The Great American Ale Trail - Christian DeBenedetti [105]
Nebraska
Papillion
NEBRASKA BREWING CO.
Shadow Lake Towne Center 7474 Towne Center Pkwy., Ste. 101 • Papillion, NE 68046 (402) 934-7100 • nebraskabrewingco.com • Established: 2007
SCENE & STORY
Should you find yourself driving from the Midwest to Colorado across the vast expanse that is the Cornhusker state, it’s just a short detour off of I-80 to the French-influenced prairie town outpost of Papillion (population: 24,000) outside of Omaha. Thanks to low unemployment, crime, and traffic it has been considered one of the best places to live in the United States by Money magazine. In 2007, life improved still more with the arrival of an adventurous brewery in a nondescript shopping center just down the sidewalk from T.J. Maxx and Bed, Bath & Beyond.
Inside, there’s a beauty of a 10 bbl brewhouse made in Japan behind glass and a spacious eight-tap pub with locals at the bar who look a lot like reformed lager-swilling college football junkies. But founder Paul Kavulak and his team of brewers have done more than just get the attention of the local drinking populace, they’ve found distributors willing to take a chance on their beer in markets as demanding as Oregon, and started winning awards in competitions, even pulling a bronze in the 2010 World Beer Cup in Chicago. Whoever said there’s no good beer in the heartland hasn’t been to Nebraska lately.
PHILOSOPHY
No risk, no reward. Nebraska Brewing undoubtedly raised some eyebrows in town when they started serving up beers aged in wood, like wines. But their timing was impeccable. Across the country the taste for barrel-aged beers was spreading like wildfire. The experiments continue, the fans and medals multiply, and the beers keep improving.
KEY BEER
Mélange à Trois Reserve Series, a 10% ABV strong Belgian pale ale aged in chardonnay barrels for six months, is full bodied in the mouth, mingling pear and tropical fruit with vanilla, spice, and a faint oaky woodiness.
Ohio
Cleveland
McNULTY’S BIER MARKET
1948 W. 25th St. • Cleveland, OH, 44113 (216) 274-1010 • bier-markt.com • Established: 2005
SCENE & STORY
Ohio’s first Belgian beer bar set up shop in the center of the entertainment district, and stays open every day of the year until 2 a.m. The dark, alluring interior design is a feast for the eyes, simultaneously classic and futuristic, with red-trimmed windows against warm, earthy walls and jet black tin ceilings, elaborate paneling in other sections, and elongated Edison bulbs hanging over the curved main bar.
PHILOSOPHY
Meet the new boss: with brewery nights from the likes of Ommegang and Victory, a deep and mouthwatering list of gastropub fare, and a ninety-nine-label Belgian list, it’s safe to say the Cleveland beer scene will never be the same again.
KEY BEER
Look for the Caracole Nostradamus, a deliciously complex 9.5% ABV Belgian brown ale.
GREAT LAKES BREWING CO.
2516 Market Ave. • Cleveland, OH 44113 • (216) 771-4404 greatlakesbrewing.com • Established: 1998
SCENE & STORY
The first microbrewery in the state of Ohio since the last of the old-line companies closed in the early 1980s, Great Lakes opened in 1998 in a massive Victorian complex. With its antique 1860s tiger mahogany bar, beer garden with retractable canvas roof, and atmospheric rathskeller belowground, it’s a superb spot for an afternoon pint and a bite.
PHILOSOPHY
Proud and feisty. Raise a glass of Eliot Ness Amber Lager to the Untouchable himself, who drank here and might—just might—be responsible for a some bullet holes in the bar.
KEY BEER
Burning River Pale Ale is a great name; unfortunately it’s also a reference to the worst days of the Cuyahoga River, once so befouled by coal plants on its banks that it periodically caught fire. But