Empyrean Brewing Company - Chaco Canyon Gold

Empyrean’s golden ale unsurprisingly pours a bright golden color, capped with a head of nearly white foam that persists well. In the aroma, look for a pleasant and really engaging profile boasting an array of subtle tones including orange & lime zest, hints of jasmine-esque floral essence, and an intriguing spicy note of sandalwood. Light touches of Nebraska-sourced honey meld with pale malts in the undercurrent. On the palate, this brew is light on its feet, as we expect for a golden ale, with a super crisp core of crackery malt shot through with spicy, zesty hop character. Chaco Canyon Gold finishes quite dry and very refreshing, beckoning us to take another sip. For pairing options, Empyrean recommends fried foods, Southwest cuisine, and grilled chicken or fish. We’d also play off the beer’s spicy and zesty citric elements with exotically spiced Indian dishes as well as grilled spicy sausages, salad with fennel and orange, or fries with garlic and parsley. Cheers!

The story of Empyrean Brewing Company begins with the founding of Lazlo’s Brewery & Grill in Lincoln, NE in 1990. Accomplished homebrewer Rich Chapin was brought in as Head Brewer to helm the brewing side of the new business. When Lazlo’s opened its doors and served its first beers to the public in March, 1991, it became the state’s first brewpub, going on to produce about 500 barrels in its first year. The brewpub concept proved popular with the locals, and in 1997 the brewery was spun off as its very own enterprise under the name Empyrean – a word tracing its origins to Aristotle’s notion of cosmology and representing the highest part of the heavens. By 1998, production capacity was expanded to 2500 barrels per year, though at this point it was all draft. When they installed a bottling line the next year, Empyrean became the first craft brewery in Nebraska to do so, and it allowed them to begin establishing a retail footprint for the first time.

In 2000, Lazlo’s expanded by opening a second brewpub location, and the increased demand from the restaurant plus their growing retail business pushed Empyrean to open a newer, larger brewhouse in 2001. By decade’s end, distribution had reached throughout all of Nebraska and into neighboring Iowa and South Dakota.

Today, Empyrean can be found in several states, including in the Chicagoland area as of 2022. They produce a slate of around ten core year-round beers along with five rotating seasonals and an array of additional limited-run, hop-focused, and barrel-aged brews. In addition to a focus on excellent beer, Empyrean is focused on being good stewards of the planet: they donate 150 tons of spent grain to local farmers each year, use geothermal heating and cooling technology, and their warehouse boasts the largest privately owned solar array in Nebraska. For more info, visit them at empyreanbrewingco.com.