BROKEN BOW – Broken Bow’s own Kinkaider Brewing Company has been crowned champion of the Nebraska Beer Bracket for 2023.
Competing in a March Madness-style bracket challenge against 63 other breweries, wineries, and distilleries around the state, Kinkaider emerged victorious in the final 4 days of voting, going toe-to-toe with Nebraska Brewing Company to bring the honor home.
Kinkaider, a one seed out of the bracket’s west region, toppled La Vista’s Nebraska Brewing Company by no slim margin: the hometown heroes garnered over 60 percent of the final vote.
The brewery has sprouted locations across the eastern part of the state, boasting tremendous success in Lincoln, Omaha, and Grand Island, but will always trace its roots to Broken Bow; after all, the name comes from those homesteaders who first took advantage of the 1904 Kinkaid Act, a pivotal piece of legislation for the growth for both the population and economy of central and western Nebraska.
Kinkaider owner Barry Fox attributes 2023’s huge victory not to the brewery’s vast presence around the state, but to the diehard brewheads who’ve made it possible since day one, saying that given the number of outstanding breweries around Nebraska, the award is no small achievement.
“I can’t gush enough about our team and our fans,” Fox said, “Their passion and support is unmatched. We love what we do and the fact that other people get just as excited about it as we do is hard to fathom.”
In true Kinkaider spirit, Fox and the brewery are not resting on their laurels; the owner said that the brewery will keep pushing forward, developing and experimenting, saying, “As always, be on the lookout for what’s coming next.”
