GNBF Day has arrived!

After countless hours of planning and preparation, the day of the 6^th annual Great Nebraska Beer Fest has arrived! For those who may have waited, some GA tickets are still available at the Werner Park box office for $50 each. Once again this year, there is a mobile version of the event program available at the following web address (mobile.greatnebraskabeerfest.com) where you can peruse all the sampling options from all the participating breweries. With this year’s event occurring at a new location, be sure to check out the festival map ahead of time to find all your favorite breweries.

Here’s the schedule for today’s events:

12pm to 7pm  Take a bus from the Nebraska Brewing Company Brewpub AND the Taproom to the fest, ride provided for FREE by JoneZ Party Bus
1pm to 2pm  VIP,  Brewers & Volunteers Special Session
2pm  - General Admission Opening Music by the Omaha Pipes and Drums
2 pm   Beerfest Open to General Public
             Food Concessions Open
2-4pm  Dirty River Ramblers  at Gate #2
2:30 pm   Seminar Tent -  Fred Bueltmann of New Holland Brewing - Holland, MI
3:30 pm   Seminar Tent -  Going Pro! Making the leap from Homebrewer to Professional Brewer!
4:30 pm   Seminar Tent -  Beyond Bitterness. What brewers and growers are looking for in hops.
4 to 6pm Grand Theft Girlfriend  at Gate #2
6 PM   Final Pour, Beer Fest Ends
6 PM to 12am   Offical 'After Party' at the Nebraska Brewing Company Brewpub ~ Shadowlake Towne Center, 72nd St & Highway 370.
7 PM   Final JoneZ Party Bus to the Nebraska Brewing Company Brewpub & the Official After Party

Today’s forecast calls for a very hot August afternoon with temperatures heading up into the low to mid 90s. Remember to hydrate often while enjoying the fun over the afternoon. Once again, the Nebraska Beer Blog will be located at Table #1 and if you have time, stop by a minute and say “Hi”. Be safe and enjoy the festival this afternoon!

Great Nebraska Beer Fest is almost here!

Have you or a friend been thinking about going to this year’s GNBF but figured you could put off buying tickets just a few more days? Maybe you were waiting to see what others were doing? Or if there was something else better going on this weekend? (Trust us, there isn’t.) Time for procrastinators to unite because as you only have until Midnight on Friday to buy advance GA tickets for the discounted price of $40 each. Buy tickets online here **Online convenience fees may apply. Starting Saturday morning, any remaining tickets will be available at the Werner Park box office for the full regular price of $50 each. For those planning ahead, there is a DD ticket option available for just $10 each. Great Nebraska Beer Fest once again enjoys the status of being the largest craft beer festival in the Cornhusker State annually, as well as one of the top beer festivals in the greater Midwest region. A GA event ticket allows you to enjoy four hours of “unlimited” samples (2 ozs at a time) from around 80 breweries and almost 400 different beers; a well-rounded attack upon even some of the most demanding craft beer thirsts. Each year, several of the beer offerings at GNBF are completely unique and likely cannot be found anywhere else, perhaps ever.

Maybe you’ve been to past GNBF festivals and you were wondering if there were any new breweries at this year’s event. One of the fun things is that every year is the fact that there are several breweries that are invited and appear at this event that are either a) Not available to purchase in our state because they are not currently licensed to distribute in Nebraska or b) Are new to the craft beer scene and have very limited distribution and are not yet available for purchase in Nebraska because they are so young. This year, there are nearly 30 breweries at GNBF that, at this time, cannot be found elsewhere for sale in our state.

Here’s just a small sampling of the breweries that will be found at the 6^th annual event (**New GNBF breweries for 2014 are listed in bold type):

Arizona Wilderness [AZ], Cigar City [FL], Cinder Block [MO], Crooked Stave [CO], Deschutes [OR], Farnam House [NE], Founder’s [MI], Funkwerks [CO], Heretic [CA], Kinkaider [NE], Lagunitas [CA], Lucky Bucket [NE], New Holland [MI], Schalfly [MO], Scratchtown [NE], Stone [CA], Surly [MN], Tallgrass [KS]

Another great feature again this year is that there will be TEN regional homebrewing clubs showing off their best brews at the festival. Their unique beer creations are not available for sale anywhere and can only found at festivals and other public events.

Returning homebrew clubs (7) this year are:

BrauerUntersttzungs Verein (BUV) (Omaha), Chaser Brothers Brewing (LaVista), Homebrewers Local 402 (Omaha), Iowa Brewers Union (IBUs) (Des Moines, IA), Lincoln Lagers (Lincoln), Railroaders Brew Club (Omaha), South Omaha Brewers(SOBs) (Omaha)

New homebrew clubs (3) to this year’s event are:

Kansas City Beer Meisters, (Kansas City, MO), Lawrence Brewers Guild (LBG) (Lawrence, KS), nine-to-five brewing co. (Omaha)

With lots of beer samples to imbibe on, you might find yourself needing a break or two during the afternoon. In that case, live music from Dirty River Ramblers and Grand Theft Girlfriend will be playing throughout the afternoon for your enjoyment along with several free informative beer-centered talks going on in the seminar tent. GNBF seeks to include to almost everyone in the greater beer community, no matter what your level of craft beer expertise is. Everything listed above is all included for the relatively small price of the paid admission to this year’s event.

The Nebraska Beer Blog will once again have a booth at the festival tomorrow so if you’re in the area and can attend, please come by and say "Hi" to some of our writers. We are located at Table #1 (nearest to the seminar tent) and always enjoy talking to you, our avid readers who enjoy “Your Source For Nebraska Beer News.”

GNBF Interview with Paul & Kim Kavulak

We recently sat down with Paul & Kim Kavulak, co-owners of Nebraska Brewing Co. and co-producers of the Great Nebraska Beer Fest (GNBF), to talk about this year’s event. We wanted to find out more about the planning, history, and some of the highlights people can expect at the 6^th annual event coming up on Saturday, August 23^rd.

>>> For those that are new to the scene, what is the “Great Nebraska Beer Fest” and how did it come to be?

Paul:  The festival is a spotlight on Nebraska-based and American craft beer. We seek to promote growth of the overall craft beer community as well as provide an educational experience about beer at this event. Our goal is to appeal to everyone from the craft beer novice to the most educated of beer cicerones and everyone in-between.

Kim:  The event started as a cooperative effort with the Sarpy County Arts Council in 2009. It was originally conceived as a fundraiser of sorts among the seven or eight Nebraska breweries that were part of the first ever event. In a way we were going into uncharted waters as there was limited to no support from some of the other members of the Nebraska State Brewers Guild. That has changed over time and this event is now the biggest single contributor to the Guild each year. In the past, a portion of the festival proceeds have gone to benefit the Histiocytosis Foundation. In 2014, a portion will go to benefit the Leukemia/Lymphoma Foundation.

>>> Can you give us a brief history of the GNBF festival and talk about its growth over its past six years?

Kim:  The first event was held in 2009 on Main Street in Shadow Lake Towne Center in Papillion. There were about 25 participating breweries and around 100 beers to sample from that year. The event has continued to grow every year since. The 2010 festival was also held on Main Street but in 2011, we realized we had outgrown the original festival site and moved to the Dick’s Sporting Goods parking lot, just north of the Nebraska Brewing Co. Brewpub where we remained until 2013. Over time, we have outgrown the confines of Shadow Lake and in 2014, GNBF will call Werner Park home for the festival’s sixth year of existence. We are thrilled to have nearly 80 breweries and almost 400 beers to choose from at this year’s festival.

Paul:  One way we give thanks each year to all the breweries and distributors who participate is by hosting an Industry Brewers Night the night before the festival. We invite 300-400 people to a private event to thank them for their participation in this festival. In 2014, we have a 98% brewer participation rate meaning actual brewery representatives will be at the festival to talk and share their beer. We have never before had such support by breweries eager to showcase their products.

>>> With the growing number of beer fests that occur annually throughout the nation, what makes GNBF stand out from the crowd?

Paul:  As owners of Nebraska Brewing Co., we have traveled far and wide to beer festivals nationwide and have developed lasting relationships with many breweries from around the country. Over time, we feel we have learned from other festivals as far as the do’s and don’ts and we strive to implement the best elements into this event.  An item that is unique to this festival is that we arrange to have around 30 outside breweries obtain a 30 day temporary state permit in order to be a part of this festival. These are breweries that do not currently distribute or have distribution rights in Nebraska and can only be found at this festival; award winning breweries such as Surly (MN), DESTIHL (IL), New Holland (MI), and one of the currently top rated breweries on BeerAdvocate: Arizona Wilderness.

Kim:  Another of our goals is to make this event a great stage for Nebraska as well to the outside market. We seek out those people who are wondering what kind of beers are available in Nebraska and to develop the beer scene as a whole in the Midwest.

>>> What has the move to Werner Park in 2014 meant to the festival?

Paul:  The Great Nebraska Beer Fest has had tremendous growth over its history. The move to Werner Park in 2014 highlights a really great partnership our team has developed with the Omaha Storm Chasers. The move to Werner Park has meant that we have more resources at our disposal to put on an better event as well as being able to grow this event with more regional and national awareness.

Kim:  I feel the move has showed that there is continued and sustaining growth with the craft beer community and industry. Originally, Nebraska Brewing Co. was approached by the Storm Chasers to develop a unique beer for them that would only be available at Werner Park during games. NBC responded by developing ‘Ale Storm’, a blonde session ale that ended up winning a gold medal in its very first international competition. We have had a great relationship with Werner Park and the Storm Chasers for almost three years now.

>>> What are your thoughts on the long term outlook for GNBF and what is next?

Paul:  Obviously, we would like to continue to grow the festival and continue to raise craft beer awareness in Nebraska and throughout the region. In 2013, the people who bought tickets traveled from some 23 different states to experience GNBF. We would love to see that trend continue. One thing we changed this year it that we actually shortened the festival by one hour. Last year, we found that many attendees had reached their limit and were leaving the festival with nearly an hour remaining. As craft beer advocates, we must be at the forefront for safety and awareness of responsible enjoyment.

Kim:  We want to continue to focus on the overall enjoyment of the festival experience. We realize that people are spending their hard-earned money on this event and we seek to make it rewarding and unique. We hope people will take the time to seek out the informative seminars and enjoy the festival atmosphere overall.

>>> Anything else you would like to add for those still thinking about coming to this year’s event but are unsure?

Paul:  This is a true American craft beer experience and is not a mundane “grocery store” experience where people have already tried everything being offered there. Our goal is to the be one of the best regional beer festivals that people seek out to attend each and every year.

Kim:  Omaha Pipes and Drums will once again kickoff our festival this year. Jone-Z Party Bus will be running continuous shuttles during the event between Werner Park, the NBC Tap Room (108^th & Harrison), and the NBC Brewpub (72^nd & Hwy 370, Shadow Lake) until 7pm on Saturday. Live bands will again be playing this year’s event includes the return of local favorite “Grand Theft Girlfriend” for the 6^th consecutive year. We even have a live festival mascot this year! Our barnyard animal this year is the goat and “Fuggles” the goat will be in attendance and will be making the rounds at this year’s event for pictures and enjoyment. Finally, we have once again partnered with the law firm of Hauptman, O’Brien, Wolf, and Lathrop as part of their “Safe Ride Home” program. We hope to see everyone who can make it out to the festival on Saturday.

Duffin Knudsen Hop Growers Harvest News

Local hop growers, Duffin Knudsen, have sent along some news about this years harvest. See the release below.

Duffin Knudsen (DK) Hop Growers near Fremont, Nebraska is witnessing an exceptional crop this year.  The farm has over 1,100 hop crowns and more than 4,500 bines producing Nebraska Quality Hops.  The farm’s trellis system is constructed of 22 foot natural cedar poles with thousands of feet of aircraft cable and natural fiber ropes for the hop bines to climb.  Major producing varieties include Magnum, CTZ, Cascade, Nugget, Chinook and many additional test plots.  

DK Hop Growers was created by partners Silas Clarke, Shad Clarke and Nick Petersen.  As most good ideas begin, the commercial hop yard was “beer talked” for a couple of years as they watched their personal homebrew hop yard produce a good product.  “We (brothers Shad and Silas) talked a close friend (Nick Petersen), who provided the farming incite we needed, into the venture of creating a commercial hop yard,” Silas stated.  This year ten Nebraska breweries have committed to purchasing DK’s Hops so far and their wet hops are being shipped as far as San Diego, CA.

Duffin Knudsen Hop Growers, along with all of the commercial members of the Nebraska Hop Growers Association (NHGA), have proved quality bitterness, flavor and aroma can come from the hops growing right here in Nebraska. Beers with DK Hops and many other Nebraska growers will be on tap and in cans/bottles soon.

Empyrean Releases New “Empyrean Universe Variety 12 Pack”

From Empyrean Brewing Co.:

When browsing liquor shops and grocery store aisles, craft beer enthusiasts all ask themselves the same question: “Which beer should I purchase?” With so many options available, it can be difficult to choose just one beer to bring home and enjoy.

To aid in overcoming this somewhat agreeable dilemma, Empyrean Bre wing Co. is offering a solution with the release of their Empyrean Universe variety 12 pack. Beginning today, craft beer geeks in select markets can purchase a mixed pack of twelve 12-ounce beers featuring both classic Empyrean styles as well as their limited, barrel aged and other small batch beers brewed under the Carpe Brewem label.

“We like to mix it up,” said Empyrean Brewing Co.’s Head Brewer, Rich Chapin. “This variety pack is a celebration of experimentation with beer styles, ingredients and brewing techniques. It’s perfect for the craft beer drinker who wants to bring home something special, but can’t decide on just one.”

Whether it’s a long-time favorite or a beer that hasn’t been tried before, the Empyrean Universe Variety 12 Pack offers what beer enthusiasts love: choice. Look for it in Nebraska markets as early as today, with additional states to follow.