Modern Monks

Anybody that knows Brother Bob, probably knows that he is a big Frank Zappa freak. He wanted everybody to know about a new show on KZUM 89.3FM Lincoln.

The show is called Freak Out, and Brother Bob believes a man named Joe is the host on Tuesdays from 1pm to 3pm. The KZUM website doesn’t list it yet. A phone call to the station resulted in assurances that Freak Out is in that time slot, although the DJ couldn’t recall the name of the host either. He said he listened to it last week and it was really good, featuring a lot of early stuff. The name of the host isn’t so important. It is really important to Bob that everybody tune in, though. Frank may not have been a drinker, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a beer while you listen to his music. It is probably necessary…you might need several beers!

A call was received from Nichole Aksamit the restaurant reviewer for the Omaha World Herald last Thursday morning. She had heard something about the Modern Monks and wanted some details. We chatted for about a half hour.

She put a little blurb in her Dining Notes section on Friday about the Monks. She did a fine job conveying the spirit of the Monks and Brothers’ Cup in just a few words. Thanks Nichole!

Here is a cut and paste of the notes:

Funky monk-y

Brothers’ Cup, a Belgian-style beer from Nebraska brewing company Modern Monks, has shown up on tap at three Lincoln eateries and may come to Omaha soon.

The four Lincoln guys behind it — beer distributor Matt Dinges, drywall man Robert Myers, accountant Dave Oenbring and respiratory therapist Chris Vejnovich — are neither monks nor brothers. They’re friends and home-brewers who kept their day jobs and launched Modern Monks last fall as a more formal version of their hobby.

Dinges said Modern Monks is a subdivision of Thunderhead Brewing Co. in Kearney and brews on Thunderhead’s license at the Chicken Coop brewpub in Grand Island.

Brothers’ Cup is a Belgian-style blonde made with German hops. Dinges said he designed it after a September visit to Achel, a Trappist monastery-brewery in Belgium.

It is available on tap at Thunderhead and Chicken Coop, and in Lincoln at Bread & Cup, Yiayia’s Pizza and PieZano’s. Dinges said the Monks hope to have some available soon at specialty beer-havens in Omaha such as the Crescent Moon.

Well…not what you might have been thinking. Hops are definitely legal, and that’s what you see above. Hops. There are a lot of them in Brothers’ Cup. German ones, mostly, but back to the subject:

Are the Modern Monks legal?

A prominent Nebraska brewer asked that back in November when he heard the arrangements that had been made.

The answer is: hell yeah! Monks do not need the sanction of man’s law for their deeds, we operate with authority from a higher order. But don’t worry, we’ve got man’s law covered in this instance too.

Another common confusion:

You brew in Kearney, right?

Answer: NO, no…Grand Island! Right down the block from the Coney Island hotdog counter, at the Chicken Coop. We don’t brew in Kearney and we aren’t Thunderhead Brewing. Let’s get that straight…kind of straight…

You guys are from Thunderhead, aren’t you?

We are a creative subdivision of Thunderhead Brewing. That is the Thunderhead Brewing in Kearney, NE, yes. Did anybody know there was also a brewpub system in Grand Island at the Chicken Coop? We did, and we took it over. Our beers are brewed under the Thunderhead banner, but are strictly our creation and under our control. We buy the malt, the hops, the yeast, the man power, etc… There is no staff brewer residing in or visiting Grand Island. Its all Modern Monks. So don’t blame Thunderhead for our beers. We do it all. And we live in Lincoln. We thank Brother Trevor for having the vision and generosity to grant us brewing rights in Grand Island. May the almighty bequeath many hoppy beers upon you, Brother Trevor.

That’s the legal origins of the Modern Monks in a nutshell. We are a real LLC, and pay taxes and everything…lots of taxes. If you’ve still got questions, let us know.

Hello,

Welcome to Modern Monks Brewing. Modern Monks are an eclectic group of beer visionaries bringing unique hand crafted beer to Nebraska.

We’ve recently brewed 3 batches of Brothers’ Cup (3-week old BC from batch 3 can be seen in the photo above). The beer is slowly making its way across Nebraska. Right now you can find it in Kearney at Thunderhead Brewing, Grand Island at Chicken Coop, and Lincoln at Bread & Cup and Yia Yia’s.

Check back soon for a lot info on the Monks, Brothers’ Cup, and other beery topics.