Omaha Brewing Company Revisited:

Located south of Columbus, GA in the unincorporated town of Omaha, GA is a fairly new brewery called Omaha Brewing Company. Omaha Brewing Company was founded by Doctor Robert E. Lee (known as “Doc” to his friends). He purchased a former 1940’s school-house and industrial plant with an initial intent to start a winery but the idea rapidly morphed to brewery after he realized craft beer was a vibrant industry with extensive room for growth in the South. In their own words,

“When we decided to start a brewing company in Omaha, Ga., (Yes, Georgia) it wasn’t only because our family believes in the craft and individuality found in each craft beer, but because craft beer isn’t prevalent enough in the South. We want to incorporate our family oriented upbringing into the craft beer industry and brew a barrel of beer that feels like Southern comfort and the crisp mornings Georgia knows best.”

Omaha Brewing Company
Omaha Brewing Company occupies a former school building.

Started as a nano brewery and distributing to the public in Columbus and Valdosta since June 2014, Omaha Brewing Company just completed a major expansion with a new building that houses a 30-barrel brew house, 60 and 120-barrel fermenters, and packaging equipment. The expansion forms the foundation for significantly greater distribution of Omaha’s beers. The brewery benefits from using water provided by an underground artisan spring running directly beneath the brewery’s foundation.

Omaha Brewing Company
This July 2015 photograph shows construction of the new brewery underway.

 

This panorama shows the completed new brewery during my visit 3 weeks ago.
This panorama shows the completed new brewery during my visit 3 weeks ago.

Brewmaster Nick Fowler, formerly of Red Brick Brewing Company, was hired to guide the path of the brews. In 2013 Nick traveled to Chicago, Illinois and Munich, Germany to obtain a degree in brewing sciences at the prestigious Siebel Institute of Technology and Doemens Academy.

Nick’s brewing team includes Grant Kirby, head brewer, and Dee Moore, brewer and cellar master.

Omaha Brewing Company
Nick Fowler (right), Firkin Ron (center), and Dee Moore (left) toast to the continued success and growth of Omaha Brewing Company.

I revisited Omaha Brewing Company about 3 weeks ago (you can read about my first visit last year by clicking here and scrolling down). Since my first visit, Omaha has been feverishly working to expand their brewing operations and complete their Tasting Room. The new expanded brewery is completed and the  Tasting Room grand opening is tomorrow (April 1, no joke) and Saturday (April 2).  Details about the Tasting Room grand opening are available by clicking here. If you are in the area, I highly recommend going to the Tasting Room Grand Opening and trying some excellent brews. Many of these delicious beers are available only at the Tasting Room.

Omaha Brewing Company
Omaha Brewing’s logo pays homage to the alligators living in the nearby creeks and ponds.

 

Omaha Brewing Company
This dapper gator is ready for Omaha Brewing’s Tasting Room Grand Opening.

During my recent visit, I was fortunate to receive a tour by Nick Fowler and tried some completed beers, as well as, some brews still in various stages of the development process. What a great line-up! One of my favorites was the Doc Dweller Berliner Weisse.  Berliner Weisse is a top-fermented, bottle conditioned wheat beer made with both traditional warm-fermenting yeasts and lactobacillus culture. This beer style has a rapidly vanishing head and a clear, straw-colored appearance. The taste is refreshing, tart, sour, and acidic, with a lemony-citric fruit sharpness and almost no hop bitterness. This beer is perfect for the hot, humid days of summer in Georgia.

The new brewery features state-of-the-art, computer-controlled equipment and automation. A canning line will soon be employed for 3 of Omaha Brewing’s beers.

 

Computer-controlled automation is used to manage the brewing equipment.
Computer-controlled automation is used to manage the brewing equipment.

 

Omaha Brewery_06
Brewing system equipment.

 

Omaha Brewing Company
Fermenters house various brews in development.

 

Equipment for automated canning.
Equipment for automated canning.

 

Omaha Brewing Company's upcoming canned beers.
Omaha Brewing Company’s upcoming canned beers.

 

Simcoe (aka Sammy) is the brewery's beloved protector.
Simcoe (aka Sammy) is the brewery’s beloved protector.

You can see a complete set of photographs of the new, expanded brewery in the image gallery below.

Omaha Brewing Company also has a program for creating barrel-aged beers. Their flagship barrel-aged beer is the General’s Select Bourbon Barrel-Aged Stout. This seasonal release beer will be available at the Tasting Room Grand Opening and you do not want to miss out on trying this brew. I brought a bottle home to share with my California beer buddies.

General's Select Bourbon Barrel-Aged Stout - photograph courtesy of Omaha Brewing Company
General’s Select Bourbon Barrel-Aged Stout – photograph courtesy of Omaha Brewing Company.

 

Barrel-aging and keg room at Omaha Brewing Company
Barrel and keg room.

Whether or not you can make the Tasting Room Grand Opening, a trip to Omaha Brewing company is a must for any beer loving visitor to south Georgia. Stop by and try some excellent beers. Tell them Firkin Ron sent you!

 

A big thanks to Nick Fowler for providing my recent tour of Omaha Brewing Company. Thanks also to my talented photographer wife Patricia.

 

Headline photograph courtesy of Omaha Brewing Company. Except as noted all other photographs were taken by my talented wife Patricia.