Pawnee City couple launches Git-R-Done beer

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BY JOE DUGGAN / Lincoln Journal Star

PAWNEE CITY — You never know who might show up in the vineyard.

In July 2005, Sharon Schilling was cultivating grape vines at her family’s winery in Pawnee City when Larry the Cable Guy walked up.

Seeing one of America’s most popular comedians in town wasn’t all that unusual because Dan Whitney, the guy who is Larry, grew up in Pawnee City.

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He apologized for being so dressed up — he was wearing a sleeveless camouflage shirt and a nice pair of shorts — but explained it was his wedding day, a fact that was confirmed by his new bride, Cara.

Then he said he had read the proposal from Schilling and her husband, Mike — a proposal to develop, brew and sell a beer at their winery and microbrewery that capitalized on Pawnee City’s most famous native son.

“He said it was a great idea,” Sharon recalled. “He said, ‘Let’s git-r-done.’ ”

She laughed at the memory.

“He made it sound so simple.”

On Saturday, nearly two years after that conversation, Mike and Sharon Schilling launched Git-R-Done beer at SchillingBridge Winery & MicroBrewery. Customers at the winery’s Laughter and Libations festival got the first public tasting of the new brew, which is named after Larry’s catch phrase.

While Git-R-Done beer represents a huge investment of money and time for the tiny farm winery, the Schillings say they’re working for more than their own growth. They hope the beer will spur additional jobs and economic development in their small community.

“I know it sounds sappy, but that’s the truth,” Sharon said. “We really are working for the future viability of our community. We love living in a small town, and we want it to continue to exist.”

Not since Billy Beer hit the market in 1978 has a malted beverage been named after such a well-known good ole’ boy. As it turned out, the beer endorsed by the brother of former President Jimmy Carter had a shorter shelf life than milk.

The Schillings believe their beer will have staying power for a couple of reasons.

For one thing, Larry the Cable Guy is a proven talent with a huge fan base. His stand-up routine packs 20,000-seat arenas and he reportedly pulls down $250,000 to $300,000 a night. He has sold more than 1 million CDs and he’s starred in cable TV specials and Hollywood films, including “Delta Farce” in theaters now.

“It will be huge,” said Zac Triemert, head brewer for Upstream Brewing Co. in Omaha. “I think this brand has legs because people will be interested in trying it, and once they do, they’ll go back to it.”

Which leads to the second reason the Schillings believe their product will succeed: It’s a craft beer made of high-quality ingredients that will appeal to those who enjoy a light, crisp beer.

Mike Schilling and Triemert developed the beer as an American light lager, a style similar to the most mass-market beers in the United States. But Triemert said the beer has a “little more flavor and body” than beers produced by corporate breweries.

“We wanted something that’s very flavorful and very easy to drink,” Triemert said.

Of course, all of this sounds a bit high class for a guy known for bathroom humor and a backwoods accent. Mike Schilling sees no problem with the apparent contra- diction.

“Rednecks love quality too,” he said.

Along with a big “Git-R-Done,” the beer’s logo features an image of Larry the Cable Guy, the Pawnee City highway sign (pop. 1008) and buildings from the city’s historic downtown. It was painted by Jody West, Whitney’s sister-in-law.

When SchillingBridge opened in November 2005, it became the first business in Nebraska to combine a winery with a microbrewery. Its first five beer styles have been contract brewed at Upstream.

The Omaha brewer will make Git-R-Done until SchillingBridge completes an expansion later this year to make room for brewing equipment.

In coming months, the winery/microbrewery will offer the beer in kegs for distribution to bars and eventually, in cans, bottles or both. But for now, people who want to taste the beer will have to find their way to Pawnee City, about 75 miles southeast of Lincoln.

Tourism is one way both Whitney, aka Larry the Cable Guy, and the Schillings hope their venture can help Pawnee City. Since it opened, the winery has attracted more than 17,000 visitors, Mike Schilling said.

And when one of their wines won “best-of-show” at an international wine competition in Florida last winter, business and traffic both increased.

Working out the details of a contract took a long time, but it happened because Whitney wanted it to happen.

“He doesn’t want to see (Pawnee City) shrivel up and die either,” Mike Schilling said.

Joe Stehlik is a Pawnee City attorney who helped the Schillings work out a contract with Whitney’s representatives. Stehlik also co-founded the Pawnee County Promotional Network, which works to promote tourism, economic development and other projects to improve the community.

SchillingBridge is already a proven asset to the community, Stehlik said. He and others hope Larry the Cable Guy fans who venture to town to slake their thirst will spend a little time checking out the community’s other attractions, including a renowned quilt shop, pedal tractor museum and 17-building historical society complex.

There’s a bit of irony in the notion of an economic salvation provided by beer and wine, Stehlik said. For decades after Prohibition, temperance maintained a strong hold on Pawnee City.

“It was so dry here you had to prime a man before he could spit,” Stehlik said.

For the Schillings, who currently employ five staff, the past two years have involved lots of work, negotiations and trying to keep the project under wraps. They said it wouldn’t have been possible without the hard work of their three children and lots of support from family and friends.

There’s more work ahead to make the beer a success. Mike Schilling said he often thinks of something someone in Los Angeles told the couple during negotiations.

“Do you realize you’re hooking your little red wagon behind a freight train going 100 miles per hour down the tracks?”

They’ve got their eyes on the speedometer.

Reach Joe Duggan at (402) 473-7239 or jduggan@journalstar.com.