*Leaving Pals Brewing is a hard thing to do*

This year’s 2-day summer beercation took us to western Nebraska to visit three breweries. They included Pals Brewing Company in North Platte, Lost Way Brewery in Holdrege, and Canyon Lakes Brewing Company in Johnson Lake. Don’t tell my wife, but yes there is such a thing as a beercation and you were just on one!

So much to talk about that I am going to break this up into a 3-part series. For the first part, there was no doubt in my mind as to what the title of the blog should be named after visiting Pals Brewing on the Friday after the Fourth of July.

My memories as a child of driving to North Platte were all about camping and fishing. We would fish for catfish in the irrigation canals around the small towns of Maxwell and Brady. Both towns are located close by North Platte. Those memories came back especially when seeing the sign for the Fort McPherson National Cemetery. As a child, it was hard to imagine all of the soldiers that were laid to rest there from the Civil War, World War 1, and World War 2. Many years later, I now truly appreciate what they did for our country.

Just beyond the cemetery was a campsite where we would stay. I remember how friendly the owners were and all the fun things we got to do. There was horseback riding, hay rack rides, swimming, and doing their oldest son’s chores. Now wait a minute … how did he make it seem like a fun thing when we were actually doing his work! The most important thing I remember is that it felt like family and was always hard to say goodbye when we had to leave.

This time heading west I didn’t have my fishing pole with me. I was in search of western Nebraska craft beer and conversation. After a nice drive, we arrived at Pals Brewing Company. The brewery is located in North Platte south of the interstate in a more rural setting that adds to the atmosphere and charm of the brewery.

The taproom has lots of space both indoors and outside to enjoy some craft beer, house crafted pizza, and on this Friday - live music. A great beer menu with plenty to choose from! I will get to that very soon.

*Meeting new friends from Southern California*

A busy afternoon in the taproom and we were seated next to a group of people who seem to be enjoying themselves over a couple of beers. Of course, I had to introduce myself. Come to find out, the folks were from Southern California visiting family in North Platte. Avid craft beer drinkers, they were blown away with all of the good beers at Pals Brewing. It was very fun to talk about what is going on with craft beer in Nebraska as compared to California. Such a fun group!

The staff at Pals Brewing were super friendly and helpful with answering questions on the beers. Casey Sturgill, who is the General Manager at Pals Brewing, stopped by to visit with us.

I told Casey that it was really fun to be visiting the taproom when it was so busy. There were many different groups enjoying a conversation and a pint. Casey said each day it is interesting to see the mix of local people and the folks that are travelling that find their way to the brewery. On this day, he said there were a lot of visitors.

Casey made his way to Nebraska after living in the south in such places as Arkansas and Alabama. After responding to a LinkedIn posting for the General Manager job and getting hired, he moved to North Platte in December of last year. Casey told us that his dream was to someday open a brewery in Alabama. Working at Pals Brewing has been a great experience. He added that one of his favorite things about Pals Brewing is meeting the people that stop in.

*Flights are the best way to get to try a few beers*

Now onto the beers! Summertime and there were 3 stouts available to have in a flight, so I had to choose them!

Irish Stout was nice and dry. So much flavor packed into this 3.7% ABV stout.
Nob’s Billeaagghh IPA has lots of citrus flavor up front. The malt in this IPA provides just a hint of caramel flavor in the middle. The finish has a nice amount of hop bitterness. This IPA is 6.8% ABV and 55 IBUs.

*At Pals you can enjoy Midnight when the sun is still out*

Midnight In the Daylight is a gem of a coffee stout! The aroma from the blend of Kona and Sumatra coffee catches your attention and builds the anticipation of the flavor of this stout. I hate to keep you hanging, but this one deserves a full review of its own in my Featured Coffee Stout section!
Bourbon Bent Imperial Stout is Midnight in the Daylight that is aged in a Four Roses Bourbon Barrel for about 5 months. Lots of bourbon flavor in this 7.9% ABV stout. I love the fact being able to have the same stout non-barrel aged and barrel aged side-by-side. The flavor differences are quite incredible!

*So many cool shirts to remember your stay at Pals Brewing Company*

Paul, Amy, Mark, and Mendy Oettinger are the owners of Pals Brewing Company. They had a vision to make this a place where friends and family could meet, enjoy a great beer, and have a good time. In the short time that I was there, I met several new people and enjoyed seeing others doing the same!

The sign is so true, “Come as Strangers Leave as Pals”.

Take the time to stop into Pals Brewing Company in North Platte, Nebraska. I guarantee you will have a great time! Now leaving might be a whole different story since it is like saying goodbye to your family.

Cheers!

This is the first part of my three part 2019 Summer Beercation. Please check out the others:

A Perfect Getaway Destination

Destine to be at Lost Way Brewery

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*Nature’s finest - a heart window in this magnificent rock*

A summer vacation that I will never forget for so many reasons. The beautiful island of Maui captivated my heart from the time the plane landed until the day we had to say goodbye. The many blue shades of the ocean that catch your eye’s attention from the beach and also the boat we took on a fishing excursion. The hills that are filled with all of the tropical flowers and trees. I could spend weeks just hiking there!

There are so many things to do in Maui, but I can imagine you know two that were at the top of my list - coffee and craft beer!

My son Noah was on the hunt for coffee places and we found some good ones for sure. I really enjoyed our early morning walks in the search of local coffee shops. Our favorite was Bad Ass Coffee. They had awesome coffee and logo wear items!

*This beauty is the Mean Bean Coffee Stout*

The two breweries of Maui are Kohola Brewery and Maui Brewing Co.

Kohola Brewery was established in December of 2016 in Lahaina. The taproom is part of the brewery located in a warehouse. I loved the vibe as we walked up towards the building. As you enter the brewery, there were many people enjoying an afternoon beer. We headed towards the bar which has a very nice concrete top. I really dig this type of simple yet very functional bar top. Jess, who is the taproom manger greeted us and answered our questions about the beers on tap.

If you look at the glass, you will see a whale’s tail in the logo. Kohola means “humpback whale” in Hawaiian. The brewery was named after the many whales that can be seen in the local waters around the island.

*Great selection and many varieties of craft beer*

So many selections of lagers, ales, and IPAs. We ended up trying a couple of the IPAs. I really enjoyed the Lahaina Haze. Lots of citrus and tropical fruit flavor. A solid hop profile of Cascade, Mosiac, and Simcoe hops!

My favorite of the day was the Mean Bean Coffee Stout. This stout has locally grown, medium roast Red Catuai coffee. The flavor of the coffee is very rich and well balanced with the dark malts and hints of chocolate in the stout. I couldn’t stop thinking about this stout the rest of the time I was on the island!

*Always like having a flight when getting to go to a new brewery*

The largest and oldest brewery on Maui is Maui Brewing Company. Established in 2005, Maui Brewing has been a favorite on the island and the mainland. I was lucky enough for the family to agree to go to the brewery in Kihei.

The brewery is impressive with a couple of patios, taprooms, and restaurant space. What you can’t see from ground level is that the complete roof of the brewery is covered in solar panels providing the power for the brewery.

We went outside onto the smaller patio to enjoy a flight that had a West Coast styled IPA, the Pink Boot’s Society Hawaiian collaboration brew, a hazy IPA, and a coconut porter.

The first two were very light and easy drinking. The hazy IPA packed full of citrus flavor. I also really liked the dry hopped Big Swell IPA. This one comes in at 82 IBUs and packs a little bit more of a hop punch which caught my attention.

*Cool decor with the brewing grains designed into the brewery*

The Coconut HIWA Porter was my favorite and ranks up there with Oskar Blues Death By Coconut, and 5168 Brewing Hawaiian Porter . There is something about having coconut with the chocolate malt that really brings my taste buds to life!

I found it to be very interesting that it seemed there were chickens all over the place just like the rabbits we have around my neighborhood in Omaha, Nebraska. The chickens though seemed a lot tamer.

Some say the population explosion started after the hurricanes Iwa (1982) and Iniki (1992). The storms destroyed the chicken coops where they were being raised. As the chickens ventured out on their own, they began breeding with some of the wild, native fowl. I enjoy a rooster crowing in the morning but didn’t expected to hear it my first day on the island!

Here are just a few more pictures of beautiful island of Maui…