Upstream has been pouring in the Old Market since 1996, which makes it one of the oldest brewpubs in Nebraska — old enough to have watched the entire craft beer wave arrive. The Dundee Export Scotch Ale is the flagship people name-check, but the real draw is the room: a classic Old Market brewpub that feels settled in a way new places can’t fake.
Thirty years in, Upstream is the rare pioneer that never got precious about it. The food menu is full brewpub comfort, the beers are consistent, and the location — deep in the brick streets — makes it the default answer when someone asks where to drink in downtown Omaha.
A second location in west Omaha (the “Upstream” at 17070 Wright Plaza gets mentioned in directories) extends the reach, but the Old Market original is the one with the history.