A Day at Omaha Brewing Co.: Columbus’s craft beer brewery in Omaha, Ga.

It was the first truly fine day of the year, an unusually warm 77 degrees on a bright February day, when Tyson Anthony, a representative for Omaha Brewing Company, invited us down for a tour of the brewery. After our tour, we sat at a table in the tap room, a spacious retreat whose garage-style doors were open to the patio, admitting a cooling breeze and the several dogs hanging out with us that day. There was no music that afternoon, but Tyson explained how, on Saturday evenings, when artists like Neal Lucas strike up their acoustic sets on the tap room stage, the room handles the sound so well that patrons sitting at the long bar can keep a comfortable conversation. Imagining lazy afternoons and evenings sipping beer in the Omaha Brewing tap room was easy and inviting.

This was not my first time enjoying Omaha beers. I fell in love with the Viberations saison at last October’s showing of “Eddie’s Stone Song,” an opera by Scott Wilkerson and James Ogburn, based on the life of the first Pasaquoyan and renown outsider artist Eddie Owens Martin, aka St. EOM; and at my home, I always keep a six pack of the Hannahatchee Creek IPA in the fridge, which quests eagerly savor—even and especially if they claim not to care much for IPAs.

But this was my first trip to Omaha, Ga. Without the brewery, this small Georgia town would likely never have caught my attention, and that would have been a shame. Though now most famous for the brewery, Omaha, an unincorporated community of 1,600 people, may seem an unlikely destination; but with Providence Canyon State Park, home to some of the area’s most striking hiking trails, an easy 17 minute drive away, and with Florence Marina State Park an even briefer 6 minute ride from the heart of Omaha, this little Georgian village is perfectly situation to serve as home base for all manner of out-of-Columbus adventures. Omaha Brewing Company, of course, is where so many of these adventures should begin and end.

—

Omaha Brewing’s main building was built as a school in the late 1940s, renovated in the 90s into an industrial plant, and renovated again in 2013, when Dr. Robert Lee bought the building. Work on the facility continues to this day as Dr. Lee and his team expand production to meet booming demand and tirelessly strive to improve the already comfortable and inviting tap room.

The most significant expansion began in May 2015, on a new building, adjacent the original, and now houses the 30-barrel brew house, 60 and 120-barrel fermenters plus packaging equipment, including a Wild Goose WGC 250 canning line, which are tailor-made and precision engineered for each customer and hand-built in Boulder, Co. using American made parts.

The facility is impressive. The giant tanks’ gleaming heft rise into the high ceiling. Stacks of cans, ready to be filled with fresh Omaha beer, are stacked throughout, destined for markets in Valdosta, Columbus, with new markets opening all the time.

Omaha’s brewing methods build on centuries of tradition in Germany and Belgium, and with the best ingredients available and a clean, consistent method to boil the beer, with water from the brewery’s on-site well, better beer is hard to come by. Tyson emphasized the importance of the well, which is fed by an underground spring. The artisan spring water has an ideal, stable water chemistry, providing an optimal base for the consistently stellar products. Every time I crack a fresh Hannahatchee at home, I get the same malt and citrus flavors I fell in love with. My second beer in the tap room that day was a Hannahatchee, and maybe my palette is not refined enough to tell, but it tasted only a little better than the Hannahatchee I had that night at home.

Sixteen beers are on tap at Omaha. Some, like the Hannahatchee, can be found in Columbus-area businesses. Others, like the Thai One On, with curry, Thai chilis and spices, is available only in the tap room, though the forward thinking would leave with a growler full and enjoy it with Thai carry out from Lemongrass. One of Omaha’s most popular beers, both in the tap room and in stores, is the Nada Banana Bavarian hefeweizen, which boasts huge banana and clove aromas, followed by banana, vanilla and spice flavors, and finishes with a smooth, fruity aftertaste.

—-

Dr. Robert Lee is the owner and CFO of Omaha Brewing Company. Stephanie Lee, his wife, is the business manager. Their son, Rob, manages marketing and sales. Omaha Brewing is a model for family owned and operated businesses. Stephanie visited with us for a while. Turns out, the dogs loafing about the tap room were hers, and she wanted to make sure I tell readers that the tap room is dog and kid friendly.

Omaha Brewing is not just a place to enjoy delicious beer, thought that’s more than enough reason to visit. Tours of the facility are fascinating, and with frequent events—including live music, food trucks and farmers markets; most recently, they hosted a late-January chili cook-off—Omaha Brewing can be enjoyed by the whole family.

The tap room is open Monday through Friday, noon until 8 p.m., and on Saturday from 1 until 9 p.m. For more information, including an interactive map of all locations proudly serving Omaha Brewing beer, visit omahabrewingcompany.com.