Great Nebraska Beer Fest Explained

Here is the post on Nebraska Brewing Company's Website. Man, I wish I could make this event. Still possible but slim.

The Great Nebraska Beer Fest is a celebration of American Craft Beer. We’ll highlight the breweries of Nebraska and have invited other breweries that can distribute in our great State to join us.

At this time, we have nearly every brewery in Nebraska committed and have nearly the same amount of distributing breweries participating as well. This gets us to roughly 25 breweries in aggregate. Most will have actual brewers / owners in attendance and those that couldn’t participate directly this year have sent their products for us to sample.

While we had hoped for attendance from some out of State breweries who don't normally make it into the area – for this year – we’ll be inviting only those breweries that possess a valid shipper’s license in the State of Nebraska. We’ll work diligently to get the others legally into our State next year. After all, we’ve got a tremendously diverse world in Craft Beer – we’d love to show you more!

Your ticket will gain you admission into a Craft Beer tasting. As Beer Fests go, there is a tremendous range in terms of how they operate but ours will most definitely be defined as a tasting. What this means is that your ticket will get you a 4 oz. tasting glass that we’ll fill to a 2 oz. level – as many times as you’d like (I guess until the beer runs out). For those of you thinking merely of the amount – think 2 things – First, keep in mind that we’ll have roughly 80 beers on hand and some of these are big beers – which means that if you want to make the rounds, it’s best to keep you in shape to get there. Second, think Richie Cunningham. Even with the teenie weenie glasses - these aren't your basic beers. Safety is better served in this range.

With your paid admission, (and a valid ID that proves you to be over 21) you’ll be banded and find yourself free to roam among the brewery tents to talk to the brewers and ask questions about their brands or their story – something you won’t find everyday – at least not around here. Others will be able to interface with the brewers but only people properly banded will be able to sample our products.

Additionally, you’ll be provided with a Great Nebraska Beer Fest program which shows the locations of the various breweries, the beers that they’ll be sampling, and both a basic explanation of their beers and some technical information about them. The premise for this Beer Fest is education and brand awareness. Craft Brewers truly wish to, and need to, connect with our public to provide them with an understanding of the beers that don’t necessarily look like the larger American factory beers. This is our stage and our Art is on display.

The Brewers are free to promote themselves, freely interface with their public, and sell merchandise such as T-shirts, glassware, or whatever it is that they feel is important to them. We don’t often find a venue where education is the goal – many times it’s simply to sell beer or raise money.

We’ve encountered a truly wonderful grass-roots sponsor community and have found assistance and support from our vendors, direct suppliers, and businesses that support our industry – and some that simply want to help the little guy.

We're grateful to count as our supporters Food & Spirits Magazine, US Foods Omaha, Premier Midwest Beverage Company, Linweld, and Johnson Brothers Liquor Company.

Oh, and a truly amazing aspect is that we’re Co-Presenting within Shadow Lake Towne Center with the Sarpy Arts Council’s Arts Alive! program.

Arts Alive! will have numerous artists spread out within our little landscape and many will be practicing their crafts as you walk the area.

Arts Alive! has recruited a large number of performers in addition to their artists to transform the landscape into a wonderful cacophony of music, performance art, paintings, metal art, pottery, and glass.

Our craft, blended with theirs, will create one of the most unique functions the area has to offer. Sure, some may look similar – but if you’ve attended others, we think you’ll find this one unique.

As if that weren't enough - we've got 2 awesome bands that might distract you from your Craft Beer mission - Matt Cox and Grand Theft Girlfriend! They'll be performing throughout our event with a 1 hour break between 3 and 4 PM.

Join us for what we hope to be the first of many. At the very least, you’ll be able to brag that you were among the first…

So ya got that goin’ for ya – which is nice. Gunga galunga. No – gunga, gunga lagunga