The first week in June, I had planned to make a trip to Hartington, Nebraska, to visit Big Hair Brewhaus on opening day. My wife and I decided to ask our close friends Kristi and Paul if they would like to join us. They were interested since they never been on a beercation. Kristi also wanted to see if we could find a winery in the area to go to, which was a great idea!

I thought about staying the night in Norfolk. It turned out for whatever reason on June 4th that there was very little availability in Norfolk for hotel rooms. I had never stayed in an Airbnb before - ok yes I admit to being an Airbnb virgin before this trip. T & T Rustic Loft came up on the search. It was perfect in that it was between Hartington and Wayne, Nebraska. We would be visiting Johnnie Byrd Brewing on the second day of the trip.

The loft was a great place to stay. The upstairs had a nice bar with a pool table and darts. There was a tv area with a great view out to the south. An adorable bedroom was also on this floor.

The downstairs consisted of a bathroom and kitchen that was perfect for morning coffee and making any meal. The owner’s Steve and Deb Thies were so nice! We got to talk to Steve for a while and get to know him. We found out it is a small world as I know his first cousin, Brad.

On the way to Hartington, we had some challenges getting to our destination. I started to become just a little bit worried. Then I realized the best part about traveling with friends is that you have multiple people who can help you navigate when your GPS is leaving out the highways you need to travel on!

Paul was prepared with a hand-drawn map. He knows Northeast Nebraska very well, so I was sure we would make it to our destination. But just to be on the safe side, Kristi had her phone ready to make sure we would arrive in Hartington on time!

We arrived early on Friday in Hartington and thought it would be best to have lunch before going to the brewery. We were fortunate that The Globe Chophouse had a soft opening that day and it was right across the street from Big Hair Brewhaus.

The food was excellent! Paul and I had burgers, and the wives had salads. I walked around the building and found out that the building was Globe Clothing in the early 1900s. There is more to this story, but I think I will save it for just a little bit!

Next stop - Big Hair Brewhaus!

It isn’t often that I get to go to a brewery on opening day! This was such a treat and I got to share it with my wife and friends. Brett and Reed gave us a tour and told us interesting stories about the background of the brewery and Cedar county.

While discussing finding a location for the brewery, Brett told us about Dr. Ben and Dr. Erin Schroeder, who are veterinarians in Hartington. They had a passion for ensuring that the hotel, Surge car dealership building, and Globe Clothing building got restored!

Big Hair Brewhaus would make the Surge building their home. Globe Chophouse made Globe Clothing their home. The hotel renovation would complete and re-open. It is such a great story, but there was more!

Drs. Ben and Erin also have a tv show called Heartland Docs DVM, which is on NatGeo Wild! On that Friday evening at T & T Rustic, we watched a few episodes and everyone loved it!

The next stop of the day would be about 7 miles north of Hartington to the Nissen Family Vineyard. Kristi was very excited and so was I because I had never actually done a wine tasting.

The afternoon was hot, close to 100 degrees outside, so it was nice to step into the winery to cool off and try various wines!

It was fantastic to see all of the grapes growing as we drove up the lane. We would soon find out that the grapes were originally planted in 2003, and wine production began in 2006. There was a lot of research that went into finding grapes that would endure the hot Nebraska summers and the frigid winters. The winery would have four main types of grapes they would grow to produce up to 13 different types of wine, ranging from sweet whites to those excellent dry red wines.

I enjoyed everyone’s reaction to each wine that we sampled, especially my wife’s! There were several on the sweeter side that she enjoyed, while I was more intrigued by the drier reds. I think Kristi enjoyed most of them, which made it a difficult choice as to what to bring back to Omaha!

During the tasting, we had a great time listening to the stories about the outlaws such as Jesse James and Doc Middleton that frequented the area in the 1880s. I had never heard of the Outlaw Trail Scenic Byway, so I listened intently to every story!

I enjoyed this visit very much! I would recommend making it to both the brewery and winery when traveling to Hartington!

We called it an afternoon and headed back to Belden to T and T Rustic. After we unpacked, it was time to decide what to do for dinner. Since Paul knew the area so well, we asked him to pick something he had enjoyed before. He recommended Jerry’s Hilltop Cafe in Randolph.

The cafe was bustling, but we did get a table right away. Our waitress was fantastic! We had such a great time talking about the local area and our adventures. After a good meal, it was time to head back and call it a night. We would have a big day in Wayne on Saturday!

Some days are so perfect, and this Saturday was one of them! There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. The patio at Johnnie Byrd Brewing Company had hops growing on it. I am a big fan of hops on a patio - wink, wink, hint, hint, Mrs. Joe.

We arrived shortly after the taproom opened and were greeted by Greg Ptacek who is the head brewer and owner. Greg is one of those people you could listen to for hours! Getting to hear about how the brewery got started and the plans for the future was uplifting!

After lunch, we started making our way back to Omaha. During the drive, I thought about how much fun this trip had been. Getting to enjoy experiences with close friends has to be one of the best things in life!

I highly recommend this beercation trip. The one thing I would add to it is visiting Divots Brewery in Norfolk. Jeremy Kirby, who is the head brewer, is a great guy and brews incredible beer!

I am looking forward to seeing where next year’s beercation takes us!

Cheers!