Two States Upstream

Jess

The atmosphere was pretty good. We were seated upstairs, where there was a bar, quite a bit of indoor seating, and apparently an outdoor patio (judging by the look of our glistening waitress who kept disappearing through a door on the side of the room with trays of food and beer and then returning with empty plates and glasses).

There were several things on the menu that looked quite delicious, so to tide us over while we made our decisions, we decided to start with the dumplings. I enjoyed them, maybe mostly because we’d been at the zoo all day and I was absolutely starving.  Being in Omaha, we decided we needed to order steaks.  While my filet was pretty darn good, Jim was sort of ambivalent about his ribeye, and we both thought we may have enjoyed other options a little more. Maybe it’s just because Omaha isn’t really any better in the steak department than Kansas City. What can I say? We’re spoiled like that here.   The presentation of the food was nice, but not anything super special or fancy.  The price was more than what you’d pay at Applebee’s but less than what you’d pay at Ruth’s Chris — I had an 8-ounce filet with mashed potatoes and some asparagus tied in a little bundle for about $28. The service was a bit lacking while we were there. We didn’t see our waitress for 20 minutes at a time, and it took at least that long just to get waters after we were seated.  I like to give waitresses the benefit of the doubt — maybe she had a lot of tables, maybe some of her other guests were especially demanding, who knows. But if I got service like that again, it might make me not want to go back.

Eleven tasty brews. Well, maybe five tasty ones.

The brewery offered 11 beers on tap, ranging the gamut from pale yellow fizzy stuff, to a very roasty stout.  For about $12, Jim got a sampler of all their beers.  They even let him pick his favorite for one extra sample, since their cask beer was down.  I had some sips of each.  My personal favorites were the Honey Raspberry Ale, the Firehouse ESB (tasted like a red to me, which is a good thing, in my opinion), and the Dundee Scotch Ale. They also had a couple of seasonal saisons that I thought were pretty good. We ended up  taking a growler of one of them home, which we shared with friends at a Royals tailgate on Saturday.  Everyone enjoyed it.

Overall, I’m glad we went and I enjoyed my food. I would have enjoyed both the food and beer more if I’d been feeling a little better, though.

• Atmosphere 8/10
• Beer Selection 10/15
• Beer Service 4/5
• Food 7/10
• Price 7/10

Jim

The atmosphere inside Upstream Brewery was very similar to the whole vibe of the Old Market, sort of a rough reclamation of buildings lost to abandonment. Lots of interior brick, dark-stained wood, and exposed metal. The bottom floor had ample waiting space and a large bar area with plenty of seating around it. Upstairs, where we sat, included a second, smaller bar and many tables and booths separated by low walls. Along one of the exterior walls were several pool tables.

Our server was friendly, but slow. It seemed her section stretched from the few tables nearest the staircase to the outdoor deck. It had to have made her job much more difficult than it should have been.

Upstream had more beer choices than I expected. A few were too close to each other for my liking. Their O! Gold and the Gold Coast Blonde (essentially a light lager and a kölsch) had little differences. I was surprised by the Honey Raspberry Ale, a wheat ale with a pleasant hint of honey. Not too sweet, which is what I feared. Both the Capital Premium Pale Ale and the India Pale Ale were very aggressively hopped, and both bordered on too harsh. The Dundee Scotch Ale (an export-strength ale) was sweeter than it ought to be. The Blackstone Stout just tasted burnt.

The highlight of their beer selection were the Firehouse ESB (which was listed as Firehouse Red Ale on the back of the food menu, but nowhere else), and their two seasonal saisons. The ESB was nicely balanced with toasty malt character, strong hop bitterness, and a pleasing aroma of flowery hops.

The two saisons were named for their primary nontraditional spice. Jess really enjoyed the Blue Ginger Saison. It had a wonderful bite from the ginger, but it did not overpower or dominate the flavor like I feared it would. I preferred the Lemongrass Saison, with native Nebraska lemongrass and bitter orange peel. Both were excellent saisons for spring. We went home with a growler of one.

Classy little glasses.

My tasters came in miniature weizen glasses emblazoned with the Upstream logo. They were out of the placemats, so we were left to fend for ourselves remembering which beer was which. (Not that difficult, really. Except for those two light ones.)

My ribeye was good. I’ve had much better and I’ve had worse. The pork potsticker appetizers were quite good. The price was about what we would expect for the quality of the beer, food, and its location.

• Atmosphere 7/10
• Beer Selection 12/15
• Beer Service 3/5
• Food 7/10
• Price 7/10