Sip Nebraska

Back in February, I talked about how I decided to give my kids experiences instead of gifts. I came up with the idea after gifting my son tickets to Sip Nebraska for Christmas. Sip Nebraska is a semi-annual event held in the Spring, and once again in the Fall, where you can experience all the finest wine, brews, and spirits that Nebraska has to offer. 

For the price of admission, you get a free wine glass, all the samples of wine, beer, cider, and spirits you'd like, and musical entertainment. I got our tickets for the Spring event, which was held the first weekend in May.

The event was at Mahoney State Park, which is located almost halfway between Omaha (where I live) and Lincoln (where my son lives). This worked out perfectly so we met up there around 4 pm.

There were a few rows/aisles of tents

We walked around checking out the vendors before deciding which drinks to try first.

One of our first stops was at Bottle Rocket Brewing Company. Located about 30 minutes west of Lincoln, Bottle Rocket has a nice selection of beers. 

It was warm out in the sun, so we took our drinks under the big shelter to listen to a DJ, the first entertainment of the day.

I'm a cider fan so I was excited to see Saro Cider here! Located just a few blocks from my son's apartment in Lincoln, I got their Original Cider.

People line dancing to the DJ.

Back out to find more booze!

I've taken my kids to the best pumpkin patch in the Midwest, Vala's, many times and have had their non-alcoholic cider. I was surprised to see them here and that they had a large selection of hard ciders! I grabbed a glass of the Blackberry then returned for a bottle of their Imperial Cherry.

Scoping out this tent.

At Canyon Lakes Brewing Company's tent, I ordered a glass of their Coconut Porter and it was sooo good! Located about halfway between Kearney and North Platte, they're a quick drive south of I-80.

A quick 45-minute drive south of Lincoln lies Stone Hollow Brewing Company. They brew a variety of 15 beers and ciders.

Relaxing under the big shelter with my cider from Vala's.

This semi-sweet red blend, Passy, was delicious. My son picked up this bottle from the Junto Winery booth, a place I've visited a few times over the years.

This gentleman still has his spunk.

The band that played at 7 pm was The Bottle Tops who are from Lincoln.

This was an interesting day exploring different wines, spirits (which we just sampled), and beers by Nebraksa artisans, however, I can't say that I'd spend that kind of money again in the future. The event organizer could have just charged an entry fee since you had to buy all your booze anyway. We received numerous samples, but they were small and most places will give you samples to try anyway. The entertainment was just so so and food was limited. 

Yes, booze can make things more fun but I just didn't feel we really got much value out of it. I spent $120 ($60/each) for a free wine glass, some mediocre entertainment, and booze samples. This is very similar to the experience I had at KCRF's Kegs 'n Eggs. Hey, you never know until you try though, right? Definitely a lesson learned for me.