This past week, May 13th-19th, marked American Craft Beer Week. American Craft Beer Week is basically a week to celebrate the small and independent breweries and the fine work that they do.

For the first time that I can remember, local brewery Tenaya Creek went all out to ensure that craft beer fans got a chance to whet their palates with some rare offerings. Each day, Tenaya Creek released a new beer (sometimes more), and all are worth talking about. (more…)

Crafthaus currently has $13,540 pledged of their goal of $20,000, or about 68% to goal. There is only 9 days left to raise another $6,460.

We are fans of all the great local businesses here in Las Vegas, especially those that promote craft beer, whether they be bars or retailers. In the case of breweries, we get exceptionally excited.

I’ve agreed to host an “All About Beer” class at the brewery once they open. For a donation of only $30, I’ll take you on a tour of Crafthaus’ brewery and discuss how beer is brewed. We’ll sample the beers and discuss sensory evaluation and food pairing.

Of course, there are plenty of other awesome gifts for other donation amounts, like entry into the Propagation Program.

For more information, read my interview with founders Dave and Wyndee Forrest here, and visit their Kickstarter campaign here.

As much fun as it is to see new Las Vegas breweries on the horizon, it is equally great to see new names pop up in familiar breweries. Roughly a week ago, Tenaya Creek unleashed their new Easy Rider Pale Ale, the first release from assistant brewer Marcos.

What this pale ale does really well, is blend the crispness of a west coast pale ale with a solid, but drinkable body. You are met right away with a big, citrusy aroma, followed by slight malt sweetness, and finished off with a piny, grapefruit bitterness that is surprisingly refreshing. This is the kind of beer that you want to sit on your porch and sip on a mild spring day, and at a respectable 5.8% ABV, you certainly can!

Personally, I’m quite looking forward to what Marcos dreams up next!

Once again, Aces & Ales is holding their annual Stone Domination tap takeover. As always, Stone co-founder and CEO Greg Koch will be in attendance, probably signing bottles, probably preaching, probably stage diving off of the bar…

See below for the incredible tap list: (more…)

This past Friday, Dave and Wyndee Forrest launched a Kickstarter campaign to open CraftHaus Brewery. While I met with them to discuss their plans, a donor had just pledged $400, putting CraftHaus over the $5,000 mark, or about 26% to their goal of $20,000, in only four days. (more…)

This past Friday, I had the opportunity to take part in a Lagunitas beer pairing dinner at Mandalay Bay’s Fleur. The event was organized by Certified Cicerone Sarah Johnson, Mandalay Bay’s director of food and beverage. The event was wonderfully executed, and featured not only great beer, but also very delicious food paired with it. Without further ado, let’s discuss the incredible dinner that took place!

Pils
Lagunitas’ pilsner was the first beer that we were given, to help whet our palates and prepare us for what was to come. This beer is extremely dry and crisp. It has the firm bitterness that pilsners should be known for, with a nice, grassy finish.

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Certified Cicerone Sarah Johnson, director of food and beverage for Mandalay Bay, is hosting a beer pairing dinner along with Lagunitas head brewer Jeremy Marshall.

In addition to the below pairings, dessert includes tastings of 2009 ,2010, and 2011 vintages of Brown Shugga!

We are very excited to have another craft brewery joining the Las Vegas community! Below is a press release for CraftHaus Brewery, and their impending Kickstarter launch. Be sure to catch them pouring their beers at Big Dog’s Peace Love, and Hoppy-ness on April 13th, and the Great Vegas Festival
Of Beer on April 27th! (more…)

Two weeks from now, there are a few awesome New Belgium events coming to Las Vegas, courtesy of our local Beer Ranger, Karl Herrera. New Belgium’s Sensory Specialist/Blender/Organoleptic Educator, Lauren Salazar will be in town bringing some special beers to all of these events.
(All tap lists below subject to change)

First, a tap takeover at Khoury’s on Wednesday, March 13th at 6pm, featuring the following beers on draft: (more…)

For the unaware, fellow Hooked on Hops contributor, Grant Heuer, recently got a job at Big Dogs Brewery. This past weekend, if you attended Big Dog’s Winter Beer Fest, you have Grant to thank for all the awesome beer choices. Most recently however, Grant was given the opportunity to brew his first professional beer on Big Dog’s 20 barrel brewhouse. And now this Wednesday, Dog Gone Saison will see the light of day!
If any of you have taken an opportunity to read BJCP Hero, then you know that Grant knows his way around a Belgian beer. He’s won several BJCP awards, and I can only assume that Dog Gone Saison will be equally award winning.
This Wednesday, February 6th, get to Big Dog’s at 6pm. Your first pint of Dog Gone Saison is free. Not only that, the first 50 people get a free appetizer paired to go with the beer. Meet us, meet Grant, and meet everyone else in the Las Vegas craft beer community.
See you there!