Brewing success in Nebraska
A look at downtown Omaha's Upstream Brewing Company
Charley Reed
Issue date: 4/29/08 Section: Arts & Leisure
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However, it doesn't take long after being led to your table by a server to notice large casks, a staggering row of metal draught taps and giant mash tins sitting behind a plate-glass window.
From anywhere in this pub you can tell that the name isn't just for show. In fact, the Upstream Brewing Company is one of the most recognizable microbreweries in Nebraska.
Opened in 1996, the idea of an high-class brewpub, just like cultivating any good beer, had to germinate. It all started in 1988 with Upstream's founder and current president, Bryan Magee, and his repeated trips to Colorado's oldest brewpub, the Wynkoop Brewing Company.
"My brother lived out there, and I would visit him and he would show me the places that were kind of hot in town," Magee explained. "At that time there was nothing else in LoDo [lower downtown] … and it was phenomenal."
As time went on, Magee took notice of the brewpub's popularity. With some experience in the dining industry, Magee saw a chance to get in on an exciting new business in Omaha.
"I thought we could do something that would be different and unique and have maybe a little more upscale feel," he said.
Even though there were already several brewpubs open across Omaha at the time, Magee was convinced the idea would work. To get off the ground, in 1992, Magee called in help from John Hickenlooper, founder of the Wynkoop Brewing Company.
Magee and Hickenlooper bought their current property at 11th and Jackson streets from the owners of long-time downtown staple, Spaghetti Works. Formerly a firehouse, Spaghetti Works had been using the location as a dinner theater.
"They wanted focus on their restaurant business and we ended up buying the building in '95 and it took about nine to 10 months to convert it into what it is now," Magee said.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Winner of multiple "Best of Omaha" awards, Upstream now has a second location in Legacy, a catering business and a selection of quality beers. And much like the company's name deviates from a native translation of "Omaha," most selections have a connection to the city.
"If you look at our stout, it's called Blackstone Stout after the old Blackstone Hotel, if you look at our Gold Coast Blonde ale, there's the Gold Coast area which was kind of the high-end partying area of the big mansions in the teens, '20s and '30s," Magee said.
But even with what Upstream has accomplished over the last 12 years, its brightest days seem to be still ahead of it.
Having won multiple national beer awards over the past five years, 2007 was the company's best year yet. At the World Beer Championships, two new creations, Batch 1000 Barley Wine and Ebenezer's Ale won Silver Medals while a combination of Upstream's Firehouse ESB and India Pale Ale called "Hoppy Marriage" won a Bronze Medal.
Also, in 2007, Upstream was able to obtain a micro-distillery license, allowing them to create other variations of alcohol including vodka, scotch, gin, rum and brandy, among others.
Already planning to build a distillery at Upstream's Legacy location, Magee hopes his intuition on micro-distilleries is just as sharp as it was on brewpubs.
"If you look at the beverage business, craft beers started in the late '70s - early '80s and, even though it's only about five-and-a-half percent of the total market, it's growing pretty quickly," he explained.
"There are a few small craft distilleries that are our there that have done pretty well for themselves. … Idaho has a distillery-pub called Bardenay which is really interesting - it's like a brewpub but they distill there and they sell right through their restaurant ... I think they're just getting ready to open a third one."
With such an investment, there is no telling how big Upstream could become. But for Magee, there are no "family secrets," so to speak, with any current or future creations. Fame and fortune all come second to a love for brewing and the brewing community.
"I don't think [craft breweries] necessarily see themselves as adversaries," he said. "In that way, we want to share information with other brewers because wewant other brewers to be good at what they do."
For more information on the Upstream Brewing Company, visit upstreambrewing.com.
The Gateway's "Brewing success in Nebraska" series concludes in the May 2 issue with a feature on Lincoln's Empyrean Ales.
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