Nebraska Brewing Company - India Pale Ale

Nebraska’s IPA presents a rich medium amber color in the glass, topped by a robust head which drops sticky lace as it recedes. Built as a “West Coast” style IPA, there are plenty of complex hop aromas suggesting grapefruit zest, pine, herbal spice, and a touch of earth. Take a sip and – pow! There’s a lot of hops going on here! Look for big, zesty citrus notes to join with an equally big herbal, spicy, piney kick. When a beer offers so much in the way of hop fireworks, it can be easy to overlook the malt contribution, but a proper malt backbone is critical to a successful IPA. Here, the malts offer some toasty structure and a touch of caramel sweetness as a counterpoint to the very firm 72 IBU of hop bitterness and the dominant hop flavors. Spicy foods are a natural complementary pairing; try curried dishes or spicy BBQ. Or, for a contrasting pairing, try BBQ dishes with sweet sauces and enjoy the interplay between the meat and the zesty beer. Cheers!

Paul Kavulak began homebrewing around 1992, and it became a serious hobby which would ultimately lead to the founding of Nebraska Brewing Company many years later. The pivotal moment occurred in 2005 when Paul, frustrated and disappointed in the outcome of one of his recipes, threw a large bag of Cascade hops into the fermenter and walked away. When he calmly came to clean up his mess a couple weeks later, he discovered the beer had transformed into exactly what he had been trying to achieve. The idea of starting a brewpub with this “Cardinal Pale Ale” as its flagship began to take root.

After realizing that he would never achieve the dream of opening the brewpub if he couldn’t make enough time for it, Paul convinced his supportive wife, Kim, to go all-in. He quit his job, and the pair focused completely on bringing Nebraska Brewing Company to life. A used brewing system was located and purchased from Sasebo, Japan, and in November of 2007 the brewpub opened its doors. Unfortunately, this was right as the U.S. housing bubble burst, but they would weather the recession that soon followed through a combination of careful business decisions and great beer, eventually signing on Tyson Arp, who currently serves as Nebraska’s Overlord of Brewing. A bold decision was made to invest heavily in their fledgling barrel-aged beers – a decision which has proved very smart indeed, as members of our Rare Beer Club who recently enjoyed Nebraska’s Chardonnay barrel aged Belgian-style strong ale, Mélange à Trois, can attest.

In 2014, a second brewing location was opened not far from the first, allowing the expansion of both their canned beer business as well as their barrel-aged program. Their original brewpub location continues to thrive, and is a great spot to grab some tasty pub fare along with an excellent brew to wash it down. For more info on this truly superb brewery, give them a call at 402-934-7100 or visit nebraskabrewingco.com.