The Mill, Empyrean create coffee-flavored cream ale

When Dan and Tamara Sloan were approached last September to collaborate with Empyrean Brewing Co. on a coffee-flavored beer, they felt they had to listen.

After all, Empyrean and The Mill Coffee & Tea — located a block apart — are two of the oldest businesses in the Historic Haymarket district.

Still, Dan Sloan said he was skeptical.

“There’s just so many (coffee beers) out there that are all kind of the same,” he said. “They always do a dark coffee with a dark beer that’s seasonal — a winter-only beer. We didn’t want to do that.”

The Sloans wanted a beer with a much more broad appeal, something that was a little bit different, but not exotic. They wanted something people could consider their go-to beer.

So when Tim Binderup, Empyrean’s brew master, and Chris Kortje, the Mill’s head roaster, got together, the results were special.

“There’s a science to it,” Dan Sloan said. “It’s like they’re talking about how to tweak things by playing with the roast profile to match the beer taste profile to get the perfect match.

“We just got out of the way because those guys are so good.”

The end result is a Cold Brew Cream Ale that debuted in Empyrean’s Q Street taproom in late October and has been a hit at every Mill location with a liquor license.

“It’s an easy-drinking beer,” Dan Sloan said. “They didn’t hit it real hard with the coffee, so it’s not like in-your-face coffee. The cream ale aspect jumps through probably a bit stronger than the coffee.”

Binderup and Kortje spent weeks tweaking the recipe. In the end, they presented the Sloans and Jim Engelbart, Empyrean’s director of operations, with four iterations of their recipe.

“When we tasted the recipe that they’re using now, it was like everybody knew it,” Dan Sloan said. “It was perfect. So it was kind of a magical combination.”

Tamara Sloan said the beer, while fresh and new, is an homage to The Haymarket and its recent history.

“We’re the old guard downtown,” she said. “It’s like we’re all looking at each other going, ‘yeah, we’ve been here a long time.’”

Maybe longevity has its advantages.

The cream ale has been received so well that Empyrean has begun canning it. It is being sold in local Hy-Vee grocery stores, Wall to Wall Wine and Spirits, and Wine, Beer, and Spirits locations. In addition, the 16-ounce four packs are also available at The Mill and Lazlos’s Brewery & Grill.

For Empyrean, the collaboration seemed like a perfect fit.

“The original Lincoln coffee shop teaming up with Nebraska’s first brewpub just makes perfect sense,” said Ben Matya, Empyrean’s sales and marketing manager. “Two Lincoln staples, both known for brewing very different things, come together to make something delicious.

“It’s the best of both worlds.”