Saturday 12th of May 2012 09:19:41 AM

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Located in the Old Market section of Omaha, refurbished warehouse building, brick outside with dark wood finishes inside. A really large inside as well as plenty of area to eat on the patio.

I ate there on a weekday for a late lunch and had no problem finding on street parking right nearby, however in the evening you'll likely have to find a nearby garage of surface lot as this is a night spot that gets crowded.

Was very impressed with the sampler. First, they offered 12 beers, each for $1. The samples were large, at least 4 oz each. The IPA and cask conditioned IPA were both excellent, definitely strongly hopped. Also memorable was a scotch ale (which generally is not a favorite of mine) which is a regular beer. They also offered 5 or 6 seasonals. An imperial stout was definitely good. But most memorable was chai rye brown saison. Just an extremely unusual combination with some definite bite from the spices.

I tried the Upstream Mac and Cheese and would definitely order it again.

The server was also knowledgeable and gave a nice presentation of the sampler.

Visited again in 2015. Seasonals were really nice, in particular the Nightman Dunkelweisen was a different style, sort of a chocolate wheat. Definitely something different. The Cafe Lache Stout was a little too coffee for my state, but if you like a strong coffee flavor the overall consistency was good. I prefered their house IPA to their double IPA which is a seasonal.

Monday 6th of August 2007 09:05:25 AM

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Located in the Old Market, a very cool downtown portion of Omaha, Upstream has that exposed brick atmosphere that I like so much. They've got about eleven beers on tap. Their website indicated that you could buy 750s of tripel, a kriek, framboise and something else I forget. When I got their I found that they only had a barley wine available for sale, and I wasn't in the mood for that on a 90+ degree August day.

After we were seated, it took a noticeably long time for our waitress to show. We ordered our beers, and it took a noticeably long time for our beers to arrive. This was a Sunday evening with a nearly vacant 30-seat U-shaped bar in my view. Several dinner diners, but not hectic, in my opinion, so the slow service was perplexing. The crowd did pick up as the evening progressed. I hope the waitstaff found their groove. Really, our waitress must have been fairly new, as I think back. Very friendly. At one point, I overheard a female bartender giving a question-asker a solid description of his beer, the brewing process specific to Upstream's set-up, as well as historical info on the building. I was impressed.

I enjoyed the three beers I tried: the Blackstone Stout, Dundee Scotch Ale and their IPA on cask. The cask stood out. The Scotch ale was on the low end of the style, weighing in at 6.5%. Served way cold, it was increasingly enjoyable as it warmed. House-brewed rootbeer for the kids was pretty decent.

We just did appetizers: fried calamari and an artichoke/asiago cheese dip, neither of which stood out as amazing. The menu looked tasty, and I look forward to stopping in again for a meal.

Nice atmosphere and tasty beers, I look forward to hitting this place again, and trying to get some of their bottled stuff for the fridge. Growlers reasonably priced. Give it a try.