Standing out in what used to be Automobile Row is Site-1 Brewing. A bird’s eye view courtesy of Mind’s Eye VT.
There are many talented brewers across the nation that would love a chance of owning their own brewery. The difficult part is the logistics of running the business side of the brewery including finding the capital investment for it. In Omaha, Site-1 Brewing has come up with a very innovative idea to help launch the brewing careers for the right candidates.
The beauty of a stainless steel mash tun
The creative team behind the concept are Mike Peter, Ben Katt, and Melanie Phelan. This team came up with a great concept and found Omaha's perfect area to start up Site-1 Brewing.
Farnam Hill today was formerly known as Automobile Row, a stretch of Farnam street from 20th to 26th street that had several car dealerships in the early 1900s. The particular location, 2566 Farnam Street, was once a Chrysler dealership. The indoor showroom stretched multiple buildings on the north side of Farnam. The building’s floors attest to this by the 3-foot cement structure.
This area of Omaha currently exists in a quiet zone between the downtown Old Market area and the Blackstone District in Midtown. A great area to see a revitalization occur! There have been talks over the recent years to make this part of a streetcar project that would connect downtown to midtown. That would be a great thing for the city.
A concept that was in the making and trying to get off the ground during a pandemic seems like a very tough hill to climb. This group made it happen and opened before Christmas of 2020. I was lucky enough to get a sneak peek during the soft opening and had to learn more about the first two chosen brewers!
Matt Huntley and Dave Link are the talented head brewers at Site-1 Brewing
The summer of 2020 was when the interviews took place. There was an extreme amount of interest in the two open head brewer positions. To get the brewery up and running by the end of the year, it would take some brewing experience to make that happen. That fact probably had some influence on these two fine brewers being chosen, but that is just my opinion.
Dave Link is no stranger to Omaha. He grew up here and even went to high school with another brewer in the state - Rodney Keim. Rodney, we need to talk… Dave let me in a few good stories!
Dave has been brewing for around 10 years. This included homebrewing and then professionally brewing at Infusion Brewing Company. Dave was in charge of the operations at the Benson location for Infusion Brewing. Before that, homebrewing was a passion that grew and expanded into being a 402 Homebrewers Club member.
I always like asking about the first beer you ever brewed, and Dave said it was a Porter that became known as Poppleton Porter for the street he lives on. Dave went on to say that he thought it was a safe choice because of the characteristic of a Porter.
There is always that aha moment when you decide something is right for you. Dave told me that it was a visit to Fort Collins taking tours of Odell Brewing and New Belgium Brewing. He looked at his wife and said, “This is something I would like to do!”
Nothing better than a Winter Warmer on a cold winter’s day and Solar Flare is an excellent one!
Matt Huntley grew up in a small rural town in Missouri. Matt, we should talk about small towns sometime. I grew up in Manley, Nebraska which had a population of 120 people.
Anyway, I digress… Matt was busy going to college when craft beer was introduced to him. His roommate’s father received a homebrew kit as a gift. This gift was something that needed to be regifted and Matt was one of the lucky recipients! His roommate’s dad told them he was happy they tried the beer at home instead of at parties.
The kit was a wheat beer one along the lines of Blue Moon. Matt said the experience was a great one learning that the most important part is patience for the beer to finish. That was probably my biggest mistake for my first and only beer kit!
Matt went onto say that he continued to homebrew for about 12 years. This period of time was all about learning the art of brewing from brewery visits, reading, and homebrewing competitions.
Matt’s aha moment occurred in 2019 when he realized Ag Sales was not fulfilling his passion. His wife had recently got her doctorate and agreed it was time for Matt to give professional brewing a try!
A couple of lagers cozying up to each other This beautiful blonde Pilsner and dark and handsome Dunkel.
Matt sent out plenty of resumes and fill out applications in the hope of landing that first brewing position. He found a shift brewer position at Saint Arnold Brewing Company in Houston, Texas. Pretty far from home but an opportunity worth taking!
It was March of 2020 when an article in the Omaha World-Herald appeared talking about the plans to help brewers launch their careers. Matt’s mother-in-law saw the article and thought this might be something Matt would be interested in.
The Covid pandemic was here and there was nothing about business as usual. Dave began to ponder if this was something that could take his career in a new direction. The two soon found themselves applying for a chance to be part of Site-1 Brewing. The summer months would lead to three rounds of interviews and wondering what the future might hold.
This rocket is going places!
Matt was back from Houston and was looking around Omaha to spend some time on a smaller system than what he had been part of at Saint Arnold. The system at Site-1 Brewing would be a 5-barrel brewing system.
Matt ended up in Benson at Benson Brewery for a day. During this visit, the head brewer Ben from Benson Brewery went over their brewing system. Ben then took Matt over to Infusion Brewing where Dave was busy working.
Hmmm, now that is a coincidence that Matt and Dave met prior to getting hired. I wonder if either considered the possibility that each had applied at Site-1 Brewing.
Quickly expanding tap handles to reach 18 beers on tap! There are additional handles for Nitro Cold Brew Coffee, Hard Seltzers, and Kombucha Tea. Photo credit - Mind’s Eye VT
The two would soon find out they were the chosen ones and would wait for the brewing system to arrive. I can’t imagine getting a brewing system to put together that had hundreds of parts let alone the instructions were not in English! These guys took on the challenge and in no time were ready to start brewing!
I asked the guys what is the most fulfilling part of working at Site-1 Brewing? Both loved the creative freedom to get to brew the various styles of craft beer that they both enjoy. The fact that they are a community brewery getting to know their nearby neighbors was a great feeling.
The conversion revealed to me just how close these two brewers had become in a short period of time. I could sense their excitement. For these two brewers, success lies in having happy customers enjoying their creations!
This rocket is ready to launch! So many cool space theme memorabilia at Site-1 Brewing. Photo credit - Mind’s Eye VT
Site-1 Brewing covers the spectrum of styles of craft beer. On this day, I had tried the following brews:
Solar Flare - Winter Warmer. This is the best one I have had this winter! The spices were perfectly balanced. I enjoyed the nutmeg, cinnamon, and clove in this 7% ABV beer. The secret special ingredient to me was the Tahitian vanilla.
Leicht Speed - Pilsner. This is a wonderful lager that is crisp, clean with a nice level of carbonation. Immense flavor and very sessionable at 4.4% ABV, this is one you can enjoy all day long!
Black Arrow - ESB. This brew caught my attention from the really nice malty front and middle that had me thinking this wasn’t an ESB, but the finish had a decent amount of hop bitterness that brought it all together! Excellent beer at 4.8% ABV.
Check out this huge, incredible bar! Photo credit - Mind’s Eye VT
Last question as we were ending our visit. Matt and Dave, what excites you for the future? They replied, “The concept.” Both went on to explain that the future holds more of these community breweries where they can help bring on new brewers. The network of collaboration will continue to grow, but still give each brewer the ability to be creative at their brewery.
I love the concept! Site-1 Brewing is a wonderful addition to the Omaha and Nebraska craft beer community. Make sure to check them out very soon! Besides the great beers, they also have an amazing food menu too!
One Giant Leap for Beerkind! Cheers!