Part of the charm of the recently concluded HBO series “Somebody Somewhere” were the bumper shots of everyday life in Manhattan, Kansas, where the show was set. Sharp-eyed, beer-minded folks quickly noticed that the city’s local brewery, Manhattan Brewing Co., was regularly featured in everything from storefront shots to banners in softball fields.
Other breweries popped up on the show. Characters were regularly sipping on Boulevard’s Tank 7 in scenes, and MolsonCoors had a Goonies-level of product placement for its hard seltzer brand in the third and final season.
The presence of Manhattan Brewing Co. really underscored the show’s local emphasis, and served as a reminder of how small breweries have a real presence and impact on local economies.
Manhattan Brewing Co. was co-founded by brewers Adam Krebsbach and Garrett Paulman, and Jake Voegeli, who handles sales and marketing. The trio previously worked together at Tallgrass Brewing Co., and when that company closed in 2018, they put the plan together to open Manhattan Brewing.
“We wanted to be Manhattan’s brewery. I didn’t necessarily care about selling a ton of beer in Kansas City or anywhere else outside of Manhattan,” says Voegeli. “It was important to make sure that the people of Manhattan actually had a brewery that they could call their own, the one that was solely focused on beer.”
“Somebody Somewhere” premiered in 2022 on HBO and aired its last episode at the end of 2024. It is inspired by the life of Bridget Everett, a singer, comedian, and actress who was born in Manhattan, KS. While most of the show was filmed in the Chicago suburbs, the cast and crew would often come to the city for premieres, parties, and some filming.
All About Beer editor John Holl spoke with Voegeli about the brewery’s role on the show, the impact it has had, and how they almost missed the chance to be featured.
Getting the Call from HBO
John Holl: It’s so cool to see the brewery featured in the show, but it almost didn’t happen, right?
Jake Voegeli: I think it was 2021. Our brewer Garrett Paulman was behind the bar, we weren’t open yet, and I was taking some packages in from FedEx or something and the phone rings. Garrett answers it and by the look on his face, I could see it was like a spam call because we get them all the time. So he says into the phone that we’re not interested and hangs up.
As I walked by I asked him who called and he said it was someone from HBO trying to sell us something. I continued on and a few minutes later I started wondering why HBO would want to sell us something, so I asked if Garrett remembered the guy’s name, and I found him online and sent him a private email asking for more details.
So, he calls back and he said they were starting the show and that Bridget Everett was starring and was an executive producer and that she wanted to feature businesses in the Manhattan area that she likes to visit when she’s in town, so they wanted us to be a part of it.
And so obviously I said ‘Hell yeah, let’s do that.’ And so we sent some stuff in and didn’t really know how much we’d be on the show, if at all. Then the first season came out, and we were like, ‘Holy shit.’ Manhattan Brewing was right there. It was amazing and it was a partnership that didn’t require us to pay anything. They just wanted us to be a part of it because Bridget loves the space and wanted us in there.
A well-known neighbor
John Holl: Did you know Bridget before this?
Jake Voegeli: No, we didn’t. We knew that she had come in before with her brothers – one lives in Kansas City, and another still lives here. So, she would come and visit and we would think it was cool, that she’d have a few beers, but we didn’t bother her. We’re LGBTQ friendly, and that’s a big part of her life on the advocacy front, so I think that it helped that our space is welcoming. A lot of breweries have that vibe, we don’t want to bother you. We just want you to grab beer and sit and have a good time.
HBO Comes to Town
John Holl: The show was mainly filmed in Illinois, but for the production in the city, were you aware it was happening?
Jake Voegeli: We didn’t, actually, because HBO just did b-roll in Manhattan. We did see Bridget this last season because they did a lot more actual shooting in Manhattan. Not a ton, they would just come by for some shots here outside and at some other stores.
One time we were eating at a Mexican place in town and looked over and saw them shooting. And it was cool to see Bridget because at that point we had already done a beer with her, and she came over to say hello, but mostly we didn’t really see any filming action.
Brewing Collaboration Beers
Jake Voegeli: We’ve actually done two beers with her. The first one was called Choir Practice, a reference to season one. We have an old opera house here in town called Wareham Hall where they did some filming and then Bridget came down and we watched the last two episodes of season one and then they actually had a choir practice after where Bridget got up and sang, and then we hosted an after party with her and her family at our place until 2 a.m. and it was a blast.
John Holl: Tell me more about the collaboration beer.
Jake Voegeli: Choir Practice was a Belgian wit with orange peel, tangerine peel, and very much like some other witbiers out there with the characteristics of coriander. And it sold out really fast.
Nothing much happened with season two because there was a writer’s strike going on, so for the season three finale, which we knew was the series finale on HBO, we wanted to do something big, and Wareham Hall was going to do something big again, and we started talking about doing a beer and Adam, out of nowhere, said ‘Why not call it Somebeer Somewhere?’ and that was perfect. So, we asked Bridget what kind of beer she would like to make and she suggested something light and easy, so we have a great recipe for an English Mild, so we rolled with that.
The art was done by a company across the street from us called Switch Wicked. They did a fantastic job just capturing the show’s essence and a little bit of Manhattan into it. And we got really lucky because they got almost the entire cast to come out for the finale here, which was really, really cool. They all showed up. So, they all got to see the beer. They all got to take some home. We hosted the after party again and they all came and took pictures behind the bar. It was a great time.
The country comes for a pint
John Holl: Seems like this has been a really great experience for you all. When did you start noticing that people coming into the brewery had found you via the show?
Jake Voegeli: Probably by the third episode of the first season. We actually had people traveling that came specifically to Manhattan from Colorado, from St Louis, from Dallas. And we just saw people just popping in and looking around. It wasn’t just because it was a brewery, they had a different look to them, and they were there because they wanted to see some of Bridget’s favorite places.
It quickly became a big thing with a lot of people coming into town and so the city of Manhattan did these life-size cutouts of Bridget that went to all the businesses that were on the show. So people could come in and take pictures at each spot. It wasn’t thousands and thousands of people, but I’d say hundreds.
John Holl: Do you all still have the cutout?
Jake Voegeli: Oh yeah, that’s going to stay for as long as it holds up. We do a lot of stupid videos around the brewery with Bridget.
John Holl: Even though the show has ended its run on HBO, it’s still streaming and new people find it all the time. Are you finding that the interest is still there?
Jake Voegeli: Absolutely. We get calls from New York, from Portland, Oregon and all over from people asking us to ship them beer. The Kansas laws are still pretty antiquated so we can’t do that.
Even though our collaboration beer sold out quickly, we don’t want to make it a year-round offering. The plan is to bring it back, but maybe just once a year.
Staying true to roots
John Holl: It seems to me the benefit of the original plan of being a local brewery has worked in your favor, during this. I imagine you would have been successful because of who you are and the approach that you’re taking, but it does seem that that focus on local has helped this relationship with the show grow and has helped it feel more special for drinkers and consumers. Is that fair?
Jake Voegeli: Maybe Bridget saw that. We never really asked her, ‘Why us?’ We probably should have, but we never did. I like to think that because of that ethos that we started off with, that was one of the things that drew her to us. Also having it being like a safe space for anybody to come in and drink. I think that that really helped.
Staying true to who we are, I like to think that really helped, and it still helps us to this day. We know a lot of people that have moved to Manhattan, not because of us, but we were a major part in that final decision, which is so much fun. It’s so much fun to hear those stories of people that come in and they see our space and they love what we’re doing. Then they say, ‘This is where we should move.’
A feel-good story on and off the screen
John Holl: It’s refreshing to hear how well this process went for you all. Thanks for sharing your story.
Jake Voegeli: Bridget was so instrumental in making this positive for all of us here in Manhattan, especially us, because she was very much adamant on using local Manhattan things and showing that off in the show. It was amazing. She is such an amazing person, and we are so grateful for that. Because without her, I don’t think it would have gone as smooth as it did.
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
Pull Up a Stool is a regular feature on All About Beer. Reach out to editor John Holl at JohnHoll@allaboutbeer.com with suggestions on brewing professionals that should be featured. And to support our journalism, please visit allaboutbeer.com/support
