Most of us are willing to wait for the good things in life, but 105 years seems to be pretty excessive! Thank goodness Five.0.Five Brewing Company has opened in Fremont, Nebraska. It is interesting to take a trip back to the late 1800s and early 1900s. The brewing industry in Nebraska was booming! Then one major event that would quickly end this era would be Prohibition.

In the 1870s, it appears that there were a few small breweries in Fremont, including Magenan & Co. Brewery. Then in 1891, Fremont Brewing Company would open in the area of 900 East Factory St. Fremont Brewing along with other larger breweries in Omaha. These breweries were known for their massive production.

In the early 1900s, Fremont Brewing Company produced 30,000 barrels of beer per year. So how much beer would that be? A barrel is roughly 31 gallons of beer which translates to 930,000 gallons or 7,440,000 pints! I wonder who was drinking all of that beer? They must have had an extensive distribution network.

In 1917, congress would create the 18th Amendment known as Prohibition. Most breweries tried to pivot to producing soda to survive this period that lasted until 1934. Fremont Brewing Company would be renamed Fremont Beverage Company before finally closing its doors.

For craft beer enthusiasts in the Seattle area, just a friendly reminder that Nebraska had the original Fremont Brewing Company!

Fast-forward to 2022, and a new craft beer era has started thanks to Five.0.Five Brewing Company.

The old saying, “patience is a virtue,” describes Shawn Morrow. Shawn started his craft beer career at Empyrean Brewing Co. in Lincoln, NE, in 1998. His starting position would be a cellar person doing tasks such as cleaning taps and kegging beer. This type of work is a common starting point, and it enticed Shawn to learn as much as he could to move up in the brewery.

Shawn got lots of good advice from Rich Chapin, head brewer at Empyrean Brewing, on what it would take to become a brewer, including where to go to school. Shawn would get his formal training from the Siebel Institute of Technology in Chicago and the Master Brewers Association in partnership with the University of Madison, Wisconsin.

Nothing is better than actually brewing to learn more about the process. Shawn reminisced about one of the first things he got to make at Empyrean Brewing: a Mead. It was an unforgettable experience!

As time went on, Shawn became very interested in the idea of owning his own brewery. Plans were in motion for a brewery in the Haymarket District of Lincoln when the Great Recession of 2008 hit. The ability for new small businesses to get financing dried up, thus forcing Shawn to put his plans on hold.

After that, some life changes came about, and Shawn left professional brewing to work at Lincoln Industries as an Operations Manager in the chemical division. He still enjoyed homebrewing, and his recipe list kept growing. While working there, he met Tim Gesell. They hit it off and started to do some homebrewing together.

The years were flying by, and Shawn had reached his 10th anniversary at Lincoln Industries. In 2018, Tim would share some of the beer that Shawn and he brewed with Ryan Durant. Ryan is the owner of the 505 Building in Fremont. Ryan and Tim thought it would be awesome to open a brewery in the building and wanted Shawn to join in on the venture.

There were several conversations throughout 2018, and each time Shawn would decline, telling Tim and Ryan it wasn’t the right time. Then towards the end of 2018, after a long talk with Lori about how much he wanted to do this, Shawn was able to say, “I’m in!”

The plans began in March 2019, and later that year in November, the Fremont City Council gave their approval and also provided a grant. There was a lot to do to get the 505 Building ready.

Time started to pass by, and the logistics of the 505 Building ended up not working out. One day, Tim told Shawn to check out a building on 349 N Main. Shawn took a look but thought it would be too small for their initial design ideas. After doing some additional measuring, it turned out that the space would work. With the building secured, 2021 would be another test of patience and will for Shawn!

I am always fascinated to find out what was in the space before the brewery and what good surprises arose in the renovation. Before Five.0.Five Brewing Company occupied the building, it was a Diamon Vogel paint store.

The paint store had previously covered up the round window shown in the picture. The window looks great in the brick wall and allows a nice amount of natural light to come through. The next major renovation step for the taproom was to remove the drop ceilings to allow for a more open look.

Each of these steps enhanced the atmosphere, but one more big item was the floor. The gorgeous wood floor was buried under two layers of subfloor and tile. With some work and patching from wood in other areas of the building, the taproom floor turned out great!

As we all know, the pandemic has caused immense pain in trying to get materials. The original design plans Lori came up with had to be modified several times because tables, bar stools, etc., were out of stock and had no firm date when they might become available.

I love how the taproom turned out! The industrial look of the black lights on the walls and black pipe for the tables seems very fitting. The darker woodwork gives you a British pub feel. An excellent space for conversation or maybe doing some writing in one of those cozy booths!

The other cool thing about the taproom is the historical pictures of the Fremont area donated from the local library. Each one has a remarkable story that Shawn so graciously told. The cool logo created by Beth Greenquist is visible throughout the taproom on the coasters and available merchandise such as shirts and hoodies.

Everything was set for the grand opening on January 13, 2022. Oh, did I forget something? Yes, of course, what about the beer? Shawn told us that the central theme for the brewery is to brew the styles as they were originally created. If it is a Lager, it will be a traditional German Lager. If it is a Pale Ale, it will be a traditional English Pale Ale.

Shawn said one of the best things about Fremont for brewing turned out to be the water. The water profile works out great the what they are brewing. The goal is to have six flagship beers available all of the time and two rotating beers. They also have guest craft beer, cider, and local spirits.

While at the brewery, I had the following two beers.

• Pathfinder Pale Ale - This English-style Pale Ale has a malty backbone with herbal and spicy notes. There is a medium hop bitterness balancing it out nicely. The ABV comes in at 5% and 35 IBUs.

• Lakeside Lager - This German-style Lager is very smooth with those bready and malty notes. A nice easy drinking beer that comes in at 5% ABV and 15 IBUs.

I really wanted to try the Black and Tan, but I have saved that for another trip back to Five.0.Five Brewing Company. The Black and Tan is made with their Strong Ale and Stout. Lori makes it look easy to pour one, but there is definitely an art to make the beautiful layers and to get that creamy head on top!

One thing I found very intriguing was that with the extensive recipes Shawn has, he decided to create new ones for the brewery. That has to take a lot of extra work, but it must feel great brewing new beers for the brewery! Shawn described that right before the opening; he hadn’t thought about the names and had to come up with them quickly.

Take the Bit Thick Strong Ale, for example. One of the old English meanings is a little unfair, and that could describe just how good this Ale is when comparing it to other Ales. Rugger Bugger Stout is another fun name. Imagine that guy sitting in the pub who loves sports, especially rugby being somewhat loud talking about his team while kicking back a couple of Stouts.

What a great visit! Lori and Shawn are amazing folks that have created a community space for people to enjoy. Their hard work and patience shows in how the brewery turned out. It has been exciting to see the brewery being open. I know the couple, and Tim Gesell also have plans to use the capacity of their 10-barrel system to distribute beer soon.

Get out and explore Fremont to see for yourself all of the great things happening along North Main street. I highly recommend getting to know the beers at Five.0.Five Brewing Company. They have a four-beer flight option that is perfect for getting acquainted with their wonderful brews!

Cheers!