Omaha Summer Arts Festival

I dropped off my beer for the Omaha Summer Arts Festival Friday afternoon and went back home. When Paris and Chris and I arrived for our shift on Saturday morning, we found that half of the big tent was gone, having been torn up by Friday night's storm. The guys from Empyrean were re-setting-up the beer coolers, which had blown over the night before. They said they started pouring beer at 4:00 Friday afternoon, and by 5:30 the police came around and told everybody to get inside.

Jim Engelbart provided these pictures and commentary:

This storm formed around Norfolk at roughly 4pm; it was over downtown Omaha by 5:30! Storm experts say it was moving 90-100 mph! (Pictures from Omaha World-Herald.) These clouds were moving fast over northwest Omaha.

Storm moving over downtown, shot from World-Herald parking garage looking northwest

Summer Arts Fest World Music Pavillion after storm: 80x120-foot tent and various 10x10-foot food & artist tents smashed.

Big tent picked up and smashed against building on west side of 13th & Farnam - broke 2nd floor window and blocked entrance. The beer station is somewhere under the left-hand corner of this tent.

You can’t keep good brewers down - picking up the festival colors - shades of Iwo Jima. From left; Brendan McGinn (Empyrean), Dave Oenbring (Modern Monks), Jim Engelbart (Empyrean), Zac Triemert (Upstream), Dean Dobmeyer (Nebraska Brewing) and Steve Olsen (Lincoln Lagers).

Aftermath looking north

Saturday was still breezy, but nothing like Friday night, and Sunday was a very nice day.

The emergency backup Nebraska Craft Brewers Association beer tent at the 2008 Omaha Summer Arts Festival

When it was over, I had gone through just about all of the Stüvenbräu Maibock I had brought (31 gallons), and virtually none of the Tin Lizzie Hefeweizen. I attribute this to the fact that the Hefeweizen was old, sour, nasty, and just generally totally fucking awful. Now that I have yeast, I'll dump what's left at the pub and brew a new batch on Monday.