Tis the season to be tipsy. Las Vegas has been sprouting with more craft beer breweries over the last 8 years and now has a more recognized and stronger presence as the seasons go by.
Mojave Brewing Company
Mojave Brewing Company is a family owned brewery that is nestled in the newly developed Water Street District area in Downtown Henderson, NV. It's about 25 minutes away from the center of the Las Vegas strip and is worth every minute of the drive. This brewery concocted the perfect stout beer for this holiday season and nailed it right on the head! After taking that first sip of their Holiday Havoc 5% stout, you'll notice a hint of cinnamon and nutmeg spices along with the notes of that holiday pine. If you want a nice flavored beer on the lighter side, you should give their Cinnamon Toast Crunch a try...it's cream 5% ale with a light flavor of cinnamon toast crunch cereal...enough said.
This brewery took over the bank vault section of what used to be the old Bank of America building. Mojave Brewing uses the old vault as a private tasting room and the Biscuits and Bourbon restaurant is on the front side of the building which perfectly pairs the 2 establishments.
Hudl Brewing Company
Hudl Brewing recently celebrated their 2 year anniversary October 2022. This brewery has brought in a lot of craft beer roots from SoCal and Colorado. You'll want to try their Toasted Pecan 6.6% ale. It has notes of pecans and marshmallows. They also offer the Toasted Pecan and their other beers in cans for you to share with family and friends so you can immerse yourselves around a warm backyard fire pit and just enjoy the moment. Visit their website to see the other beers they have on tap.
CraftHaus Brewery
CraftHaus beer can be found in most convenient stores, restaurants, and liquor stores throughout Las Vegas but you'll want to try their beers straight from the tap at either one of their 2 locations. Every Beer-tender from the craft breweries nearby, speak highly of co-owners Wyndee and Dave Forrest. Wyndee is currently the President of the Nevada Craft Brewers Association for 2020 to 2022. This year the brewery released their "All The Strawbarb" classic strawberry and rhubarb 5.8% sour ale for the holidays. If you want to savor some darker beer, give their Cuckoo 5.4% lager a try...the first sip is full of toasted bread from 100% German malts with a clean finish of lager yeast sourced directly from one of the oldest breweries in Prague.
Able Baker Brewing
Able Baker is a 2022 World Beer Cup Gold Medalist and holds the 2021 and 2022 Voted Best Brewery in Las Vegas. They are located about a block away from Hudl Brewing on Main Street in Downtown Las Vegas. For this holiday, you'll want to enjoy their thirst quenching Cran Apple 5.2% sour and their Jumbo Gadget barrel aged Imperial Pumpkin 12% ale which has flavors of caramelized pumpkins and sweet brown sugar and spices. That's not all!...If you have an appetite for some food to pair with your beer, don't pass up their Arts District Kitchen menu. Their chicken wings are fantastic!...but that's another story.
Neon Desert Brewing
Last but not least, this award winning brewery is on Main Street and right across the street from the new English Hotel which opened it's doors early March of 2022 in downtown Las Vegas. The co-owner and master brewer Jim Doyle should be labeled as "The Most Interesting Man"...if you're familiar with the Dos Equis advertising campaign. Jim was raised on a farm and was a criminal defense attorney for 10 years in Arkansas. When he relocated to Vegas, he lived an eventful life as a professional poker player for 12 years and during those successful years, he grew a skill of crafting some of the best beers from his home. Jim now proudly shares his craft beers for everyone to appreciate and enjoy.
If you happen to visit Neon Desert Brewing, try a glass of their COCONILLACAN for the holidays...it's a 10% imperial stout which sets off notes of toasted coconut, roasted pecans, and vanilla beans. It's surprisingly a dark and bold beer but with a perfectly lighter finish...definitely one of my favorites during my 3 weeks of bar hopping.
Special Mentions:
Here are some other enjoyable spots to grab a beer during the holidays.
North 5th Brewing Co.
North 5th Brewing is the first brewery with a tap room in North Las Vegas. They are fairly the newest in town and will be celebrating their 1 year Anniversary party December 10. Co-owners and siblings Amanda and Matt Payan turned their father's old construction business building into a spacious brewery serving all visitors and local businesses such as Juan's Flaming Fajitas and other restaruant and retail establishments. I had the pleasure of trying their Cream Weaver cream 5.3% ale and their Pumpkin Boy 6.6% stout which has a pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar, clove and ginger flavor profile. Visit their website to learn about their special 5th Degree Membership and to view the weekly food truck schedule which works out great with the picnic table and bench style setup in front of their building.
The Silver Stamp
The Silver Stamp is not a brewery but they do have amazing craft beers on tap and a fine selection of other imports. This 70's basement den themed bar has over two hundred 5 star reviews and the experience you'll have will make want you to write another 5 star review yourself. If you happen to be in the Downtown Las Vegas area, stop by...it's a fun local bar that even has a free classic Tapper arcade game to test your bartending game skills.
BrewDog
International Brewery, BrewDog will be the largest brewery on the strip across from the Park MGM. BrewDog claims that it will have 96 taps of incredible beers to choose from and classic retro style games to up the entertainment. The rooftop bar will have a 30,000 square feet of space large enough for live music events and large company parties. In celebration of grand opening day on December 2nd, they are offering a $1,000,000 bar tab on the cards for one lucky attendee that will be able to use the tab in any BrewDog bar around the world over the next 20 years!