One of Lincoln’s fastest up-and-coming breweries is Zipline Brewing Company. Ever since their official opening in 2012, the folks at
Zipline have been dedicated to producing innovative and high-quality craft
beers for the thirsty people of Nebraska. The Zipline brewery and Taproom sits
just off Highway 77 on West O. Due to their current brewery expansion, I was
unable to take an official tour of Zipline’s facilities, but I was able to spend
last Thursday night enjoying the taproom. Although somewhat hidden in a
warehouse building, the inside of the taproom is warm, inviting, and a great
place to unwind and have a nice brew.
Since public tours are on hiatus, I reached out to founder
and head brewer Marcus Powers to get some inside information on what’s been
happening at Zipline. Powers’ original career path was in environmental law,
but once he discovered his passion for brewing, things started falling into
place.
“I
started brewing in the middle of the winter and made terrible beer for the
first few batches. Then, a light came on. I started reading every brewing book
I could find with the same study ethic I used in law school. Eventually, I got
really good at brewing and people started to notice—including my now-partners
in Zipline.”
Once the current expansion is complete, Zipline will have
doubled their brewing capacity. This is big news for beer lovers because it
means Zipline will be turning out lots of “brave new brews” in the upcoming
year.
“We
have our German-Style Kölsch coming into the year round lineup of six packs
this month. We also are releasing our Brave New Brew Limited Series four packs
later this month. That will include higher gravity, edgier beers like Black
IPA, Belgian Pale Ale, Harumeku Saison, and about three more. We are elevating
our efforts on barrel aging. Except to see more barrel aged releases from us in
2015. Finally, we have a centrifuge in operation now that allows us to spin our
beer instead of filtering it. This will let us retain more body and flavor in
the beer, and specifically enhance our hopping abilities. We’re looking forward
to dry hopping lots of hoppy beers in 2015.”
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| Kölsch |
Look for the Kölsch in stores any day now; sources tell me
that this new six pack will hit stores within the next week or two. The
Barrel-Aged Barleywine Ale is next in line, and the highly anticipated Black
IPA will hopefully be released around Thanksgiving. (I will be posting a Brew
Review of these new beers as soon as I can, so stay tuned!) In the meantime,
there is a huge variety of beer in all styles and flavors available at the
Zipline taproom.
“Our
American Tripel is an absolute treat, brewed with Mosaic hops which lend a deep
stone fruit and berry character to the classic Tripel style. And, it’s hard not
to fall in love with the Chocolate Double Stout that’s on tap right now. Get a
taste of that one while it lasts.”
 |
| Chocolate Double Stout |
In addition to knowing the value of top-quality brewing, the
people at Zipline also know the value of giving back to the community and were
recently awarded the 2014 Small Business of the Year Award by the LincolnChamber of Commerce.
“It
was a great honor to win that award, mostly because it comes from our own
community. We set out with a mission to tie deeply with Lincoln because that’s
where you’re most ardent fans hail from. We ask people to drink local, and so
we reciprocate by supporting many local non-profit events and organizations in
the quest to make Lincoln a better place to live. It’s a great synergy and we
hope to keep it alive.”
If you’re interested in learning more about Zipline and this
awesome award, you can watch the Chamber of Commerce interview here. Finally, I
asked Marcus if he had any words of wisdom for aspiring young brewers, and he
offered up this advice:
“This
can be a very rewarding career, but it’s a lot of mental and physical work. Be
prepared to push yourself to limits you never thought possible. Most important:
always, always, always focus on beer quality
before anything else. If you don’t care
about making a great beer every batch, this field is not for you.”
Thanks to Marcus for taking the time to answer my questions.
(Let me know if you’re interested in reading the interview in its entirety, and
I would be glad to post it.)
Make sure you follow Zipline on Facebook and Twitter to stay
informed of all their upcoming events, and stop by the taproom Wednesdays and
Thursdays from 3-8pm, Fridays from 3-9pm, and Saturdays from 1-9pm to show them
some love. I’m expecting big things from them in 2015 and I hope you’re excited
to see what they roll out next!
