The flood-relief brew is Nebraska's take on a successful effort to help California wildfire victims. In December, the Sierra Nevada Brewing Company in California enlisted the help of hundreds of breweries nationwide to brew Resilience IPA. Sales of the beer raised millions of dollars for wildfire recovery in northern California.

When Lincoln brewers spoke up on the Nebraska Craft Brewers Guild's Facebook page about doing something similar in the wake of flooding that affected much of Nebraska in mid March, Ptacek didn't think twice about joining in.

"There was no question in my mind," he said. "We had wanted to do Resilience, but it didn't fit into our brewing schedule. And this one just hits way closer to home."

After some discussion on Facebook, the brewers settled on an amber beer that would have a wider appeal, Ptacek said. It's not too strong for people not accustomed to drinking craft beers, but it should still catch the attention of "beer nerds."

5168 Brewery in Lincoln developed the basic recipe and distributed it to other Nebraska brewers, who were free to tweak it with ingredients they had on hand. Growers donated hops and malt used in the beer.