City: Omaha, NE

Category: Tours & Attractions

Telephone: (402) 434-5959

Address: 729 Q St.

Description: A brewpub and bar with tasty food, Lazlo’s Brewery is home to Lincoln’s Empyrean Brewing Company; the restaurant was Nebraska’s first brewpub. The restaurant’s popularity has steadily grown—it’s almost always packed—and Lazlo’s has expanded beyond its original site into a large restaurant with a bar, two dining rooms, and several areas for private or large parties. It’s a standard stop in Lincoln’s Haymarket district. Empyrean Ales are still brewed on-site by hand in small batches and are unfiltered, unpasteurized, preservative-free, and free of any animal products.Empyrean brews a wide variety of beers as well as some seasonal special brews, available at different times of year. The Better World Wheat uses chamomile flowers, the Chaco Canyon Honey Gold includes a bit of Nebraska-made honey, and the Third Stone Brown Ale won the 2006 World Beer Cup for Extra Special or Strong Bitter beer. All of the beers are available by the glass at Lazlo’s, in a 6- or 12-pack, and in a 5- or 15.5-gallon keg. Seasonal beers include Fallen Angel Sweet Stout, available in the late winter; an Oktoberfest selection; and the Lazlos Limited selection, which is only available in the restaurant.Free brewery tours happen on the first non-holiday Monday of each month and begin at 7 p.m. Empyrean’s head brewer leads the tours and guests get five beer samples on the tour, which is limited each month to the first 150 people to arrive at the restaurant. Cask Night takes place in conjunction with the tours from 4 p.m. to close, and the restaurant serves a special beer during the event.Other Empyrean events include the Empyrean Beer Quest; a monthly dinner featuring home brew tastings created by local brewers; and Brewed Awakening, a five-course meal with beer pairings. Advance ticket purchase is required for both events.