As a young volunteer firefighter short on money but not ingenuity, Scott Snyder and a friend decided to try brewing their own beer since they couldn’t afford to buy their own stash regularly.
How successful were they? The owners of Gordon-Biersch tried the beer and promptly offered them $5,000 on the spot in 1998 for the recipe. Snyder declined. That primo recipe remains locked up. But Bierhaus patrons just might get a chance to try it when Snyder begins brewing a house beer for the restaurant in the near future.
Snyder oversees a selection at Bierhaus that includes 18 beers on tap and – what else – 99 bottles of beer.
“The beer program here is every man’s dream and every woman’s fantasy,’’ he says. “Anything you desire in a wine, I can introduce to you in a beer.’’
The Nebraska native has traveled through Romania, Hungary and Germany to hone his beer knowledge and palate. He’s already planning special events for the restaurant such as “Belgium Night’’ and “Tap Takeovers,’’ where patrons can meet noted brew masters.
To him, “Beer is a food group.’’ And rightly so.