Ashland Brewing Company (Highway 66 & 6)

[Brad]

Mentioned on Grow Omaha this past Saturday.

Ashland Brewing Company (Highway 66 & 6)
10,000 SQ FT Building
5 Barrel System
Brew Pub
4 Pickleball Courts(2 courts inside that can also be used as an event sapce)
Cornhole
Rooftop deck
Fire Pits
Outdoor concerts

[ChadJK]

Hwy 63 & 6 I could see. It could go in one of the buildings adjacent to Parker's Smokehouse, but I don't think there's anything at Hwy 66 & 6, is there?

Either way. Very cool.

[Brad]

Hwy 63 & 6 I could see. It could go in one of the buildings adjacent to Parker's Smokehouse, but I don't think there's anything at Hwy 66 & 6, is there?

Either way. Very cool.

Its a brand new development, not started yet.

[Brad]

Just mentioned on Grow Omaha construction should start next month and open early 2025.

[nebugeater]

I drive Highway 6 fairly often, and when driving it on Saturday, I noticed a banner sign for the first time on the SW corner of the roundabout in Ashland.

It said "ASHLAND BREWING COMPANY Coming Summer of 2025"

Looks like they are starting to do some dirt work.

I searched this AM, and they have a website, but it looks to be a landing spot for now with an email signup for updates. I signed up, so we will see what info is shared over the coming months. There is a drawing / Picture of what the building will look like

https://www.ashlandbrewco.com/

[nebugeater]

Ashland Brewing has announced on their Facebook page this morning that they will have their Grand Opening on June 19

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/16aD7h1Rkq/

[ChadJK]

4 Pickleball Courts(2 courts inside that can also be used as an event sapce)
Cornhole
Rooftop deck
Fire Pits
Outdoor concerts

When a brewery springs out of nowhere with this much going on it just feels a little gimmicky.

[Brad]

What do you mean "brewery springs out of nowhere"?

[almighty_tuna]

You see, Brad, when people love each other beer very much, they mix some special ingredients together. After some time "fermenting" out comes a little beer. After a while, when they make a lot beer together they make a special place for their beer, invite some friends to come drink beer with them, and it's called a brewery.

[ChadJK]

What do you mean "brewery springs out of nowhere"?

I'm not as in tune with the craft brew scene as others, but I don't recall Ashland Brewing Company having a presence prior to this. So, they appear to have gone from zero to large facility on high traffic highway intersection. Feels.... not craft. Like it's going to be one of those places that's not distributed. They're just going to have like two dozen microbrews on a chalkboard so their taproom is cool. It's more about entertainment than the beer. I dunno. Maybe I am way off base. That's just the vibe I got.

[Brad]

What do you mean "brewery springs out of nowhere"?

I'm not as in tune with the craft brew scene as others, but I don't recall Ashland Brewing Company having a presence prior to this. So, they appear to have gone from zero to large facility on high traffic highway intersection. Feels.... not craft. Like it's going to be one of those places that's not distributed. They're just going to have like two dozen microbrews on a chalkboard so their taproom is cool. It's more about entertainment than the beer. I dunno. Maybe I am way off base. That's just the vibe I got.

Well its only a 5 Barrel System so its a fairly small brewery in terms of brewing capacity. I need to go back and listed to the Grow Omaha episode when they talked about this, but I believe its Ashland locals opening it, trying to make a fun place in Ashland.

As far as the "It's more about entertainment than the beer", that's the current trend from what I have been told. I talked to a local brewery owner recently and it truly is the entertainment. He said the days of people rolling in to a brewery, having a flight, and talking beer with the bartender or brewer are over. Which is sad, that's what I want to do. I don't care about trivia or whatever activity they are doing. I want good beer and in a welcoming environment where people are interested in beer.

I went to a local brewery recently and you could tell the person behind the bar was there for a job, and could care less what beers were on tap. She cared about her tips, her phone, and getting the heck out of there when it was closing time.

[Brad]

This article confirms what I posted earlier, its Ashland locals tying to create a place for their community. The head brewer came from White Elm in Lincoln, which is a great local brewery.

https://www.joejavastout.com/blogs/2025 ... 3kNRLpsEVg

[BuildTaller]

The head brewer came from White Elm

Great news

[Brad]

I made it out to Ashland Brewing Company on Saturday. It was my 50th different Nebraska Brewery and my 142nd Brewery overall.

They only had 2 of their own beers on tap Saturday. I could overhear the staff and it sounded like they were trying to get a 3rd beer, a Kolsch, but seemed to be a lot of confusion about it. I said to the bartender "Only two of your own beers on tap?" expecting an explanation and all I got was a "Yep". Everything there is "ABS", which is short for "Ashland Brewing Company". I had the ABS Hazy IPA, which was good. Looking at Untapped, it looks like they have made 6 different beers so far. Two different IPA's. a Kolsch, a Lagger, a Blonde, and an Amber.

The main level dining room had about 20 tables and 10-12 seats at the bar. There was a second level, but I didn't see up there. The rest of the building is brewery and pickleball. They had a great outdoor area with tables, pickleball and lawn games. The back side of the bar was also a large garage door that opens to the outdoor area.

I had the smash burger which was good. I noticed a lot of people getting the nachos which looked huge.

The inside was really busy on a hot Saturday afternoon, I can't imagine what its going to be like on a nice fall evening with the large outdoor area.

[nebugeater]

I made it out to Ashland Brewing Company on Saturday. It was my 50th different Nebraska Brewery and my 142nd Brewery overall.

They only had 2 of their own beers on tap Saturday. I could overhear the staff and it sounded like they were trying to get a 3rd beer, a Kolsch, but seemed to be a lot of confusion about it. I said to the bartender "Only two of your own beers on tap?" expecting an explanation and all I got was a "Yep". Everything there is "ABS", which is short for "Ashland Brewing Company". I had the ABS Hazy IPA, which was good. Looking at Untapped, it looks like they have made 6 different beers so far. Two different IPA's. a Kolsch, a Lagger, a Blonde, and an Amber.

The main level dining room had about 20 tables and 10-12 seats at the bar. There was a second level, but I didn't see up there. The rest of the building is brewery and pickleball. They had a great outdoor area with tables, pickleball and lawn games. The back side of the bar was also a large garage door that opens to the outdoor area.

I had the smash burger which was good. I noticed a lot of people getting the nachos which looked huge.

The inside was really busy on a hot Saturday afternoon, I can't imagine what its going to be like on a nice fall evening with the large outdoor area.

They were posting on their Facebook page that opening exceeded their expectations, and they ran out of their own beers. They had some other local on guest tap as I read it.