Tenaya Creek has released a new bottled beer to the market: Hauling Oats. Formally known simply as ‘Oatmeal Stout’ when it was on tap at the brewery. When I first heard that Tenaya Creek was going to be bottling their oatmeal stout, I was ecstatic. Being a fan of stouts, this was actually one of the first beers I tried from Tenaya Creek when I first visited their brewery a couple of years ago. This was also the first beer of theirs that I enjoyed so much, that I bought a growler of it to share with friends at a party I held.

There is an old myth that the darker the beer, the higher alcohol content the beer has. Or the darker the beer is, the heavier it is. In case you were not aware, both of these myths are flat out wrong, and this beer is a perfect example of a dark beer that is neither high in alcohol or excessively heavy (however, if what you’re looking for is a dark, heavy, alcoholic beer, look no further than Hauling Oats big brother, Tenaya Creek’s Imperial Stout. Release will probably be later this winter).

Hauling Oats is extremely drinkable. Regardless of the fact that it is being released in bottles during the fall, it was on tap at the brewery all summer, and was just as refreshing then as it is now.

The aroma coming off of this beer is of dark chocolate and iced coffee. The flavor is like a morning coffee, with the bitterness lingering in the long aftertaste. There is a little bit of an acidic bite in the finish, similar to the one found in coffee. In this case, it comes from the dark roasted malts.

This is a refreshing, light bodied beer that’s perfect all year round. It’s available in bottles all around town, (I bought a bottle at the Las Vegas BLVD Whole Foods), and also on tap at the brewery.

The above hash tag is used often, even by me, on twitter and untappd when talking about local breweries. I want to take a moment and expand this loose definition even further.

First and foremost, I am not trying to discredit any of the breweries here in Las Vegas, or take away from the work that they do. Instead, I want to give credit where credit is due to the other small businesses in town who are also working hard to impact the craft beer community.

First, breweries like Tenaya Creek, Joseph James, and Big Dog’s Brewery do an amazing job of making incredible beers, and distributing these across not just the state, but in other states as well. But don’t forget about everything else they do besides brew great beer. Tenaya Creek and Big Dog’s both operate brewpubs where they not only serve their own beers, but they include guest taps as well. Big Dog’s holds several beer fests each year with incredible beer lists from a lot of great breweries across the country. All three of these breweries are incredibly helpful and supportive of the growing homebrew community and the local homebrew club, SNAFU. Tenaya Creek and Joseph James participate in GABF Pro-Am competitions and offer to brew winning homebrew batches of beer in their breweries. Big Dog’s offers classes for people to come and brew Big Dog’s beer at the brewery, and take home a growler of beer that they helped to brew.
In addition to these breweries, there are several other smaller breweries who also operate brewpubs and beer fests. Altogether, without these companies, not only would we have less beer in Nevada, we’d also have a smaller pool of bars available that offer craft beer. There would be less support for homebrewers, and as a result, there would likely be fewer homebrewers and fewer new breweries in planning.

Second, I think it’s worth mentioning the other businesses who are also deserving of the #drinklocal tag, even if they do not brew their own beer. Places like Khoury’s and Aces & Ales, offer a tremendous service to Las Vegas craft beer drinkers.
Khoury’s not only has a great bottle selection, but they even offer beer on tap and let you drink beer in the store. As a result, Wednesday nights have become a weekly gathering of craft beer drinkers across the the city. Guests are welcome to open and share beers with other guests, whether they are purchased at Khoury’s or not, and best of all, there’s no corkage fee! Wednesday nights also feature local food trucks, and often a brewery tapping or serving of a new beer.
Aces & Ales has the best beer list in the city. Best of all, the prices are just right too. They hold several yearly beer fests, and even brewery tap takeovers, like the yearly Stone Domination, featuring Stone CEO Greg Koch. They offer several weekly specials, like discounted growler fills on Sunday, and Tuesday Night Tastings, which feature a specially prepared dish paired with a featured beer. In addition to their tap list, they also offer a range of beers available in bottles, including several aged beers.
Both Khoury’s and Aces & Ales, among others like Money Plays, The Dillinger, and even Public House and Todd English’s PUB, are helping to spread cask ales, double dry hopped beers, beer sharing, food pairing, aged vertical tastings, and beer fests across Las Vegas.

Supporting these local breweries and businesses also supports craft beer in Las Vegas. The more support we can give to our retailers and restaurants who serve craft beer, then the more we are building a stronger craft beer community in Las Vegas, and the more distributorship this city will get, the more craft beer events will be held, the more breweries will get started, and more retailers and craft beer bars will open. Support your local businesses and #drinklocal!

Today marks the 1st day of Oktoberfest, the German celebration of… beer? Let’s go with that, since it seems to be all anyone knows of the festival, in America at least.

Local brewery Tenaya Creek brews up their Oktoberfest beer yearly in celebration of the festival. This was released a few weeks ago, but today seemed like the perfect day to pop open a bottle.

As you can see above, this beer has a bright, clear, copper color, as is common to most Oktoberfest beers (also known as Märzen). The aroma is nice and grassy from the German Magnum and Czech Saaz hops that this is brewed with. The beer has just the right balance of maltiness and dryness, giving this beer a nice bready flavor with a quick, refreshing, dry finish. The hops give this beer a nice firm bite in the finish, with lingering spicy/peppery and floral flavors.

This beer is best served with some bratwurst sausages. Spicy brown mustard will compliment the hops and some sauerkraut will contrast with the toasty Vienna malts. Finally, the crisp finish will refresh your palate and leave you wanting more. If you are getting hungry, and too lazy to make this yourself (like me), check out the Sausage Fest food truck  and head to Tenaya Creek the next time they are there serving up their bratwursts!

I just want to take a moment and point out how much I like Unita’s label artwork. I love the minimalistic look to them. Very few colors are used, the label is primarily two-toned between the background and the font colors. There is only a simple, single, two toned image in the center, and that’s it. It’s perfect.

And not only are the labels great, the beers are great too. Any of the below 12 oz bottles should be go-to session beers for all of you.

Uinta also has another set of beers available in cork finished 750 mL bottles, called their ‘Crooked Line’ beers. While these labels are not as clean cut and simple as the others beers, they do still have great artwork on them.

Uinta’s beers are available at the usual craft beer shops in town: Whole Foods, Khoury’s Fine Wine, and Total Wine.

Little known fact, the owner of Las Vegas’ Tenaya Creek Brewery, Tim Etter, got his start as a brewer at Uinta!

*all of the above images were taken from Uinta’s site.

With IPA Day coming August 2nd, I thought I’d re-share one of Goran’s recipes that uses an IPA as a base. Be sure to follow him and his blog on twitter: @cookingwthgormo
–Luis

Hello,
As we continue to embark on a journey with beer recipes, I thought about combining another favorite ingredient that I love to cook with (Bacon). In this post, we will be making a Bacon and IPA Spaghetti sauce. Many of you will wonder what the actual taste will be. I will give you a little hint: it will all depend on what kind of beer you will be using while making the sauce. Think of the beer as the foundation for the sauce. If you start with a not so good flavored beer, do not expect any miracles in the end. You have been warned. The beer I choose today is coming from the Tenaya Creek Brewery. The name of the beer is Monsoon IPA. The beer is light amber in color, full bodied and well hopped. Perfect for this recipe!

On to the cooking now!

Yield: 2 QT

Ingredients:

• 4 ea slices of Bacon
• 4 ea medium Onions, chopped
• 2 ea cloves Garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 lb Beef, ground
• 1 c Parmesan Cheese, grated
• 2 T Worcestershire sauce
• 6 oz Mushroom, sliced from a can
• 12 oz Monsoon IPA Tenaya Creek Brewery
• 6 oz Tomato Paste
• 1 t Salt
• 1/2 t Tabasco Sauce
• 1 1/3 c Tomato Puree

Preparation:

1. Fry Bacon until crisp; drain. Remove Bacon from the skillet.
2. To the Bacon fat add Onions and Garlic. Sauté until golden. Add ground Beef and Cheese. Stir often. Cook until the meat is brown.
3. Add Beer and cook for about 10 minutes.
4. Add the Tomato Paste, Salt, Tabasco, Worcestershire, Oregano and simmer for 10 minutes.
5. Add Tomato Puree, Mushrooms and Bacon.
6. Continue cooking until thickened, about 8-10 minutes.

Note:

Please keep in mind, as I have stated in my previous post, when it comes to the beer recipes, I will try to keep the recipe as straightforward and as simple as possible. You can add additional flavor to the sauce by adding Basil and Parsley to the recipe. I also recommend adding just a pinch of Sugar when making any kind of Tomato sauce. It helps fight the acidity of the tomato.

The finished product should look like this:

With Father’s Day coming up, I feel it is my civic duty to educate any people who may be buying gifts for their hop loving dads. As a father myself, trust me when I say that your father does not want a tie, or slippers for Father’s Day. As Hank Hill would say, they may want “beer, and beer related accessories!”. Read on for some great local ideas for the male parental unit that you love!

Tenaya Creek

General Manager Karl Herrera of Tenaya Creek Brewery has devised a fantastic gift for fans of great, local craft brews. For just $45, you will receive a wax sealed, brewer autographed growler full of their delicious Old Jackalope Barleywine, which is perfect for aging (and ages beautifully), as well 22oz bombers of both their Calico Brown Ale and Hop Ride IPA. With three distinct, delicious beverages…how could you go wrong?

For more info visit: Tenaya Creek Father’s Day Package

Aces and Ales
Website

As of yet, Aces and Ales is not doing anything fancy for Father’s Day…however, how about surprising dad with a 07.07.07 Vertical Epic from Stone, or perhaps a bottle of 14th Anniversary Firestone Walker? With an extensive list of hard to fine and aged bottles, Aces and Ales is a great choice if you want to pick up something unique. Or, why not treat your pops to some great tap beer and food on his special day? Either way, it is sure to put a smile on even the pickiest beer-lover’s face.

Khoury’s Fine Wine and Spirits
Website

What can I say about Khoury’s? Imagine a place when you can get a great craft beer on tap, and then shop for beer while enjoying it! Khoury’s is truly a beer geek’s dream come true! Head on in, grab a glass, and then take a gander through their extensive selection of beer, whiskey, wine, and even glassware. Khoury’s would be the perfect place to pick up your father’s favorite beer, pack it with a glass featuring his favorite birthday, and perhaps get him his favorite whiskey to boot. Oh, and did I mention that you can do all of this while enjoying a drink yourself?

Whole Foods on Las Vegas Blvd

Whole Foods on Las Vegas Blvd. rivals any destination in town for their great selection of fermented craft goodness. Pick up a gift card for your dad, and let him go to town! You can also speak with their Beer Specialist, Chris Brown, and let him help you pick out a beer that will go straight to your old man’s heart. I would love to recommend every Whole Foods in town, but the one at Town Square just plain leaves the rest of them it he dust.

Do you have any great beer related gift ideas of your own? We’d love to hear them! Please feel free to share the love in the comments field below, or send us an e-mail.

April 21, 2012 marked the second annual Great Las Vegas Festival of Beer, held once again at Tivoli Village.  Last year’s festival was a bit underwhelming.  There was little room, and a strong lack of organization.  I’m pleased to say that this year, they seemed to alleviate both of those issues.  The space given to the event was three times larger, and the overall professionalism of the event was greatly improved. While I could do without loud bands playing throughout the event, I’m sure that many people enjoy the live music atmosphere.  Now…on to the beer!

My wife and I decided to be fancy and go with the VIP tickets this year.  This allowed us to enter an hour early, and to enter a “Brewer’s Lounge” with food and special beers.  The special beers were simply bottled Ommegang beers, which are available at most liquor stores, and Tailwagger Wheat, and Rebel Red from local Big Dog’s Brewery.  While these are all solid beers, there is nothing really special about them.  With that being said, the VIP tickets were worth the extra $10 for the early entry.  By the time Tivoli Village started filling up, we had already made one lap around the area.

I was very happy to find some nice surprises amongst the beer selections this year.  Noble Ale Works was in attendance, sampling their IPA, Pale Ale, and phenomenal Alpha Red.  Hopefully we will see these on Las Vegas shelves sooner than later!   (UPDATE: Khourey’s Fine Wine is currently carrying Noble Ale Works) Dogfish Head were pouring both their refreshing Aprihop, as well as their coveted 120 Minute IPA in the “Hop Tent.”   Stevens Point and Three Monkeys, both new to the Vegas market, were also in attendance.  I quite enjoyed the Brown Barrel Ale from the latter, and their Tres Vasqueros Amber Ale is about as fine of an amber ale as you will find!  I was only able to try the Cascade Pale Ale by Stevens Point, but it was a nice, if unspectacular pale ale.  Other breweries in attendance, included Wasatch, Squatters, Crispin Ciders, Unibroue, Green Flash, New Belgium, Left Coast, Uinta, Firestone Walker and Ballast Point.

Not to be outdone, Las Vegas’ locals had a fantastic showing of their own!  On hand were breweries, Tenaya Creek, Joseph James, Big Dog’s, and local craft beer bar Aces and Ales.  Aces and Ales were pouring two fantastic Rogue selections in XS Imperial IPA and Brutal IPA.  Tenaya Creek had a fine selection of their own local brews, including Calico Brown and their Hop Ride IPA, which made it to the Elite 8 in the National IPA Championships!  Thankfully, if you missed out on either of these brews, you can always visit the brewery year round!    Big Dog’s really managed to surprise me with their Alpha Dog double red imperial ale.  Big Dog’s has always been hit or miss for me, but this hoppy concoction won me over at first sip!  Last, but not least, is Joseph James.  Joseph James had their stellar Hop Box and Tahoe Blue on hand, but what really blew me away was their “experimental” crafts.  The first beer they unveiled was a Cherry Pie Blonde Ale.  In my opinion, this was a splendidly refreshing beer with nice subtle notes of cherries.  The second new brew that they unleashed, was appropriatley  titled Baby J’s German Chocolate Cake Stout.  All in all, this may have ended up being my favorite beer of the event!  Just as the name implies, this was German chocolate cake in a glass!  Big, chocolate and coffee stout flavors, with a perfectly balanced coconut flavor throughout.   I really hope this one ends up in a bottle someday soon!

Overall, I would highly recommend that any lover of craft beer does not miss this event next year!  Las Vegas craft beer needs your support, and the prices ($27 for regular, $37 for VIP) are very reasonable when you consider the amount of beer you will be experiencing!

The Great Vegas Festival of Beer is back again this year at Tivoli Village on April 21st!

This was one of the better Las Vegas beer fests I attended last year. A lot of great beers from some great breweries.

The things I didn’t like about last year was the length of time it took to get into the festival, and how small and crowded the festival area was. It looks like Motley Brews learned from last year by adding an express lane for online ticket holders and three times more space than last year! Also exciting are some of the breweries that will be present this year that are new to the festival: Brewery Ommegang, Ballast Point, Uinta, and Green Flash, to name a few. Expect to see the local breweries on hand as well: Tenaya Creek, Joseph James, Chicago Brewing Company, and Big Dog’s Brewing Company.

More details, and pictures, can be found at Motley Brew’s website.

Thank you to everyone who came by Tenaya Creek this past Tuesday for the stout and cake event. We all had a blast drinking awesome beer and eating Goran’s amazing cake! Hopefully in the future we can plan more of these types of events!

Thanks to Justin Massongill for the photos