Empyrean Brewing Company

Empyrean Brewing Company is a brewery founded in 1990 in Lincoln, Nebraska, US, by the holding company Telesis Inc. The following year, Telesis opened Lazlo's Brewery and Grill, Nebraska's first brewpub. Lazlo's restaurants are located in Lincoln and Omaha. Currently, Empyrean beer is available in Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota and parts of Iowa.HistoryLazlo's Brewery and Grill was founded in 1990. Rich Chapin, the Head Brewer, began to convert his award-winning homebrew recipes for the restaurant. The grand opening of the brewpub took place on March 20, 1991, at 710 P St. in Lincoln's historic Haymarket District. During that year, the company sold approximately 500 barrels of their beer.In 1996, construction began on a new fermentation cellar in the adjacent Coffee and Spice Building at 729 Q St. After completion of the construction in 1997, Empyrean Brewing Company and Lazlo's Brewery and Grill became separate financial entities under the Telesis umbrella. As production increased, K & Z Distributing of Lincoln and Miller Brands of Omaha begin distributing Empyrean beer.Just one year after contracting with the distributors, Empyrean had over 70 draft contracts in Lincoln and Omaha. To meet these needs, brewing capacity was increased to 2,500 barrels. The increasing popularity of the beers caused Empyrean owners to begin to consider bottling the beers for more widespread distribution.