Omaha Exploration

More than 100 years ago, the Wilber Brewing Company in the town of 1,200 residents produced a beer that is said to have made Omaha jealous.

The brewing company, known for its authentic Czech-style beers appears to have opened around 1877 by E.J. Spirk, Stanley Bartos, F.W. Bartos and Joseph Richtarik. It changed hands several times after that and at one point, orders for its beer could be placed at Hokuf’s New Saloon at the corner of 3rd and Douglas Streets. The brewery suffered from a series of fires in 1885, 1890 and 1898 that destroyed the contents within. It first produced its Silitel brand which was the “beer that made Omaha jealous” in 1910.

Once Nebraska outlawed alcohol in 1917, the brewery announced plans to convert its operations to a vinegar plant. They even announced that the 500 gallons of beer that they had produced would be turned into vinegar. That never happened as the company instead went into the soft drink business along with a near-beer version of Silitel. There was lots of speculation and controversy at the time about what happened with the beer. I couldn’t find anything definitive so your guess is as good as mine.

The company suffered from yet another fire in 1919 and closed for good. The building was sold in 1930 and starting in 1946 it was used by the state for storage and as a warehouse. It was razed in 1959 to make way for the highway.

The town 90 minutes southwest of Omaha was declared by President Ronald Reagan as the “Czech Capital of the USA”. It hosts an annual Czech Festival that attracts up to 50,000 people continues to have a number Czech-related businesses including Karpisek Meat Market, Frank’s Smoke House which sells fresh kolaches and rye bread), Wilber Czech Craft Shop and the Wilber Czech Museum.

Resident Joe Vosoba and others thought that the only thing missing was a new Czech brewery. To remedy that, he formed a group that included Gary Wooten, Kim Anderson and others in 2015 to bring the brewery and its famous beer back to life. Hoping to duplicate the success of other small town breweries in places like Ord and Broken Bow, they announced a plan that included a 3,250 sq ft brewery and taproom.

The Wilber Czech Brewing Company is attempting to recreate the beer from scratch as no one retained the original recipe. To assist in the effort, the group is working with two consultants that are beer experts at PIVO Praha, a Czech Republic beer maker. The duo will help develop Wilber’s beer recipes which they intend to be as authentically Czech as possible.

The group, while still raising money to bring their dream to life, has already purchased the equipment needed in addition to the land which once belonged to the father of former Creighton University and current University of Oregon basketball coach Dana Altman. This effort continues despite the unfortunate loss of Joe in January 2025. To learn more about Wilber Czech Brewing Company or to assist in their efforts, click here: https://wilberczechbrewerycompany.com/

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