Whether it comes from taps, bottles, or cans, here’s a pitcher of the current Vegas beerscape
For selection and neighborhood character: Aces & Ales (2801 N. Tenaya Way, 3740 S. Nellis Boulevard, 702-436-7600. acesandales.com)
For a loud and lively scene: Beerhaus at the Park ( theparkvegas.com)
For sports-watching on the Strip: Beer Park at Paris Las Vegas ( beerpark.com)
For downtown drinking amid beards: Atomic Liquors (917 Fremont St., atomic.vegas), Cornish Pasty Co. (10 E. Charleston Blvd., cornishpastyco.com)
For tasty suds at a 25-year brewing icon: Big Dog’s Brewing Company (4543 N. Rancho Drive, bigdogsbrews.com)
For craft brews on East Fremont: Eureka! (520 E. Fremont Street, 702-570-3660, eurekarestaurantgroup.com)
For pup-friendly patio drinking: Lazy Dog Restaurant & Bar (Downtown Summerlin and Town Square, lazydogrestaurants.com)
For rotating craft taps: Pub 365 in the Tuscany Suites (255 E. Flamingo Road, tuscanylv.com)
For a sip of every Silver State brew: Nevada Taste Site (1221 South Main Street, nevadatastesite.com)
For gastropubbing on the Strip: Public House in the Venetian ( venetian.com)
For gastropubbing in the ‘burbs: Public School 702 (Downtown Summerlin, psontap.com)
For upscale local bar hanging: PKWY Tavern (9820 W. Flamingo Road, pkwytavern.com)
For solid brews at a locals’ watering hole: Rebel Republic (3540 W. Sahara Ave., rebelrepublic702.com)
For rotating beers and a killer bar menu: Slater’s 50/50 (467 E. Silverado Ranch Blvd., slaters5050.com)
For krieks, lambics, tripels and other exotic pours: World of Beer (1300 W. Sunset Road, worldofbeer.com)
For reliable and convenient access to life-sustaining craft beer: Yard House (Town Square, The LINQ, Red Rock Casino Resort and Spa, yardhouse.com)
For a surprising selection of bottles and drafts: 90 NINETY Bar + Grill (Suncoast, suncoastcasino.com)
BEER TREND: Saisons
A tough sell at first, rustic saisons — with their sharp tangs and farmhouse wafts — have taken hold in Southern Nevada, still led by CraftHaus Brewery with its marquee Evocation, a lemony big seller. The brewery’s P Is Silent (Pfunky) American wild ale introduces Brettanomyces yeast for lactic dryness. Triple 7, the venerable Downtown brewery in Main Street Station, joins in the extravaganza with its Saison Du Trip featuring five beefy hops — Motueka, Rakau, Simcoe, Chinook, and Citra.
All October: It’s oom-pah band and lederhosen time at the Hofbräuhaus Las Vegas ( hofbrauhauslasvegas.com), including celebrity keg tappings on weekends with entertainers like Murray Sawchuck, Zowie Bowie and the Australian Bee Gees. Prost!
October 4-7: Sip on a classic Guinness Irish Stout at the Las Vegas Food & Wine Festival in Tivoli Village ( vegasfoodandwine.com).
October 20: Sample away at the seventh annual Las Vegas Downtown Brew Festival along with fellow beer fans and breweries galore. (Clark County Amphitheater, downtownbrewfestival.com).
October 25: Drink some beevos for a good cause at the Stoked for Charity! fundraiser on Big Dog’s Brewing Company’s Front Porch stage. ( bigdogsbrews.com)
October 28: Celebrate Nevada Day with a chili cook-off and cold quaffs of Silver State blonde ale at CraftHaus Brewery ( crafthausbrewery.com).
4 GAMES BEST PLAYED DRUNK
Corhhole (702 Public School, Gold Spike, PKWY Tavern, ameriCAN at the LINQ Promenade)
Giant Jenga (Public School 702, Beer Yard, Beerhaus, PKWY Tavern)
Connect Four (Beer Yard, Big Dog’s Brewing Company, Shady Grove Lounge at the Silverton Casino Hotel, Beerhaus)
Shuffleboard (Settebello Las Vegas, Bad Beat Brewing, Big Dog’s Brewing, Oasis at Gold Spike, Cornish Pasty Co.)
Flavors that Make You Go OMG!
At 595 Craft and Kitchen (4950 S. Rainbow Blvd., 702-596-1050, 595craftandkitchen.com), enjoy the floral aroma and glowing pink hue of a Rosée d’Hibiscus by Brasserie Dieu du Ciel! of Quebec. It’s a citrusy wheat beer infused with tart hibiscus flowers.
Settle in at the tasting room at Khoury’s Fine Wine & Spirits (9915 S. Eastern Ave., 702-435-9463, khourysfinewine.com) for a dazzlingly dark pour of velvety Blackcurrant Nitro from Left Hand Brewing Company of Longmont, Colorado. Effervescent with nitrogen gas, it’s a cream ale cascade filled with a rumble of tart berry flavor.
Before you mangia on pasta at Esther’s Kitchen (1130 S. Casino Center Blvd., 702-570-7864, estherslv.com), start the evening at the bar with a potent pour of Petrus Aged Red from Belgium’s Brouwerij De Brabandere. A complex blend, it starts with pale ale that’s aged in gigantic, 5,811-gallon foeders — or barrels — made of French oak. This is later combined with double brown beer flavored with sour cherries. Lip-smacking, indeed.
DRUNKALINI YOGA?
Stretch your boundaries one sip at a time with a namaste-riffic session of beer yoga at Lovelady Brewing. Every third Sunday morning of the month, get refreshed with a cold pint and a downward-facing dog pose in the company of fellow hoppy yogini and yogi. (20 South Water Street, 702-857-8469, loveladybrewing.com) tell me all about it Joe for sure atlas County County It’s quench time.
ROAD TRIIIP!
Along the highways around Las Vegas, you’ll find brewpubs waiting to pour you a pint in the picturesque landscapes of the American Southwest. On the long, parched road to Reno, stop by Tonopah Brewing for a Yankee Girl Pomegranate Hefeweizen ( tonopahbrewing.com). On the way to Sedona? Take a Route 66 breather with a mellow Sunset Amber Ale at Grand Canyon Brewery ( grandcanyonbrewery.com). Tip back a pint of nutty Burnt Mountain Brown at Zion Brewery ( zionbrewery.com) at the entrance of majestic Zion National Park. On the way to Death Valley National Park, cool your heels at Death Valley Brewing for a limited-run witbier brewed with wild hops and blackberries ( deathvalleybrewing.com).
BEER TREND: Fresh fruit
Brews featuring fresh fruit as ingredients continue to draw drinker enthusiasm, like Abel Baker Brewing’s bombastic Cherry Cherry BANG! BANG! Ale with namesake Oregon fruit and a bump of raspberries and lemon. Joseph James has a line of lactic Berliner Weisses with plucked combos like passion fruit-guava and blood orange-cranberry.
Sippers for Your Stackers
Bar Code Burger Bar (1590 E. Flamingo Road, barcodeburgerbar.com) With the house burger’s blend of short rib, brisket, and chuck adorned with onion jam, blue cheese-bacon aoli, go for the smooth taste of Hawaii’s Kona Big Wave Golden Ale. The meadowy flavors of the New Zealand lamb burger with goat and feta cheeses with spicy harissa call for the hoppiness of an Elysian Space Dust IPA from Seattle.
Slater’s 50/50 (467 E. Silverado Ranch Blvd. #100, slaters5050.com) This new spot is all about the bacon, like its signature half-beef and half-bacon patty. For the Original 50/50 with avocado, Pepper Jack cheese, and a sunny-side-up egg, the Breakfast Stout from Founders Brewing Company is a natural. Piled with rosemary-parmesan bacon, smoked Gouda, and veggies, the Rosemary Turkey burger calls for a juicy 21st Amendment Hell or High Watermelon wheat beer.
595 Craft & Kitchen (4950 S. Rainbow Blvd. #100, 595craftandkitchen.com) Meld the Tuna Furikake burger with shitake mushrooms and arugula with Tenaya Creek’s El Charro Shandy. The Pork Belly Burger with cabbage slaw and gochujang aïoli goes well with the lemongrass-enhanced Passion Grass Pale Ale.