The improbable return of 'the beer that made Omaha jealous'

In a time before Prohibition, tiny Wilber, Nebraska, produced something nearby metropolis Omaha envied. Today, more than a century later, Wilber is trying to make Omaha jealous again.

In its heyday, the Wilber Brewing Company produced 40,000 barrels of beer per year, and almost all of it was consumed by residents of the small town, located 40 miles southwest of Lincoln, and nearby communities.

Gary Wooten, secretary of Wilber Czech Brewery Company LLC, said his organization wants to bring back those heady days of brewing glory by building an authentic brewery and taproom.

Most of the old Wilber brewery burned down shortly after Nebraska outlawed alcohol in 1917. Some say the blaze was caused by a lightning strike; others suggest a more nefarious reason.

"The sad part is nobody seems to have the recipes," Wooten said. "We've searched for them. The best we could determine was the brewery had two bestsellers – a dark beer and a light beer, and their slogan was 'the beer that made Omaha jealous.'"

Wilber Czech Brewery Company has a few factors working in its favor, according to a national craft beer consultant.

But before Wooten and the other board members can pull the tap on the first keg and begin reviving that old catchphrase, they need to stockpile one missing ingredient that could derail the whole dream: money.

The board intends to finance the brewery by selling 5,200 shares in the company at $500 per share, totaling $2.6 million. In addition to getting a certificate of ownership, a T-shirt and beer discounts, shareholders will get a taste of the profits, eventually.

The company already acquired property and Wilber Czech Brewery Company President Kim Anderson said they've already picked out equipment after consulting with Vaclav Potesil and Michal Cerney, two brew experts at a Czech Republic beer maker. The two visited Wilber in 2022.

"They checked out an equipment supplier with us and looked at everything, from the tanks, nuts, bolts and gauges, and we got their approval," said Bobbi Ripa, Wilber Czech Brewery's vice president.

Anderson said Potesil and Cerney will also help develop their beer recipes and train their yet-to-be-hired brewmaster. "We want the final product to be as authentically Czech as possible," she said.

Czech Capital of the USA

The towering grain elevators of the Wilber Farmers Cooperative, visible from three miles outside of town, reflect the community's way of life. But there's more to Wilber than farming. The city of roughly 1,900 was designated the "Czech Capital of the USA" by President Ronald Reagan in 1987.

The heritage is reflected by the number of Czech-related businesses along Highway 41 that runs through the center of town, including Karpisek Meat Market, Frank's Smoke House, the Czech Gift Shop, Czech Craft Shop and the Wilber Czech Museum, which houses the last remaining artifacts from the old Wilber Brewing Company.

But maybe the thing Wilber is most known for is its annual Wilber Czech Festival, this year to be held Aug. 2 to 4. The event attracts up to 50,000 people who come for the music, the pageants and to drink Czech beer – something the aspiring brewery is counting on. Their business plan anticipates up to 25% of their annual revenue will be made during the festival, according to their prospectus.

Wilber's heritage could separate the new brewery from other small-batch brewers.

Last year the number of operating craft breweries reached an all-time high of 9,761, including 3,910 taproom breweries, according to the Brewers Association, a national trade group of more than 5,400 brewers. Nebraska ranked 36th nationally with 64 craft breweries – a number that began steadily rising in 2011 before plateauing in 2021.

Bart Watson, vice president of strategy and chief economist at Brewers Association, said the Wilber project has a lot going for it.

"We've certainly seen other efforts to revive brewing history in towns that had it," Watson said, "but I think there's clearly some unique aspects to this one." He pointed to the brewery's focus on authenticity in its beer making and the "Czech Capital" designation as differentiators within the crowded microbrewery market.

"It's harder to open a brewery than it used to be, but that doesn't mean that there aren't opportunities, particularly in a town like this that doesn't already have a local brewer," he said. "There's already a tie-in to a big festival, so the brewery will have a bigger local market than just the population would imply."

In addition, Watson said Czech beers are growing in popularity. "We are seeing Czech lagers have a little bit of a moment in the United States," he said. "We're seeing more breweries produce them, but it's still a pretty small niche."

It's all about the community

First though, Wilber Czech Brewery Company has a lot of money to raise. Anderson said the board has offered shares at town meetings and at past festivals, as well as through its website at wilberczechbrewerycompany.com.

So far, they've only sold 270 units since 2021, according to their 2023 prospectus, leaving 4,930 to go. The money sits in an escrow account, untouched and earning interest until the LLC sells at least $600,000 worth of shares.

The board intends to set an end-date to the offering at an upcoming meeting. If they don't meet that $600,000 goal by that offer end-date, money in escrow returns to the share purchasers, along with any accrued interest.

"If we would've gone down the path where (the board) just invested on our own and built this brewery, it wouldn't be a community project," Anderson said. "We want to make everybody feel like they have that ownership."

In the meantime, Anderson said the board continues to look for areas to make the project more cost effective, including reducing the amount of equipment and sourcing used equipment.

Wooten said he is "a little disappointed" by the lack of buy-in. The $500 share price seems like a small cost "to really help the town and improve the business flow."

"It would be worth it," he said.

In addition to Anderson, Ripa and Wooten, the Wilber Czech Brewery Company board is rounded out by Steven Barnas, who owns the town drug store, John Kastanek, who farmed in Wilber for 42 years, and retired attorney Joe Vosoba, one of the original co-founders of the Wilber Czech Festival and the brewery concept's originator.

At 94, Vosoba moved to Wilber after serving in the Army in the Korean War. The former state senator lived in Wilber for 30 years with his wife and three children.

"The world is changing so fast, and it's important to hold on to some of the old favorite things," he said from his apartment in Fremont. "Wilber has a number of different jewels in its crown centered on the Czech tradition, and the brewery is one of them."

Despite the difficulties, Vosoba said he has no doubt they'll be successful.

"Proof of our success will be a good, foaming mug of Czech beer," he said.

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