Omaha Exploration

Founded in 1999, Thunderhead Brewing Company was started in Kearney, Nebraska after Trevor Schaben left the Air Force. While he was deployed, he had the opportunity to try delicious beers from around the world and noticed the absence of just that back home. Brewpubs had just been legalized a few years by the State of Nebraska and while they had a handful, the local beer scene was still dominated by macro breweries such as Anheuser-Busch, Coors and the like.

Trevor who had been working as a garbage man at the time had a desire to start a business of his own and saw an opportunity to introduce Kearney to craft beer. With that, he took a gamble and opened Thunderhead Brewing Company with his wife Jenny and parents Henry and Pam who co-signed a loan to open the microbrewery. They named it Thunderhead after the thunderstorms that were known to roll across the plains.

It started small, very small, in fact as Kearney only allowed breweries to produce 500 gallons of beer each year despite the state allowing 10,000 gallons. He converted an old mortuary into his taproom that had just seven seats. To say that locals were interested was an understatement as he often sold out of his beer and had to close early. That situation was less than ideal and caused Trevor to alter his hours so that the brewery was only open on the weekends. This, at least, ensured that he would have beer on hand for his customers.

Back to that 500-gallon limit, the powers that be in Kearney were fearful that a place that produced its own beer in town would have a detrimental effect on the students at the university. It took some convincing but Trevor was successful in getting the limit increased to 5,000 gallons – still half of what the state allowed – but enough that he could continue to grow his business.

He purchased more efficient equipment that allowed him to increase the output to keep up with demand while also selling to restaurants and bars. It also allowed him to move to a larger location where it was converted from a micro-brewery to a full-fledged brewpub.

Thunderhead continued to grow and in 2006 it became one of the first breweries in the state to start canning its beer. Two years later they moved their brewing operations to nearby Axtell, Nebraska where they could continue to expand capacity. By 2019 they opened two locations in Omaha in addition to locations in Grand Island and West Point. While they would go on to close these locations, they remain one of the larger breweries in the state. Today they have taprooms in Axtell, Kearney and Wilcox.

Thunderhead continues to maintain its presence in Kearney where it was born 25 years ago. In addition to its nearly two dozen beers, they serve pizzas made in the ovens upstairs. It has become a hub and gathering place for the staff and students at the University of Nebraska at Kearney as well as families in the area. For those in the Omaha area, fear not as you can still find many of its beers in grocery stores and local bars.

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Until next time, keep exploring!

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