Editorial

Will whiskey be latest value-added product?

Tuesday, January 30, 2007

For years, we've heard economic development experts tout the potential for "value added" agriculture.

Southwest Nebraska has long embraced the idea in a big way, turning raw products such as grain into more valuable commodities such as beef and pork.

More recently, that corn has been going into the many ethanol plants that are sprouting around the countryside, coming out as fuel-grade ethanol to supplement or replace gasoline. Happily, even after it has been used to produce ethanol, the corn -- in the form of distiller's grain -- remains a valuable foodstuff for livestock.

We've often remarked about how ethanol production is a "back to the future" situation, harkening to the time when underground distilleries throughout the area provided spirits during the Prohibition era.

Now an Omaha company wants to take one more step in that direction, asking the Legislature to pass a law allowing the on-site brewing of hard liquor in Nebraska retail locations.

Zach Triemert, a Scotland-trained brewer and distiller, and his company, the Upstream Brewing Co. of Omaha, point to the success of niche brewing in Nebraska and around the nation.

About 20 years ago, there were only about a half-dozen "brewpubs" with beer produced onsite around the nation, and none were allowed in Nebraska. Then the law was changed, and there are about a dozen brewpubs in the state and 88 around the country.

Nebraska followed a similar trend with winemaking, and the state is home to a growing number of vineyards and onsite retail wine establishments.

The Omaha company eventually wants to make classic dark spirits such as whiskey, but it probably would start with light ones like gin and vodka, that don't require aging.

While we're in favor of allowing innovations that create new business opportunities in Nebraska, it's distressing that they so often seem to be associated with issues that carry too much negative baggage, such as casino gambling and alcohol.


What do you think? Should Nebraska allow onsite distilling of liquor at retail locations?

Cast your vote online at http://mccookgazette.com, call the Gazette's Reader Feedback line at (308) 345-7874, e-mail editor@mccookgazette.com or write to Open Forum, McCook Daily Gazette, P.O. Box 1268, McCook NE 69001.

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