Omaha Exploration

A native of Cortland Sam Spilker intended to be a biologist or chemist when moved to Fort Collins to study biochemistry at Colorado State University. What he found when he got there was a community that was a part of the craft brewing revolution.

It was there that he decided to combine his science background and his desire to make things to launch a brewery of his own. He proceeded to learn the ins-and-outs of brewing by reading as many books as he could get his hands on. From there he did a tour of West Coast Breweries to get a feel for what to do and what not to do.

Sam saved money to start his business by working on a crab processing boat in Alaska before returning home to work on the family farm. He also raised pigs and worked a at a food distribution plant. Brewing, however, is an expensive endeavor that require loads of expensive equipment. Sam didn’t have loads of money, but he made up for it in ingenuity. So, he proceeded to buy scrap dairy equipment from classified ads.

He proceeded to move the equipment inside an old brick building that has been a grocery store and a bank before that in his hometown of Cortland. He worked day and night turning the building which had largely been vacant since the early 1980s into Spilker Ales. When he wasn’t at his day jobs, he was working at the brewery late into the night. In addition to welding the mish mash of dairy equipment that would allow him to brew, he turned the old-vault-turned-freezer into a beer cooler, installed drywall and tile. He also collected and painted old furniture for his office. 

His aim was to create intensely flavored beers which would seem a heavy lift in a farming community that had developed a taste for the light lagers he loathed. His first beer, Monkey Wrench Brown Ale, didn’t sell particularly well. It didn’t help that the brown ale market was oversaturated at the time. From there he pivoted to a favorite from his home brewing days which he called Hopalleuia (Hopluia). He referred to the hop forward beer as The Gospel of Hops.

Hopluia before and after it was sold to Thunderhead Brewing Company.

It was an instant hit and Sam developed a cult following. It caught on with the local community with even farms in overalls coming in for a refill of their growler. The hoppiness being too intense for some, he also brewed Cortland Wheat which became his top seller. As the popularity of his beers began to grow as Sam traveled to craft beer tastings and other events. Before long, his beer was being served in larger cities including Omaha, Lincoln, Kearney, Beatrice, Nebraska City and Wilber.

By 2004 he opted to focus on just one beer – Hopluia – due to growing demand and the efficiencies to be gained by brewing a single recipe. He completed a 12-year upgrade project that consisted of adding new equipment and enlarging tanks to increase his overall capacity. At this time, he was selling all of his beer offsite.

With increased competition in IPA category by 2015, he brewed his first new beer in 11 years called Sonar. The beer was a cross between a Belgian double pale ale and an India Pale Ale. Each batch was dry hopped with a different variety of hops – the addition of hops to a beer after fermentation. Sam emphasized Spilker’s reliance on hops – he personally loved the smell and flavor that the process of dry hopping added to beer. He added other varieties including Technique and Apricot Jackpot. 

In 2017 he opted to close Spilker rather continue working in an industry in which taprooms and hospitality service were becoming increasingly important. He sold the recipe to Hopluia to Trevor Schaben of Thunderhead Brewing in Kearney. I’m not sure what happened to the beer in recent years but it doesn’t appear on Thunderheads tap list currently.

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