Empyrean Brewing Company- Lincoln, NE

To begin my journey into the world of local brewing, I decided to go straight to the original source. Empyrean Brewing Company was founded in 1990, which makes it Nebraska’s oldest brewpub. On the first non-holiday Monday of each month, Empyrean opens its doors to the thirsty citizens of Lincoln for a unique and entertaining tour.

Since this was my first official brewery tour, I was not quite sure what to expect. I pulled up shortly before 7 and there was a line of people down the block. Only 150 people are allowed inside, but thankfully we were among the lucky few. Once the line started moving, we were issued a drink ticket with our group name and made our way inside.

The tour is broken down into two parts: the standing around part, and the actual tour part. Turns out the standing around part is just as much fun as the actual tour. Every person gets to enjoy two free Empyrean beers while waiting for their tour group to be called. In the waiting area, they have Beer Pong, Ping-Pong, and a game called Polish Horseshoes (or Frisbeener), which involves Frisbees and beer bottles perched on posts. Truth be told, I did get hit by a rogue Frisbee, but that was the only low point of the evening.

Since it’s October, this month’s Empyrean tour featured a variety of Oktoberfest beers. We were given samples of Hofbräu Oktoberfest, Spaten Oktoberfest, and Sam Adams Octoberfest. In addition to delicious beer samples, Empyrean’s operations manager Jim Engelbart served up some fun beer knowledge about the origins of Oktoberfest and why brown glass bottles are better for beer than green or clear bottles. The second leg of the tour featured Empyrean’s Aries Märzen Oktoberfest and Third Stone Brown, as well as a Q&A session with head brewer Rich Chapin. He gave us some insight into the company, a few tips on how to start home brewing, and his opinions on sour beers and the future of craft brewing.

This tour was an absolute blast. Every month’s tour has a different theme and features different specialty beers, so even if you’ve been on the tour before, it is well worth your time to check it out again. Next month’s tour is on November 3^rd and will feature “feasting beers” which are meant to compliment the upcoming holiday mega-meals. Make sure you check out their website and Facebook to stay up to date with special events and promotions, and check back here later this week for a review of some Empyrean Brewing Company beers.