The Beauty of Forgetting
When you think about rhythm, what pops into your mind first? I think about a musician that practices over and over to really feel what the song should sound like. I also think about a pitcher who gets into that grove and everything he throws seems to paint the edges of the plate.
Well what about a brewer? I have found one that has hit his rhythm and has hit it big time! Sam Riggins, head brewer and co-owner with his wife Michelle of Cosmic Eye Brewing in Lincoln, Nebraska have captivated my attention from the very first beer of theirs that I ever had!
Ratebeer.com recently named Cosmic Eye - Best New Brewer in Nebraska. They also receive a Grand Champion in the American Black Ale category in the winter edition of the United States Beer Tasting Championship for their Arrow of Time Black IPA. So many great things going on at Cosmic Eye that I had to see how things are going as they start their second year!
Cosmic Eye has a nice brewing space built for today and the future
We sat down and I had to know what got Sam interested in craft beer. Sam explained that his earliest memories growing up in Fairbury, Nebraska was that when his father had beer in the house that it was always really good beer. Sam remembers his dad’s friends talking about being in the military in Germany and all of the amazing craft beer there. They often would say that they wished they could get that type of beer here in the states.
Sam went on to say that the real moment was when he was in college at Kansas University in Lawrence. One night he went out for dinner at a local brewpub. Sitting down for a meal, there was a surprising large selection of craft beers. Free State Brewing Company was the place. Sam said he became intrigued with fact you were able to see the beer being brewed right there. The experience that night raised a tremendous amount of curiosity of wanting to know more about brewing!
Lots of artwork within the spacious taproom at Cosmic Eye Brewing
Sam made his way back to Nebraska and the first brewery that he went to was Jones Street Brewing in downtown Omaha that opened in 1992 and closed in 1996. I remember going there also. Great atmosphere and a decent selection of beers. The more exposure Sam got to craft beer the more it ignited the fire to start homebrewing.
Most homebrewers will start with something simple like a Pilsner or Pale Ale, not Sam. “So, what was your first beer you brewed", I asked. Sam smiled and responded, “A Black Saison with French Saison yeast and malted grains not a malted extract.” Wow that is diving into the deep end of the pool and wandering how well you can swim!
Sam went on to say, “I knew from the beginning I wanted to really understand all of the ingredients at their most natural form. For me, grains were the way to go not that extracts don’t make good beer.”
Get Lost was the original idea for the name of the brewery
Homebrewing turned into meeting people and making connections in the Nebraska brewing community. Sam met Tyson Arp and Paul Kavulak from Nebraska Brewing Company and within a short period of time became an Assistant Brewer for NBC. Sam spent four years from 2010 to 2014 taking in everything about brewing. The more he brewed, the more he realized that he wanted to have his own brewery. He enjoyed his time at Nebraska Brewing but with children, the commute from Lincoln had become a challenge and it was time to move on.
Cosmic Eye Brewing sign as you enter the taproom
Finding the right location, getting your liquor license, and coming up with a recognizable name were items that Sam had been working on. The original name was Get Lost. Some nice twists for this name like “Get Lost in one of our brews or Get Lost in a great conversation in our taproom”. Unfortunately, there was a brewery with a beer by that name and attempts to work something out with the owner never came into fruition.
As you can imagine, not having a name can drive you wild! Then one day listening to the radio, the song Steambreather from Mastodon was playing and the lyric, “Climbing inside the cosmic eye”. Sam immediately called Michelle and said I got the name - Cosmic Eye.
It’s the eye in the logo that grabs my attention
Branding is always an interesting venture once you have a name then the most important thing is an eye-catching logo. I remember seeing my first Cosmic Eye beer at the local grocery store. The logo grabbed my attention and so did the name of the beers.
I couldn’t believe how fast Cosmic Eye started distributing beer in their first year! Here is just a short list of my favorites:
The Beauty of Forgetting - American IPA
Everything Has Eyes - New England style IPA
Unlock the Time Dragon - American IPA
Straight for the Sun - Session IPA
Your Friend, Death - Imperial Stout
The taproom has many great individualized spaces for a beer and conversation
The flavors in the Cosmic Eye beers always come through so distinctly. I asked Sam as to what his secret is. Sam told me, “It is all about keeping things simple. As an example, focus on a couple of malts and hops to let them really shine in the beer. When you start to get too many things going in one beer, you can’t enjoy the difference that one type of ingredient has over another.” That makes complete sense to me as I think about the beers I have had from Cosmic Eye!
We chatted about other influences that Sam has had along the way in developing his line of craft beer. Sam discussed how having mentors have been so important. Geoff Deman, head brewer at Free State Brewing Company has been a great mentor along the way as well as others. Sam talked about how he got to brew with Geoff about 3 or 4 years ago. Geoff asked Sam to bring one of his favorite recipes to brew. The recipe was a version of Straight for the Sun. They brewed it on the original brew house equipment. I could tell by the look in Sam’s eyes that this had to have been an incredible experience!
Sam also explained how the German and English beer cultures have had an impact on his approach to brewing. Sam told me that he likes to keep a great selection of lower ABV beers so that you can enjoy more than just one. This culture also extends to some of the ingredients and styles of beer that Sam brews including a Schwarzbier (German Black Lager) by the name of Gaze of the Basilisk.
Collaborations with other breweries is another thing that Sam loves to do. A couple of the recent collaborations have been with Scratchtown Brewing Company out of Ord, Nebraska and Infusion Brewing Company from Omaha.
Another really cool thing Sam does is he takes his enjoyment of music and craft beer and does collaborations with bands. A recent collaboration with Magic Circle will be on center stage at the Decibel Magazine Metal & Beer festival in Philadelphia this April.
Sam and Michelle are just the opposite of rude, but ask them to tell you the story behind the shirts - photo credit Cosmic Eye Brewing
So, the last question of the day was, “Sam what will 2020 bring for Cosmic Eye?” Sam responded by saying that he is looking forward to doing more Belgian and French Farmhouse ales. Also, I would like to continue with some smaller experimental batches now that we have a larger pilot system. I always look forward to doing more collaborations too.”
There is such a warm happy feeling when you are at the Cosmic Eye Brewing taproom. The smiles on people’s faces and conversations going on. It was fun to see the enjoyment Cosmic Eye creates in every pint!'
Make sure you when you are Lincoln, Nebraska that Cosmic Eye Brewing is on the top of your list to visit. Always look for the Eye, you won’t regret it.
Cheers!