About Us

Bottle Rocket Brewing Co., located in the heart of downtown Seward, Nebraska—officially known as the Fourth of July City, Smalltown USA—was founded by Gerald Homp in March 2014. After officially opening the taproom in October 2015, we’ve been quenching the thirsts of beer lovers and curious sippers alike. It all began in the basement of the mill, where our brewmaster and co-owner, Ryan Koch, worked his magic with a small one-barrel brewing system and two-barrel fermenting tanks. We kicked things off with classic ales—think cream stouts, browns, and a variety of wheat beers. As our community’s tastes grew, so did our lineup, and soon enough, we were serving up pale ales and IPAs. Today, we’ve got over twelve taps flowing with a diverse range of ales and lagers, so there’s always something new to discover!

Our taproom and brewing equipment are tucked inside the historic Campbell’s Seed Company Mill, built in 1947. The mill was cranking out seed until 1987 when it had a makeover as the Flower Mill, a quaint little flower shop. By the time we got our hands on it in 2014, it was in pristine condition, still rocking all the original brick, elevators and grain bins. To keep up with Seward’s growing thirst, we added a big event space to the back of the building in 2016. And that’s not all—there’s a beer garden, a loft, and the old upstairs mill room, all available for your next shindig! Check out our rental page for the details. Visit our rental page to learn more. In 2019, we expanded into the nearby old Seward Youth building, transforming it into our full-on production and canning facility. This spot brews up 15 barrels at a time and ferments in 30-barrel uni-tanks. We also have a massive RO system that holds 3,000 gallons of pure water, a 26’x16’ drive-in beer cooler, and our very own canning line.