Zac Triemert is a master brewer and a microbiology wiz.

Before he was president of Brickway Brewery and Distillery, Triemert used his background in pre-medicine to supercharge his skills in crafting alcoholic beverages. He went to Sctoland to earn a master’s degree in brewing and distilling, and he returned to Nebraska with his passion for spirits and beer.

Triemert worked with the Nebraska Legislature to draft a craft distilling bill, which allowed him to create his own craft brews, starting out as the former owner of the Lucky Bucket Brewery and Solas Distillery in La Vista.

At the time, Triemert said, “my mother was disappointed until I started making vodka.”

Using a double-pot still system to craft whiskey the same way that Scotch is crafted, Triemert matures it in brand-new charred American Oak barrels.

“I mature it like a bourbon,” he said. “So it’s this cool hybrid they call American single-malt whiskey, which has won four international gold medals in the last three years.”

Along with a head beer brewer to complete Brickway’s repertoire, Triemert and his teamhave all become experts on the brewing process.

“We train our team on beer production and spirits production because we give tours,” Triemert said, noting that it allows the Old Market business to fully entertain and educate their customers about exactly what it is they are tasting.

Going hand in hand with expertise about their craft, customer service is No. 1 in Triemert’s philosophy.

“The customer is first,” he said. “Part of our policy and our training is that I want people to be greeted within thirty seconds of walking in the door.”

Because of their creative thinking and excellent customer service, the Greater Omaha Chamber selected Brickway as its October Small Business of the Month.

When Triemert received the news, he said “I was both surprised and proud of my team and I really appreciate the city recognizing how hard the team works.”

As they approach Brickway’s seventh anniversary on Dec. 13the business has multiple reasons to celebrate – even during a pandemic. When COVID-19 hit, Brickway began finding new and creative ways to stay open, including offering cocktails to go and free hand sanitizer.

“We’re lucky to have three distinct individual businesses,” Triemert said. “We are a manufacturing brewery, a manufacturing distillery, and we have the tap room where we sell beer and whiskey and food.”

When the pandemic hit and Triemert had to furlough many of his employees working in the tap room, he was elated to bring every single one of them back once he realized the distillery could be used to make hand sanitizer.

Since then, Brickway has given away more than 10,000 gallons out to the community. The tap room’s customers can get 8-oz bottles of sanitizer for free, and hand sanitizer is offered “on tap” every Friday.

“You can bring up to a 64-ounce jug, and we’ll fill it up for you on the spot,” Triemert said.

If you do decide to stop by for a Friday fill-up, Triemert recommends trying a stuffed Philly cheese pretzel with an Omaha Stylee Juicy IPA.

Triemert realized many years ago how impactful a drink can be when he crafted his own batch of beer for their family Christmas celebration. He brewed a beer in honor of his father and gave everyone in the family two bottles: one to drink, and one to take home.

He gave a speech that night: “Some people laughed, some people cried, and I realized I’d changed the experience with the beer,” he said. “We were there commemorating my father, so we have three words: celebrate, commiserate, commemorate.”

Triemert added, “It doesn’t matter what’s going on in your life, something is going to fit into one of those buckets, and Brickway is going to be there for you.”