Nebraska has 45+ breweries, and the I-80 corridor strings the best of them into a single line across the state. This is a three-day, designated-driver-required itinerary from Omaha to Scottsbluff. Nine stops, zero backtracking.
Day 1: Omaha
Start in the city with the deepest bench. Three taprooms, three neighborhoods:
Stop 1 — Brickway Brewery (Omaha). Downtown, near the Old Market. Brickway has been one of Omaha’s steadiest breweries for years — a good baseline pour to calibrate your palate.
Stop 2 — Benson Brewery (Omaha). The Benson neighborhood is Omaha’s best beer-drinking district, and its namesake brewery anchors it. Walkable to food and more beer.
Stop 3 — Infusion Brewing Company (Omaha). One of the city’s original craft players. Then eat — you’ll want a base layer for tomorrow.
Alternative: Upstream Brewing and Scriptown Brewing are both worth subbing in if you’re staying a second night.
Day 2: West on I-80
Stop 4 — Lucky Bucket Brewing Co. (La Vista). Fifteen minutes southwest of downtown Omaha — Nebraska’s best-known production brewery, and the taproom pours things you won’t find on shelves.
Stop 5 — Thunderhead Brewing (Kearney). Two and a half hours west. Kearney is the trip’s natural overnight — and yes, in March you can pair this with the sandhill crane migration. Thunderhead is a classic small-city brewpub: unpretentious, reliable, exactly what a road trip needs.
Stop 6 — Pals Brewing Company (North Platte). Another 90 minutes west. North Platte is a railroad town that punches above its weight on beer — Pals is the proof. Overnight here or push on to Ogallala.
Stop 7 — Second Chapter Brewing (Ogallala). Forty-five minutes further. A small-town taproom on the edge of Lake McConaughy country — the kind of place that wouldn’t exist without the craft beer wave reaching rural Nebraska.
Day 3: The Panhandle
Stop 8 — Brewery 719 (Alliance). The detour: 90 minutes north of I-80 on Highway 2, into Sandhills ranch country. Worth it — and you’re five minutes from Carhenge, so the most Nebraska afternoon imaginable is right there.
Stop 9 — Flyover Brewing Company (Scottsbluff). Back south and west to the end of the line. The name says it all — a Panhandle brewery with a chip on its shoulder about the “flyover” label, pouring at the foot of the bluffs. End of the run.
Practical notes
- Total driving: about 450 miles of I-80 plus the Alliance detour (~180 miles round trip from Ogallala). Very doable in three days; two if you’re disciplined.
- Designate a driver. Non-negotiable across nine taprooms. Many of these towns have limited rideshare — plan around it.
- Flights, not pints. Nine stops means tasting pours. Every brewery on this list does flights.
- Check hours before you go. Small-town taprooms keep idiosyncratic hours — Thursday-through-Saturday is the safe window; don’t assume Monday.
- Eat in Kearney and North Platte. Both have real restaurant scenes; the stretches between them do not.
Frequently asked questions
How many breweries are in Nebraska? More than 45, spread across the state — from Omaha’s dozen-plus taprooms to one-offs in towns like Ord, Taylor, and Alliance.
Can you do a brewery road trip across Nebraska? Yes, and I-80 makes it almost too easy: Omaha, La Vista, Kearney, North Platte, Ogallala, and Scottsbluff all have worthwhile taprooms right on or near the interstate.
What beer is Nebraska known for? German and Czech lager traditions run deep (a nod to the state’s heritage) — you’ll find excellent lagers alongside the standard IPA-heavy lineups. Small-town brewpubs tend toward approachable, classic styles.
When is the best time for this trip? September–October for patio weather, or March if you want to combine it with the sandhill crane migration in Kearney. Avoid relying on small-town taproom hours in deep winter without checking ahead.
Is there good beer in western Nebraska? Genuinely yes — Pals (North Platte), Second Chapter (Ogallala), Brewery 719 (Alliance), and Flyover (Scottsbluff) are all worth the drive, not just “good for out here.”