features a large menu of hearty meals. Their chili, black bean burger and NY strip are my personal recommendations. Their beers range from American lager, to Scotch ale, to IPA along with seasonals and experimental beers, but the most unique feature they have is their cask ales. Upstream routinely takes a batch of beer and cask conditions it at cellar temperature rather than cold storing it, so you get the experience of a slightly warmer beer. This brings out flavors not usually taken in when it’s drank cold. IPAs, Scotch Ales and Pale Ales for example “pop” a lot more when you drink them. Upstream is one of very few establishments in Omaha who have this feature.
Home Base: Columbus, NE
Specialty: Variety
Best Beer: English Brown Ale
I reviewed Gottberg’s Oktoberfest when I attended the Brew Haha. Gottberg are some upstarts from Columbus who are trying a lot of different styles. They are worth keeping an eye on, for considering their remoteness and their inclusion of German lagers, hefeweizens, Belgian porters and a peach ale on their menu, Gottberg could maybe be a surprise victor in beer contests one day.
**Updates: I added Upstream, Surly and Gottberg to this article, especially since I just submitted it to Reddit/r/Beer. I hope you Beerits like it. If anyone thinks a Midwestern brewer should be included, please, contact me or comment on the article. I’ll take outside reviews and give you proper credit, and I certainly welcome the chance to try new beer.
