Kinkaider Brewing Co. to appear at Craft Brew & Sausage Fest

Organizers of the Liederkranz Craft Brew & Sausage Fest are honored to announce that Kinkaider Brewing Co. out of Broken Bow will be among the many breweries showcasing their beverages at this year’s inaugural event.
Kindkaider opened on Dec. 27 last year, making them one of Nebraska’s newer breweries. The figureheads behind the brewery are Cody Schmick, Nate Bell and Barry Fox of Broken Bow and Dan Hodges of Thedford. We are thrilled they are joining us on Sept. 12 at the brew fest in Grand Island.
Bell and Hodges had been formulating their brewery plans for a year or so when Fox got involved and suggested they look to wineries for inspiration, which tend to make use of scenic locations and grow ingredients on site, according to a Jan. 3 Grand Island Independent article. Today, Schmick and Fox run the front of Kinkaider's operation, while Bell and Hodges use more than 30 combined years of experience in craft beer to concoct their signature brews.
Both the Craft Brew & Sausage Fest and Kinkaider Brewing Co. share a passion for history. Where the brew fest is an effort to preserve one of Grand Island’s oldest and most important institutions — the Liederkranz - Kindkaider looked to Broken Bow’s history for its own identity.
The team behind the brewery settled on the name in honor of the 1904 Kinkaid Act, which significantly shaped development in the area. The Kinkaid Act was a U.S. statute that amended the 1862 Homestead Act so that one section of public domain land could be acquired free of charge, apart from a modest filing fee, according to Wikipedia. It applied specifically to 37 counties in northwest Nebraska.
Kinkaider's brewery is draped in homage to this heritage, according to The Independent. Large photos of the Kinkaid Act era decorate the walls, and the tap handles are hand crafted from old hedge posts, the Independent reported.
When talking with organizers of the Craft Brew & Sausage Fest, Schmick said one of the things that got him excited about participating in the event is its mission of historic preservation.
While Kinkaider has an eye to the past, their brewery is also adorned with modern furnishing, stylistically blending the new with the old.
Kinkaider uses fresh Sandhills water in their brews, which can’t be recreated, Schmick told The Independent. They have populated their beers with Kindkaider twists on classic styles, such as a porter with notes of chocolate, coffee and toffee, an American wheat with hints of citrus and a pale ale with flavors including grapefruit and florals, the Independent reported. The tap has included one of those surprises in the jalapeno ale, an award-winning beer Hodges has worked for 10 years to perfect. The taps also feature brews from other Nebraska establishments, and wine and whiskey are available for those who want to experience Kinkaider but don’t like beer.

More information
Kinkaider Brewing Co.
43860 Paulsen Road, Broken Bow
Hours: 4 to 11 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday
308-872-8348; kinkaiderbrewing.com

Photo from The Grand Island Independent: Zach Mayhew Kinkaider Brewing Company owners Barry Fox, Dan Hodges, Cody Schmick, and Nate Bell recently opened their doors to the public. The company will feature high quality craft beers with sandhills water as the main ingredient.

Kinkaider Brewery's shelves are stocked full of different options for customers to drink in the taproom or to take their fresh brews home. The company is the only brewing company in Nebraska to offer crowlers, a 32 ounce alluminum can sealed right after filling from the tap. (Independent/Zach Mayhew)