I’m always excited when I get to travel to a new place, and that’s why I loved that I got to spend this past week in Omaha, Nebraska. It was my first time in Nebraska period, so I was definitely excited to get to see a new city.
I’ll be honest when I say that I didn’t have very high expectations for the Omaha craft beer scene. There are less than 1 million people in the Omaha-Council Bluffs metro area, making it just the 59th biggest market in the U.S. Despite that relatively low number, there are at least a dozen craft breweries that call Omaha home.
I was able to visit three breweries during my visit, and none of them disappointed.
Infusion Brewing Co.
Infusion actually has two locations, but I visited their location in the Benson neighborhood. They appear to be the largest and most popular craft brewery in Omaha, with their stuff offered in just about every spot you’d expect to see craft beer.
I was pleasantly surprised by their Vanilla Bean Blonde Ale, although it was a little sweet for me. It’s obvious that they’re targeting a mainstream audience that may or may not like the actual “beer” taste with this one.
My flight of four included their three most popular beers – Vanilla Bean, Dominican Brown Ale, and Radial IPA – as well as a special Strawberry Kiwi Kettle Sour. The sour was decent, but overall this brewery didn’t blow me away. It’s obvious why they’re so popular with such approachable beers, and their small taproom has a pretty decent experience, although it was a little slow on the Monday night around 6pm when I was there.
Benson Brewery
Just a few steps down the street from Infusion is Benson Brewery. I mostly went here because I was hungry and they have a full-service restaurant, and I was pleasantly surprised by the (vegan friendly!) food as well as their complex, dense beers.
I actually tried a bunch of their beers, as the bartender was very knowledgeable and was definitely willing to help me find something I liked. I tried everything from their 1217 New England IPA to Karha-T, their English Mild Ale that I actually had as my dessert after it came highly recommended from the bartender.
Overall, Benson was one of the highlights of my trip. Both the brewery and the neighborhood as a whole. There are plenty of craft-style restaurants that looked good, as well as plenty of bars and of course two breweries.
Farnam House Brewing Company
On a different night, I traveled to Farnam House Brewing, once again because they had food and some decent looking beer selections. One of the things I liked about this place was that they offer a flight of six for less than $10. Definitely a good opportunity to try out just about all they have to offer, which is exactly what I did.
They seem to specialize in farmhouse ales, which isn’t a particular style that I like, so my review may not be the best for this place if that’s your thing. For everything that I did try, they had some decent offerings.
I tried the Keller German Lager, as well as their Oktoberfest, Maibock, and Taft Stout Nitro. I was admittedly not a fan at all of the Belgian IPA, and didn’t even finish my sample. My favorite here was the FarHo Gose, which I eventually ordered a full pour of.
Again, this place has some good food (again, vegan friendly!), so that will definitely make them a lot more appealing to many people.
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I was also able to check out a bottle of Lucky Bucket’s Stupefy IPA while I was in town. It’s nice and hoppy and a decent traditional IPA.
You can check out a full list of breweries that I’ve visited here.