Beer Me! — Thunderhead Brewing - Kearney — Kearney, Nebraska, United States

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Thunderhead Brewing - Kearney

(No longer brewing)

18 East 21st Street
Kearney NE 68847
Telephone: +1 308-237-1558
Hours: Open daily 11:00am-1:00am.
Brewer: Trevor Schaben
[Contact] [Update]

Notes

Visited: May 21, 2013

Opened: 1999

Contributors: Ralph Wall, Ralph Wells, Siegfried Binge

Thunderhead has been such a success that Trevor expanded to a 30-barrel system and a much larger facility in Axtell, and all the brewing happens there now.

You know, I grew up in Nebraska, and my family still lives there, and I can attest that it's deep in the heart of Coors Light country. And yet Trevor is having great success brewing a large range of beers that are at least as assertive and experimental as the ones I do! His beers went over so well in his original tiny microbrewery on East Railroad Street (now home to Platte Valley Brewing) that he built a full-blown brewpub a block to the north with a seven-barrel brew system "with four massive fourteen-barrel fermenters". It's a Real Nice Place, with pool tables and real steel-tipped darts upstairs. Well done, Trevor!

Updated: December 10, 2016

Beer List

Amber Ale

American-Style Amber/Red Ale
- Date: August 12, 2003 (#5074)
  
  Package: draught
  
  Place: Gottberg Brew Pub, Columbus NE
  
  Score: 16½ points
  
  Overall Impression (3½)
  Bright golden amber. Moderate head. Very nice caramel-candy aroma. Medium body, quite fizzy. Big caramel malt flavor with a nice touch of herbal hops.

American Wheat

Light American Wheat Beer with Yeast

Date: October 15, 2001 (#3927)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 16 points

Overall Impression (3)
Deep yellow opaque, thick head. Clean wheat malt aroma. Light body, lots of sweet wheat flavor, clean light beer.

Autumn Strong Lager

German-Style Märzen/Oktoberfest

Date: October 15, 2001 (#3928)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 16 points

Overall Impression (3)
Bright golden amber, thick head. Toasty malt and herbal hop aroma. Medium body, lots of sweet biscuity malt with a moderate hop bitterness. Mildly warming finish.

Belgian Brown

Belgian-Style Dark Strong Ale

Date: January 3, 2000 (#3373)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 15 points

Overall Impression (2½)
Bright brown, dense head. Earthy, ginger aroma. Earthy flavor, lots of orange peel.

Date: October 2, 2004 (#5487)

Package: draught

Place: Great American Beer Festival, Denver CO

Score: 20 points

Appearance (3)
Black. Nice thick head.

Aroma (4)
Intense espresso!

Mouthfeel (10)
Big smooth sweet body. IMMENSE flavor and bitterness of fresh espresso. Nice maltiness underneath.

Overall Impression (3)

Date: October 15, 2001 (#3926)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 16½ points

Overall Impression (3½)
Bright amber brown, thick head. Big toasty malt aroma. Medium-light body, real nice toasty mildly sweet maltiness.

Date: January 3, 2000 (#3372)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 14 points

Overall Impression (2½)
Dark red-brown, thin head. Smoky, phenolic aroma. Roasty, hoppy flavor, not bitter at all.

Date: November 14, 2010 (#8351)

Place: Hy-Vee Stony Brook, Omaha NE

Score: 18 points

Appearance (3)
Dark dark red. Dense head.

Aroma (3)
Mildly chocolatey, mildly roasty.

Mouthfeel (9)
Medium body, smooth. Richly chocolatey with a clean malt base.

Overall Impression (3)
Not much different than a good Porter. "Brewed with corn and wheat."

Date: August 12, 2003 (#5076)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 15 points

Overall Impression (2½)
Yellow opaque. Thick head. Very clean aroma. Light body. Lots of grainy malt. Big grassy hop flavor.

Date: August 12, 2003 (#5077)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 10 points

Overall Impression (1½)
Dark dark brown. Big dense head. Big diacetyl odor. Medium body. Buttery, sweet, and fairly sour.

Date: March 1, 2009 (#7710)

Package: nitrogenated

Place: Chicken Coop, Grand Island NE

Score: 17½ points

Appearance (3)
Black. Dense head.

Aroma (3½)
Roasty. Sweet. Licorice.

Mouthfeel (9)
Light-medium body. Roasty and clean. Grassy, with an odd "celery-stick" note.

Overall Impression (2)

Date: August 12, 2003 (#5078)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 16½ points

Overall Impression (3½)
Black. Moderate brown head. Nice coffee aroma. Medium body. Tasty roasty coffee flavor on a clean malt base. Drying roasty finish.

Date: January 3, 2000 (#3374)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 17 points

Overall Impression (3)
Black, real nice cascade, dense tan head. Excellent chocolatey-roasty balance in the aroma. Medium body, mildly sweet, mildly bitter in the middle. Big dark chocolate finish.

Date: October 13, 2001 (#3923)

Package: draught

Place: Copper Eagle Brewing, Grand Island NE

Score: 17 points

Overall Impression (3)
Black, thick head. Big roasty aroma, fairly smoky. Medium body, very roasty, fairly smoky flavor. Big smoky finish.

Date: February 10, 2010 (#8149)

Package: draught

Place: Brass Monkey Sports Bar, Omaha NE

Score: 17 points

Appearance (3)
Bright yellow. Dense head.

Aroma (3)
Sweet. Big honey aroma. Floral.

Mouthfeel (9)
Medium-big body, smooth. Lots of malt and LOTS of honey. Big, sweet honey and malt all the way through, with a little alcohol warming at the end.

Overall Impression (2)

Date: August 12, 2003 (#5073)

Package: draught

Place: Gottberg Brew Pub, Columbus NE

Score: 16 points

Overall Impression (3)
Bright golden. Moderate head. Clean malty aroma. Medium smooth body. Huge toasty grainy maltiness all the way through, along with a fairly big noble hop bitterness.

Date: January 3, 2000 (#3371)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 10½ points

Overall Impression (2)
Bright yellow, thick head. Caproic odor. Sweetish, some diacetyl.

Date: January 3, 2000 (#3370)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 14½ points

Overall Impression (3)
Golden, nice head. Smells phenolic. Real nice fresh malt flavor, mildly herbal hops.

Date: March 1, 2009 (#7712)

Package: draught

Place: Chicken Coop, Grand Island NE

Score: 15½ points

Appearance (3)
Red-black. Low head.

Aroma (2½)
Sweet coffee.

Mouthfeel (8)
Medium-big body. Really sweet, roasty. Mild gingerbread spiciness.

Overall Impression (2)

Date: March 1, 2009 (#7711)

Package: draught

Place: Chicken Coop, Grand Island NE

Score: 17 points

Appearance (3)
Amber. Slight haze. Low head.

Aroma (3)
Fruity, piney hops.

Mouthfeel (9)
Medium-big body, smooth and chewy. Big fruity, piney hop flavor, quite bitter.

Overall Impression (2)
Good beer.

Date: August 12, 2003 (#5075)

Package: draught

Place: Gottberg Brew Pub, Columbus NE

Score: 16 points

Overall Impression (3)
Black. Thick head. Sweet coffee aroma, nice and roasty. Medium body. Hugely roasty, with good coffee and chocolate flavors. Roasted barley is just a little over the top.

Date: January 4, 2006 (#5820)

Package: bottled

Place: Chicken Coop, Grand Island NE

Score: 16½ points

Appearance (3)
Ain't no light shinin' through that.

Aroma (3)
Interesting roasty, chocolate, earthy, spearmint.

Mouthfeel (8)
Medium-big body, very low carbonation. Hugely roasty and burnt.

Overall Impression (2½)
Tasty, but a more pronounced malt character/sweetness might balance it out better. Definitely a Sippin' Beer. Thanks to Dale Stueven for sharing the bottle!

Date: January 3, 2000 (#3369)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 16 points

Overall Impression (3)
Deep golden, thick head. Floral, coriander aroma. Medium body, sweet, big herbal coriander flavor and finish.

Date: October 15, 2001 (#3929)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 16 points

Overall Impression (3)
Deep dark red, thick head. Hints of coffee and dark caramel aroma. Medium body, roasty, mildly sweet. Hints of smoke and hops in the finish. Named for the local hockey team.

Date: August 12, 2003 (#5072)

Package: draught

Place: Gottberg Brew Pub, Columbus NE

Score: 17 points

Overall Impression (3)
Golden, some haze. Thick head. Big Pilsner malt aroma, some spicy hops. Medium body. Malty and tart. Finishes nice and dry and tart. Steph — never having tasted a Gueuze — says it tastes like aspirin. Trevor says it tastes like a Jolly Rancher, and it's a Real Hard Sell here in Columbus.