JUKES ALE WORKS
Hoppen Hierarchy:★★⭑
District: Millard
Brewery with Wings & Bar Food
Perfect For: Casual Dining; Happy Hour; Lunch; Takeout
Standout Dishes: Salted Caramel Wings; Cuban Sando
From my first meal at Jukes Ale Works, I was struck with the welcome sensation that everything felt especially connected, which can be a rare feeling at breweries. Most have a slight disconnect somewhere; the vibe doesn’t match the service style, or the establishment focuses heavily on the beers at the expense of the food.
But at Jukes, it all just fits. It’s a friendly space that could easily serve as either a bar or a restaurant. The servers are friendly and have an edgy attitude, the perfect foils to banter with during a sunny evening on the upstairs patio. And the creative takes on traditional bar food match the playfulness and creativity displayed in Jukes Ale Works’ rotating tap menu. There’s a palpable cohesiveness.
That’s the kind of connectivity you get when every part of the business has the same blood running through their veins.
The Jukes family touches every aspect of their restaurant: parents Guy and Terri own the place, while sons Brad, Kyle, and Jake are the manager, head brewmaster, and head chef, respectively. This fun-loving crew creates a cozy space that has Omahans flocking to downtown Elkhorn for happy hour and their infamous wings (more on those in a minute).
Jukes Ale Works is, as the name suggests, a brewery at its core. Beer has been is a connecting piece for the family, which has long has long been regulars at beer festivals and brewpubs. In the late 2000s, they decided to make their own craft beer and found they were pretty darn good at it. So the Elkhorn-based family purchased and tore down an old auto shop (while honoring it by incorporating some of its equipment into the design of the taproom) and opened their own place in 2019.
Of the 19 taps, 7 feature Jukes’ core beers, which range from the dark, toasty Evervest to the dry Little Lady to the slightly sweet Merlin’s Cream Ale, whose name pays homage to the previous owner.
The Ninja Juice IPA has everything one looks for in an American IPA: hoppy and floral, it mixes notes of citrus and pine with the expected bitterness.
Jukes’ other taps change throughout the year based on seasonality, beer trends, and just whatever the crew wants to try. You can find fruit beers, malt liquors, farmhouse ales, multiple styles of IPAs, and even Japanese rice lager. Bottom line: you won’t get bored with this ever-changing beer lineup.
With so much time and energy dedicated to the brews, one might expect the food to be an afterthought. That’s unfortunately the case at most bars and breweries; the food exists to soak up the booze or provide something to snack on between drinks. Flavor and creativity need not apply.
Jukes differs in this respect. Though the quality of the end product may vary from item to item, all have had real thought and intention put into them, and none more so than the joint’s signature Salted Caramel Wings.
Pictured in the header of this post, these wings are a logic-defying brain breaker. Many Asian-inspired marinades and BBQ sauces successfully pair sweet elements with chicken wings, but rich, vanilla-forward caramel?
Turn your brain off and don’t try to figure them out. Just enjoy the delicious flavor in ignorant bliss.
What saves these wings is the bourbon in the caramel sauce, which combines with flecks of sea salt to combat the heavy sweetness and bring it to an acceptable level. They’re still quite rich, and eating an order of 12 for a meal might be a bit much. But as a table-sharer, these are a home run.
While the Salted Caramel Wings get most of the attention at Jukes, the chicken is excellent with any sauce. That’s because the wings are fried naked with no breading, which produces a crisp exterior while allowing the meat inside to remain succulent and moist. From the creamy, cheesy Roasted Garlic Parmesan Wings to the buttery House Buffalo Wings that leave a pleasant tingle on your lips, the wings at Jukes are worth a visit alone.
There’s a lively ingenuity that exists throughout Jukes’ menu; standard bar classics are presented with a fun twist. Here you’ll find Tater Tot Poutine (tots loaded with gravy and cheese curds), amped-up versions of mac & cheese, and brewpub. Not surprisingly, a majority of the menu items have beer infused in some way.
The item Jukes is best known for is its Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich, which packs a serious punch. This massive hunk of poultry will leave a tingle on your lips a good half hour after you’ve consumed it, but a brown sugar-y sweetness cuts the heat and keeps it from being overbearing. The sandwich is a bit overfried and burnt at parts and it’s very greasy, but if you want to give your tastebuds a kick in the shorts, this is your sandwich.
Jukes’ cooking mastery is displayed well in the Cuban Sando, which swaps out the traditional pressed Cuban bread for a crispy ciabatta bun. This trade-off doesn’t work perfectly, as the crunchy, firm pressed bread is missed. But the salty ham, rich, sweet pulled pork, tangy pickles, and a delicious “Boiler Sauce” make up for it to make a delicious sandwich.
Jukes’ whimsical side might be best displayed in its Peanut Butter Bacon Burger, draped in a beautiful blanket of melted provolone. The patty itself is a bit dry and the application of peanut butter isn’t as heavy as expected, but this is still a solid burger.
If you’re looking for a greasy, delicious app to split with your buddies during happy hour, it’s hard to beat the Cheese Curds. These plump balls of Wisconsin white cheese are nutty and creamy, and the batter adds a salty balance. A dunk in the Cajun ranch really sets them off.
The atmosphere at Jukes cannot be overlooked. The rooftop patio is a fun hub to gather the crew, and the interior of the brewery is bright and features plenty of TVs for game watching. The decor and the names of Jukes’ beers and menu items convey a flippant, humorous attitude.
At its core, Jukes is just fun. It’s somehow irreverent while displaying extreme care to its craft, and the Jukes family will make sure you have a good time here.