A new Nebraska brew

WEST POINT, Neb. — The liquor distillery on the acreage south of here is far removed from the Appalachian Mountains where Jim Brozek learned the art of making liquor.

There, “moonshiners” manufacture liquor in illegal stills tucked in the backwoods.

But this still is legal. It’s the first licensed still in Nebraska.

And Brozek and his partner, Doug Throener of West Point, are openly distributing their Cooper’s Chase vodka to retailers in the area.

The duo met through mutual friends, discovered their common interest in making liquor, and decided to become Nebraska’s first distillers.

They spent a year maneuvering through federal and state red tape, buying and building the necessary equipment, and perfecting their “recipe.”

For that part of the process, Brozek drew on his experience with the people from the Appalachian Mountains that he met while living in Maryland.

“You could call it night school,” Brozek said of his time with the distillers in the mountains.

Throener grew up near West Point and is currently manager of the Farmers Elevator in Beemer.

Previous experience in the bar and restaurant business instilled an interest in brewing beer and distilling spirits, he said.

The process of making vodka begins by boiling a “recipe” of several different grains — most of which Throener and Brozek buy locally — which releases the starch from the grain.

After the mixture cools, barley malt is added, converting the starch to sugar. When the conversion has completed, the liquid is drained off, placed in a fermentation vat, and yeast is added.

When the fermentation has finished, the “wort” — or liquid — is drained off, and placed into the still. As the still heats the liquid to the boiling point of alcohol, the vapor rises to the top of the still, through a condenser and out into a collection vat.

At this point, Brozek said, the finished product is 190 proof, which the government requires to ensure purity. However, before it is bottled, the liquor is polished, filtered and diluted to 80 proof.

On a recent afternoon, Brozek opened the lid of a giant stainless steel storage tank, pointed to the liquid inside and referred to it as a giant martini. In fact, it was full of vodka waiting to be bottled.

That tank was one of several situated around the room in the Cooper’s Chase headquarters on the acreage Throener shares with his wife, Karla, and their family.

Two stills — a small copper version and a larger one made from stainless steel and copper — sit in an adjoining room.

The partners are concentrating on building their business and “chasing” the good life.

That philosophy is reflected in the “Cooper’s Chase” name.

“I’ve always liked the name Cooper. Chase is chasing a lifestyle,” Throener said. “That’s what we’re doing.”