Aces and Ales did it again, and in a big way. I’ve been to their Strong Beer Fest, Winter Beer Fest, Stone Domination, etc., but never have I felt the sense local community like I did a week ago Saturday. Aces and Ales presented their first ever Homegrown Tap Takeover, which brought together Las Vegas’ four most well known breweries: Tenaya Creek, Joseph James, Big Dog’s and Chicago Brewing Company.
Before I get into the beer, much praise needs to be heaped upon everyone that had a hand in making this special event happen. The organization and execution was flawless, and the Aces crew were in high spirits as they hustled to deliver great craft beer and delicious food to the insatiable palates of their patrons. The breweries put their best efforts forward and really were able to come through with some memorable offerings. A huge thank you to everyone involved. (more…)
Being a fan of craft beer, I’ve always loved when breweries find ways to create other products with their beer. Especially when they are food products. I absolutely love Sierra Nevada’s mustards, and Stone’s barbecue and hot sauces are also delicious.
So it is with great excitement that one of our local breweries has decided to create popcorn using their beer! You may remember us mentioning this before at the Downtown Brew Fest. Tenaya officially launched the popcorn this past Thursday, and it is now available at the brewery, and at Khoury’s Fine Wine.
It’s hard to not enjoy eating this. It is a special salted caramel recipe that is made with actual Hop Ride IPA from Tenaya Creek. Hopefully the brewery starts making more and more flavors of popcorn with their beer. I’d love to see an Imperial Stout popcorn!
You may remember my post about a month ago when I attended Big Dog’s Brew School. This past Thursday was the tapping of our batch of War Dog Imperial IPA. As part of our graduation party, we were given diplomas, a class photo, and our own growler of War Dog. On top of that, Big Dog’s executive chef, Sergio Meza, prepared a three course meal meant to pair with War Dog IPA.
Mango-ginger stilton cheese and walnut quesadilla served with a jalapeño-onion-agave nectar and apple-fig salsa
This was the perfect balance of sweet and spicy. The stilton was unlike any I’ve had before. I’m typically not a fan of figs, but these were prepared very well. The jalapeño and onion added a great compliment to the rich sweetness.
Baked ham with War Dog Imperial IPA glaze served with Delmonico potatoes and grilled marinated asparagus
The ham was very sweet and juicy, and had the perfect texture. The potatoes were both crispy, and very cheesy. I’ve yet to have any asparagus that I didn’t enjoy, and these were no exception, they were very well seasoned.
Salted caramel cheesecake
Cheesecake is one of my favorite desserts. Surprisingly, I’ve never had a caramel cheesecake. This was incredible. All of the above dishes were meant to pair specifically with the War Dog IPA. And I can attest that the dry, crisp, body of the beer made for a refreshing palate cleanser in between bites of the spicy quesadilla. It also complemented the sweet ham. However by the time dessert came, I opted to try a new beer. Chef Meza strongly urged me to eat the cheesecake with the IPA, which would have definitely been an excellent choice. The caramel on top would match the hint of caramel malts in the beer. The powerful, bitter bite from the hops would stand up to the rich, decadent cheesecake. However, I opted to try out the Black Lab Stout instead. This ended up also being a good pairing. This stout has some very strong coffee-like flavors present that contrasted well with the sweetness from the dessert. The beer was poured on nitro, giving it a creamy texture that matched the creamy cheesecake.
All in all, Brew School was an awesome experience. As previously mentioned, head brewer Dave Otto is extremely courteous and informative. Both our lunch on the first day, and today’s meal, were extremely delicious. And, of course, the beer was amazing. I highly recommend that any of you that love great beer and awesome food sign up for the next Brew School!
*Special thanks to Chef Sergio Meza and the kitchen staff for letting me take the above photos in the kitchen
Tenaya Creek: Tapping their newest beer, God of Thunder Baltic Porter, at 6PM. Sauced Food Truck will be serving food made with the beer, and Tenaya Creek will be raffling a growler of the beer at 7 and 8PM.
Khoury’s Fine Wine: Also tonight at 6PM, Khoury’s will be tapping 3 rare kegs of Ballast Point beers: Victory At Sea (imperial vanilla coffee porter), Barrel Aged Black Marlin (porter), and Abandon Ship (smoked lager). Sausagefest Food Truck will be serving food.
The phonetic similarities between the two should be enough of a clue that these are meant to be together. Like some sort of alluring alliteration, I decided to pair a saison with my grilled salmon.
First, it should be noted, all saisons are incredibly different, and there is more than one way to grill a salmon. As such, the following lead to a perfect pair:
The Salmon: I marinated the salmon in olive oil and lemon juice (from actual lemons, not a bottle). After it was grilled, I seasoned it with a little salt, and some fresh ground pepper. The result was a deliciously lemony fish with a spicy, peppery edge.
The Saison: The only saison in the house was Saison du BUFF, a collaboration beer between Stone, Dogfish Head, and Victory Brewing Company. This is no ordinary saison. It is brewed with parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme, fresh from Stone’s garden. These herbs give the beer a peppery taste with a very refreshing, herbal finish. The amarillo hops give this beer a citrusy zest like aroma and taste. A very floral and herbal take on the saison style.
The Pairing: This pairing was all about complimentary flavors. The citrus zest in the beer matched the lemony tartness in the salmon. The fresh black pepper matched the peppery saison yeast and the herbal finish in the beer was like an added seasoning to the fish. The naturally lighter flavors of the fish was a perfect pair to the light, bready malts in the saison.
A fantastic pairing, if I do say so myself!
Aside from going directly to Stone for their $150 dinner, this is likely the only way you’ll have to taste all 11 Vertical Epic beers back to back.
A shot of the festival grounds with local band Tribal Seeds
On October 20th, Motley Brews presented the follow-up to their 2012 Great Las Vegas Festival of Beer: The Las Vegas Downtown Brew Festival. After having a blast at the last Motley Brews presented festival, I was more than excited for this one. To start with, the location and timing of this event could not have been more perfect! The Clark County Amphitheater is a nice, large, outdoor venue, and the great October Vegas weather made for a phenomenal marriage!
For their first outing in 2011, I had complained that the event seemed disorganized, and way too compact. These problems were pretty much resolved on their second go around. This time, I can only tip my hat to the organizers and sponsors of this fantastic festival! We arrived a bit late (roughly 2:15 PM), but had no trouble finding parking in the large adjacent parking lot. Upon walking up to the entrance, we were quickly able to redeem our Groupons, and were inside and ready to drink within just a few minutes.
Upon entering, we made our way right to the Joseph James tent to try and wet our palettes with their R/D #11 Ginger Lemon Weizen. Thankfully, and remorsefully, we were able to get our hands on the very last drops, which may have proven to be the best beer I had the pleasure of experiencing. The beer tasted like a mix of spicy ginger ale with a refreshing lemon twist. I really hope this one sees a bottle release, as I want everyone to be able to taste this amazing local brew! Their other two R/D offerings did not disappoint either; both the Black Rye Session Pale and the Bourbon-Barrel Aged Russian Imperial Stout were quite the tasty offerings! Joseph James never ceases to amaze me when it comes to what they pull off for these special events. I will continue to look forward to more R/D batches, while still sipping on their great year-round fermented offerings.
Karl Herrera, the Las Vegas Beer Ranger, pouring some New Belgium brews
Our next stop was to the New Belgium tent to get a pour of their refreshing Shift Lager. Shift really is a perfect summertime beer with its light-body, and flavorfully crisp finish. While chatting with Las Vegas’ new Beer Ranger, Karl Herrera, he officially coined the term “Get Shift-faced!” which pretty much demands to be on the front of a T-shirt! New Belgium was also pouring their Red Hoptober, Ranger IPA, and of course, Fat Tire. Their Super IPA was also on display at the Get Hopped Up Tent, along with Stone 16th Anniversary IPA and Bear Republic’s Racer 5.
Tim and Alex from Tenaya Creek
From there we hit another local favorite in Tenaya Creek. They were happily pouring their new Dutch-style Belgium Tripel, Oktoberfest Lager, the recently bottled Hauling Oats Oatmeal Stout, and their iconic Hop Ride. Not to mention, they also decided to unveil a Hop Ride infused popcorn! Being a Las Vegas staple for years, you really can’t go wrong with anything that Anthony and Tim brew up. Their year round beers are top-notch, and their seasonal brews always leave you looking forward to the next one! If you haven’t been to the brewery yet, you should make it a point to do so. Hell, there’s a good chance you’ll see your’s truly at the bar sipping on a Hop Ride!
Another local staple, Big Dog’s Brewing Company was pouring just nearby. Their selections included Dirty Dog IPA, Las Vegas Lager, Lake Mead Monster Double Red Ale, and the Great American Beer Festival 2012 Silver Medal winning Red Hydrant Ale! Big Dog’s is another local brewery that you just can’t go wrong with! While I would have loved to have seen the seasonal Pumpkin Ale, or the monster that is War Dog IPA, I was more than pleased with what they had to offer! With 2 locations in the Valley, there is no reason not to stop by and grab a drink!
After making our rounds with the local breweries and New Belgium, we decided to hit the outside circle and try and get our hands on some beers we haven’t had before. Our next stops were to Tommyknocker’s and Moa. Tommyknockers, from Colorado, is fairly new to the Las Vegas craft brew scene. They had with them a nice assortment, including Vienna Amber Lager, Maple Nut Brown, Imperial Nut Brown, and a nice, mild, Pumpkin Ale. All of their offerings were solid, and can be found locally at this time.
Moa, from New Zealand, is a brewery that I have yet to try, but I’ve always been curious about. They had samplings of their Breakfast, Pale Ale, and Blanc Evolution. I only tasted the first two, but I was quite fond of both! As a nice contrast to most breakfast inspired stouts, Moa’s Breakfast had a bright, wheat, sweet cherry flavor that would pair nicely with a berry muffin or eggs. While it won’t be for everyone, I think it would be a nice substitute for a mimosa at brunch. The Pale Ale had a subtle citrusy hop nose and flavor, which was balanced by a bitter malt aftertaste.
From here, we went along the line, sampling well known beers from the likes of Dogfish Head (Namaste and Midas Touch), Firestone Walker (Pale 31, Union Jack), Sierra Nevada (Hoptimum, Pale Ale, Torpedo, Kellerweis), Lagunitas, Indian Wells, Three Monkeys, Chicago Brewing Co., and a newer name to the Las Vegas scene: Riley’s
To be honest, I had not heard much about Riley’s until this event. Riley’s is a smaller brewery from Madera, CA, who are in roughly their fifth year of existence. Their lineup consisted of: Sancha, which reminded me of a cross between a pale ale and a honey ale; Vixen: a coffee/chocolate inspired stout; and Wildcat IPA. All three were quite tasty brews, and show a lot of promise for this new brewery. I’ll be looking forward to what they decide too cook up next!
If there is one beer trend that I really enjoy, it’s the new “Session IPA/Pale Ale” trend. Something just appeals to me about a low ABV, flavorful IPA that won’t make you feel all nice and fuzzy after just one glass. Thankfully, one of our last stops, Ballast Point, brought along a beer that is a perfect pale ale for this occasion. Their Even Keel Pale Ale, was just fantastic, and perfect for this mild October day. It had a perfect pine aroma, with just enough citrus to hit your nose. The taste was quite the same, with a great dry finish that didn’t linger for too long. Not be outdone, they also brought along an arsenal of their other lovingly-crafted brews: Big Eye IPA, Calico Amber, Pale Ale, and the incomparable Sculpin IPA.
I can’t finish this without giving a shout-out to all of the food vendors that made it out to quench the hunger of the beer sipping crowd. From restaurant representatives to food trucks, there was something for everyone. Our eatery of choice ended up being Haulin’ Balls, who serve a variety of gourmet sandwiches based around, you guessed it, the meatball. The food was nothing short of remarkable, and I would recommend that any carnivore seek them out.
All in all, this may have been the most pleasant beer festival that I’ve had the opportunity to attend. A big thanks is in order to all the vendors, sponsors, and especially Southern Wine and Spirits of Nevada for all the phenomenal brands that they helped bring together! As a group, we’d also like to thank any of our followers that found us and said hello. It’s always great to meet you guys in person, and we appreciate all of the kind words and constructive feedback that we receive.
In closing, if you have not had an opportunity to attend one of these festivals, then you are missing out! Do yourself a favor and make sure that you clear your calendar off and come out and have a blast! …I’m sure you’ll see us there!
Your’s truly filling in for Karl at New Belgium, while he took a well deserved bathroom break
This past Friday was the Tenaya Creek Oktoberfest beer pairing dinner at the Las Vegas Blvd Whole Foods. What made this event great, was that it was focused on Las Vegas. Not only does it feature local brewery, Tenaya Creek, but the food was also prepared by Whole Foods’ local chef, Chef Rachel Safran, and the ticket costs were donated to The Las Vegas Rescue Mission, serving the Las Vegas homeless community. Altogether, this was a very well paired event that I’d like to recap below:
House made pretzel bites, paired with assorted mustards and German cheeses with Dutch Belgian Style Tripel
This year was the first time that Tenaya Creek brewed their Tripel in four years, and it was wonderful. At 9% alcohol, there was a nice sweetness with this, along with some banana and clove aromas and flavors. Get this while it is still available at the brewery.
I’ve never had a bad pretzel, and I’m a huge fan of mustard, and these were no exception.
Warm German potato salad with ale braised sausage with sauerkraut and apple paired with Oktoberfest
To be honest, Tenaya’s Oktoberfest would pair with nearly everything. It’s so light, crisp, yet flavorful, that it compliments nearly every dish
In this case, the potatoes were very well seasoned, and the sausage was marinated and cooked in the Oktoberfest, making this a perfect match.
Sauerbraten with red cabbage and Calico Brown Ale
Calico Brown Ale should be one of the first beers you try if you’ve never had any of Tenaya Creek’s beers. It is so perfectly balanced in it’s malty sweetness, light body, and dry finish. This is also an example of a great beer that will pair with nearly anything.
In this case, it made a great compliment to the dark meat used in the sauerbraten. I will say though, the red cabbage was the real star in this dish. It had a nice sourness to it that contrasted the sauerbraten, and made for a perfect pairing to the darker flavors present in the meat.
Apple & golden raisin strudel with anise crème anglaise and Hauling Oats Oatmeal Stout
In case you haven’t heard, Hauling Oats is one of my favorite Tenaya Creek beers. An extremely drinkable stout, even with the dark roasty flavors.
The dessert was delicious. Aside from the sweet cream topping and fruity center, the dark roasted malts in the stout made a great contrast to the sweetness. This was my highlight of the night.
To close, please support both Tenaya Creek Brewery, and Whole Foods. Not only is Tenaya Creek an amazing local brewery, Whole Foods (particularly the Town Square location) does a great job of supporting the craft beer community here in Las Vegas.
Stay thirsty
#drinklocal
Red Robin, being the fine dining establishment that they are, announced this week that as part of their Oktoberfest menu, they will have an Oktoberfest ice cream shake made with Sam Adams Oktoberfest beer. Jokes aside, this is actually a really good idea, and it’s kind of surprising that more beer centric restaurants don’t already offer beer milkshakes.
Both Holsteins in the Cosmopolitan and Burger Bar in Mandalay Bay offer great burgers and alcoholic milkshakes to pair with them. But despite the great selection of beers that both these restaurants offer, those milkshakes use sugary, artificial liqueurs and syrups. Yard House does at least offer beer ice cream floats, another dessert option that doesn’t get enough attention.
Ice cream is already sweet enough as it is, so there’s no need to add more sugar. Beer offers the opportunity to add additional flavor with little additional sweetness, making for a very well balanced dessert.
I prefer to drink my beet unadulterated, but I have hosted events where I served ice cream floats made with vanilla ice cream and either Young’s Double Chocolate Stout or Lindeman’s Framboise. Both were well received. I prefer using framboise, the tartness contrast well with the ice cream. Blending chocolate stout with chocolate ice cream is also delicious. The dark, bitter roasted malts accentuate the chocolate ice cream nicely.
First, let me express my surprise in seeing the amounts of pumpkin and fall themed beers that are on the shelves already. And they’ve even been there for a couple weeks now! I can’t even buy a pumpkin at the grocery store, how the hell are there so many pumpkin beers available?
That aside, the pumpkin beers are here. Now, I don’t claim to be any sort of pumpkin beer connoisseur, but damn it, Dogfish Head’s Punkin has got to be one of the best pumpkin beers there is. At the very least, it’s got to be the best pumpkin beer available in Las Vegas.
As is the case with most pumpkin beers, Punkin is brewed with not only pumpkin, but also various spices that are traditionally used in making pumpkin pie. While this gives many pumpkin beers an artificial and exaggerated smell of pumpkin pie, Punkin is well balanced and uses real ingredients making the aroma of this beer jump out at you like a real pumpkin pie. The aroma is spicy, sweet, sugary, with a hints of clove and a graham cracker crust. This has such an amazing aroma, I recommend putting this beer in a some sort of tulip or cognac glass to best experience it.
There is a moderate hop bitterness in this beer, but it is only present in the initial taste, fading away to reveal a well balanced brown ale, sweetened with pumpkin and clove flavors. The aftertaste lingers in your mouth the way a bite of pie does, drawing you in to take another sip.
If I had some vanilla ice cream sitting around, I would have made a float out of this beer. Please go out and buy this beer while it’s available, and if you find a better pumpkin beer, let me know!
