Brews and Bluegrass in Broken Bow

Just as soon as we had a chance, we road tripped to Broken Bow to check out the new Kinkaider Brewing Company. The perfect opportunity came when the brew pub hosted the Dirty River Ramblers recently.

It was a great round trip and we saw some beautiful country!

It's an hour and a half to Broken Bow, we made an overnight trip of it, staying at the historic Arrow Hotel.
We had a great stay. We had a two room suite with a king bed, queen bed, two baths, kitchen and living space. When the hotel was originally refurbished, it was designed as apartments for retirees, then when it was converted to a hotel again, they kept some of the suites. They are very comfortable and nicely decorated.

In the lobby is the Bonfire Grill and Pub. We had to get to the Kinkaider, so we didn't have time to eat, but after the beer and music, we stopped for a nightcap. It is decorated very nicely with a great atmosphere, and the bartenders know how to make a dirty martini, so it's a great location in my book!

So... on to the Brews and Bluegrass!

Located in the heart of Custer County, Nebraska, the Kinkaider is aptly named and celebrates the history of the great homesteading movement initiated by the Kinkaid Act of 1904.

You never know exactly what you're going to get when you try out a new brew pub. Some are great and some not so good. We were very pleased with the brews at the Kinkaider. Mark immediately gravitated toward the Jalapeno Ale. I started with a flight, then settled on the Jalapeno Ale myself, though I was torn between that and the KBC Porter. What clinched the deal was when I found out they offer it as a red beer for only $1 extra.

The owners have a long history of home brewing, and we wish them the best. It definitely won't be our last trip to the Kinkaider.

The Dirty River Ramblers are a bluegrass band out of Omaha currently on a national tour. The Kinkaider was fortunate to get them for the first music event at the brew pub. I'm sure the event was a learning experience for the venue, and there could be improvements. I'm used to music in a concert setting rather than a bar setting, where the audience is quiet and listens to the band. It seemed as if sometimes the band was a bit distracted by the crowd noise. For what it was, it was very enjoyable.

Saturday morning we had a great breakfast at the City Cafe, just down the block on the square from the Arrow. It is as cute a rustic hometown cafe you could ask for, with great home cooking.

And then the drive home! As you can see from the map, we took a roundabout way, going north through the wind farm to the Victoria Springs road and through the recreation area, then south on a county road to Merna.
Where we found a great bunch of windmills on display at the Downey well drilling company.
Then on the county road that goes from Arnold to Callaway, we saw several flocks of Trumpeter Swans in the corn fields. What a sight to see.
Then, of course, was the great sculpture garden in Oconto that was the subject of a previous post.

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