Come for the beer, stay for the food.

Thunderhead Brewery, located just off Kearney’s main drag (and, conveniently) near the city’s police station, bills itself as a microbrew destination. The place generally pours around ten of its own labels, from the Belgian inspired Thundermonk to the football themed Leatherhead Red, all the way down to the curiously named Cornstalker Dark Wheat.

But this is no ordinary college beer joint.

OK, so they do indeed serve wings and chips, just like every other bar in every other university town. Otherwise the menu appears perfectly crafted to accompany a range of brews.

They roll and twist their own pretzels, served with mustard alongside. Happy hour crowds can opt for a bread bowl filled with artichoke dip or mussels steamed in house-brewed beer--this last a Belgian tavern classic.

One of the main dishes is a calzone suffed with ground beef, a hefty amount of earthy-spicy seasoning and that good old German beer hall treat, sauerkraut. The combination works: hearty to a fault, the acidic cabbage slicing through idling richness.

Though pretzels, dip and calzones are not necessarily ground-breaking fare, the dishes are well-conceived.

But Thunderhead stakes its reputation on pizza. Guests can order a version of “meatlovers” pie, a take on the “supreme” and there’s even a Hawaiian--all fairly common options.

Try one they call The Usual, consiting of sausage, pepperoni and mushrooms. It also sounds pedestrian--until you notice that instead of dull buttons, the kitchen uses earthy portabellas. On their signature Thunderpie, pulled chicken, smoky bacon and tart-hot jalapenos ride on cool alfredo sauce. The arrangement is impressive, with roasted flavors twirling around points of spice and heat over a rich and somewhat pungent floor.

Thunderhead’s cooks rely on a stone to bake cracker crusts that emerge with individual charm. Black scorch marks score the thin bread at random. Otherwise, the base is mellow and light, with a whiff of wheat. And they avoid the mistake of piling on the sauce.

Sure, some people prefer a lot of red or white on their pizzas. But Thunderhead’s kitchen knows better than to allow one ingredient to overwhelm others.

Not bad for a college town beer joint--even one dedicated to the local, regional brewing genre.