Nevada Beer Nuggets - April / May '10 By Bob Barnes   Springtime in Nevada affords beer lovers an excellent opportunity to enjoy their brew in sublime temps. It also signals the beginning of beerfest season, with two events on tap for southern Nevada in May. First up will be the 4th Annual Lee’s Beer Experience on Saturday, May 8 from 1 to 5 p.m. at the Las Vegas Hilton. This is southern Nevada’s largest beerfest of the year with well over 300 beers to sample. Tickets, priced at $40, will be sold at all Lee’s Discount Liquor stores. Admission includes unlimited tasting of beer and food and a commemorative glass. Contact Event Coordinator Abbi Alumbaugh at abbi@leeswineclub.com for more information, or to sign up your brewery. The Las Vegas Hilton is at 3000 Paradise Rd., about a half-mile east of the Vegas Strip, and is a stop on the Las Vegas Monorail System.   A week later will be the Barley’s Casino & Brewing Company Brewfest VII on Saturday, May 15 from 2 to 8 p.m. This is an opportunity to try brews from all or most of the Vegas area brewpubs, as well as other select breweries from around the world. The fest will be held in the surrounding plaza and parking lot, with enough space to accommodate up to 30 beer booths. With each serving three to four brews, there promises to be a plentiful and well-rounded selection. A commemorative tasting glass and unlimited tasting will cost $25, with a $5 discount for Barley’s Brewclub Members and Wildfire card holders (Barley’s rewards program). Barley’s is in Henderson/Green Valley at Mountain Vista & Sunset.   Whole Foods Market will host a Gordon Biersch dinner on April 2 from 6-8 p.m. at the Henderson location at The District. A four-course pairing matching each course with a Gordon Biersch brew can be had for the extremely reasonable price of $25. Dan Gordon, the co-founder who put the Gordon name into Gordon Biersch, will be on hand to talk about his brewery and each beer being served. To RSVP, call Whole Foods customer service at 702-361-8183.   BJ’s continues to offer five-course pairing beer dinners for a reasonable price of $35. The April installment will feature the brews of Stone Brewing. The dates for the Nevada BJ’s are: Summerlin-April 6; Reno-April 7; and Henderson-April 19.   Chicago Brewing Company will celebrate its 10th anniversary with its annual party on April 17 beginning at 1:00. This year’s bash will have a Mardi Gras theme, and Brewmaster Dave Pascualwill roll out his Springfest Ale. I can attest from past experience that this is a party you’ll not want to miss.   So many times we see the same selection of a handful of brews that nearly every pub seems to have decided are the chosen ones to represent craft beer. Aces & Ales continues to lead the way in providing a beer menu that stands out from the rest of the pack, with some hard to find brews as well as those not available anywhere else in southern Nevada. Recent tappings have included such gems as Dogfish Head Olde School, Deschutes Hop Henge and Stone 2007 Old Guardian. Half-gallon growlers are now offered, so you can take your favorite beer home. Aces & Ales sponsors weekly and sometimes bi-weekly special beer events. For weekly email notification of these and other beer related events in southern Nevada, sign up at <www.meetup.com/Vegas-Beer-Lovers>. Aces & Ales is on Nellis near Sam’s Town, just south of Twain.   Big Dog’s Brewing in Las Vegas is now offering a brew school. Big Dog’s Brewmaster “Professor” Dave Otto leads the class, shares his tricks of the trade and provides assistance to his students as they brew a batch of Big Dog’s Brew. On the day of the brew, students enjoy lunch at the brewery, and two weeks later, a special “graduation party” is thrown with a three-course beer dinner made with the beer they brewed. Participants also receive a diploma, class picture and take home a growler of the beer they helped to create. The brew school will be in session in quarterly installments. Call Big Dog’s at 702-645-1404 to enroll.   Uinta Brewing Company in Salt Lake City recently became an OU Kosher certified brewery. In January, Uinta entered the Reno market, with Angler’s Pale Ale, Golden Spike Hefeweizen, Anniversary Barley Wine, King’s Peak Porter and Wyld Organic Extra Pale Ale now available.   Nevada brewmasters are helping us celebrate the arrival of spring with seasonal beers that are sure to compliment our favorable weather. In southern Nevada, Richard Lovelady at Gordon Biersch is making an extra supply of his Maibock, which is so popular it ran out early last year. Its release is scheduled for April 6, with tapping parties in store for both GB locations that week.   Todd Cook at Boulder Dam Brewing is brewing his 3rd Annibrewsary Ale to commemorate his brewery’s 3rd anniversary. It’s an IPA using four hop varieties (Cascade, Chinook, Centennial and Columbus) and conditioned with American oak. The reopening of the beer garden affords the opportunity to enjoy your beer outdoors, and live music occurs every Friday and Saturday night on the outside stage. To help celebrate Cinco de Mayo on May 5th, Todd will bring out his Cincuenta Cerveza, a light pilsner made with the juice of cincuenta (fifty) limes.   Dave Otto at Big Dog’s has brewed a double IPA sure to please any hophead. His War Dog IPA (dedicated to the War Dogs that aid and protect our brave troops) packs quite a punch, due to the addition of over 60 pounds of hops. It’s not overly bitter, and so citrusy that if you didn’t know better you’d swear it had grapefruit in it. Dave is also now serving up cask-conditioned ales, with the unveiling occurring every Thursday at 6 p.m.   In Reno, at the Eldorado Casino’s Brew Brothers Brewpub, Brewmaster Greg Hinge has his Dark Night Porter, a 10.6% Baltic-style porter utilizing eight different malts and some brown sugar. Expect lots of chocolate and roasted coffee flavors. Next up will be a hoppy red ale packed full of Cascade hops.    The latest beer nugget I’ve unearthed on the Vegas Strip is Sage at the Aria Resort in the newly-opened CityCenter. Sage is an upscale eatery that is the creation of critically-acclaimed Chef Shawn McClain. Nearly 50 quality quaffable premium craft brews can be found, such as Dogfish Head Midas Touch, St. Feuillien Saison, Unibroue Maudite, Westmalle Triple, Oud Beersel Kriek and Stone Levitation Ale. This stellar beer list is not surprising, as the Beverage Director is none other than Michael Shetler, former GM of Rosemary’s Restaurant, where he was one of the first to introduce beer dinners to Las Vegas. Quarterly beer dinners are planned and Prohibition Sundays offer two for one draft deals, occurring on alternate Sundays. As always, great beer happens in Vegas!  Sage @ Aria in City Center 3730 Las Vegas Boulevard South  Las Vegas, NV, 89109 866-359-7757  Bob Barnes is a native Nevadan and is celebrating his 11th anniversary as a regional correspondent for the Celebrator Beer News. He welcomes your inquiries and is standing by to assist you in your Nevada beer quest. He can be reached via e-mail at LVBobB@juno.com.