I put this in General Beer Discussion because it's more about the beer and a general impression of the craft beer explosion than the locale itself. I've spent a lot of time in Vegas. Up until this trip, I've been sorely disappointed in the beer selection at local bars and distributors alike. I look forward to the "big city" experience, because I'm usually traveling from a small southwest town where craft beer is hard to find...only to be disappointed. Until now. The craft beer movement is in full swing here. What follows is a list of beers I've tried over the past few days, courtesy of Aces and Ales, Freakin Frog, Money Plays, Total Wine, and a local (nameless) tasting group who got me the hookup on a few otherwise unattainable brews (and did some bottle sampling that allowed a large amount of small tasters without getting overly inebriated).
Ballast Point Big Eye - SOLID west coast IPA
Ballast Point Sculpin - Big Eye x 2
Ballast Point Tongue Buckler - good, but stick with Sculpin
Ballast Point Indra Kunindra - I wanted to hate it, but I loved it instead. Curry? Yeah.
Ballast Point Sea Monster - decent imperial stout, but they make better beers than this
Dogfish Head Punk'n - finally got to try it - and it lives up to the hype. Best commercial pumpkin beer I've ever had, hands down.
Deschuttes XXIV - imperial porter with sweet cherry and cognac notes
Deschuttes Hop in the Dark - pair with spicy food - AWESOME
Stone 13 Anniversary - drink Sublimely Self Righteous instead
Boulevard Long Strange Tripel - wonderful banana/clove Belgian style tripel
Epic Brainless on Peaches - another beer I wanted to despise, and loved instead
Port Hop-15 - bottle poured flat, but aroma was amazing
Firestone Double DPA - OMG GOOD!
Firestone Sucaba - OMG EVEN BETTER! - easily the best beer in this list (above and beyond even the Russian River stuff)
Jolly Pumpkin Noel de Calabata - easy drinking sour/winter warmer
Harviestoun Old Engine Oil - fantastic imperial porter
Founders Frangelic Mountain - hazelnut coffee in a beer glass - sweet, but good
Last but not least...and less than two weeks old in the bottle:
Pliny the Elder - great beer, but doesn't quite meet the hype. There are other DIPAs that easily rival it.
Blind Pig - great IPA, but again, others easily rival it.
I'm not knocking Russian River, but you can find other (D)IPAs from Bell's, Firestone, Ballast Point, Dogfish Head, Stone, et al that are top notch, lack the super-hype, and provide those coveted resinous pine/citrus hop notes.
If you're in Vegas, you need to seek:
Nick at Money Plays on Flamingo
Chad at Freakin Frog on Maryland
Tuesday nights at Aces and Ales for the tasting (on tap selections are good, and they'll give you 6 samples for $20 plus some food...then) find the group of beer geeks with bottles and sample glasses scattered across their table. Talk to Ryan, the owner, for some off-menu offerings.
Ballast Point Big Eye - SOLID west coast IPA
Ballast Point Sculpin - Big Eye x 2
Ballast Point Tongue Buckler - good, but stick with Sculpin
Ballast Point Indra Kunindra - I wanted to hate it, but I loved it instead. Curry? Yeah.
Ballast Point Sea Monster - decent imperial stout, but they make better beers than this
Dogfish Head Punk'n - finally got to try it - and it lives up to the hype. Best commercial pumpkin beer I've ever had, hands down.
Deschuttes XXIV - imperial porter with sweet cherry and cognac notes
Deschuttes Hop in the Dark - pair with spicy food - AWESOME
Stone 13 Anniversary - drink Sublimely Self Righteous instead
Boulevard Long Strange Tripel - wonderful banana/clove Belgian style tripel
Epic Brainless on Peaches - another beer I wanted to despise, and loved instead
Port Hop-15 - bottle poured flat, but aroma was amazing
Firestone Double DPA - OMG GOOD!
Firestone Sucaba - OMG EVEN BETTER! - easily the best beer in this list (above and beyond even the Russian River stuff)
Jolly Pumpkin Noel de Calabata - easy drinking sour/winter warmer
Harviestoun Old Engine Oil - fantastic imperial porter
Founders Frangelic Mountain - hazelnut coffee in a beer glass - sweet, but good
Last but not least...and less than two weeks old in the bottle:
Pliny the Elder - great beer, but doesn't quite meet the hype. There are other DIPAs that easily rival it.
Blind Pig - great IPA, but again, others easily rival it.
I'm not knocking Russian River, but you can find other (D)IPAs from Bell's, Firestone, Ballast Point, Dogfish Head, Stone, et al that are top notch, lack the super-hype, and provide those coveted resinous pine/citrus hop notes.
If you're in Vegas, you need to seek:
Nick at Money Plays on Flamingo
Chad at Freakin Frog on Maryland
Tuesday nights at Aces and Ales for the tasting (on tap selections are good, and they'll give you 6 samples for $20 plus some food...then) find the group of beer geeks with bottles and sample glasses scattered across their table. Talk to Ryan, the owner, for some off-menu offerings.