The 72nd annual National Beer Wholesalers Association Convention and Trade Show convened in Las Vegas Sept. 22 through Sept. 24 and attracted a record number of industry representatives. The convention was a chance for distributors to research all that’s available in the world of brewing, while the trade show was a showcase of breweries from all over the world representing virtually every beer style.

  Nearly 300 exhibitors were displaying their wares on the trade show floor, with several new and old favorites available for sampling. 25 craft breweries were represented in the Craft Brewers Pavilion, and the rest of the trade show appeared to be dominated by artisanal beer sporting plenty of robust flavors. No surprise there, as the craft beer industry continues to be the fastest growing segment in the entire US beverage alcohol industry, despite a dismal economic climate. The evidence is a 10.1% increase in dollar sales from 2007 to 2008, and in the first half of 2009 the craft brewing industry has seen a 5% growth.

  Will Hamill and Steve Kuftinec were promoting Uinta, their brewery from Salt Lake City. They were pouring their Anniversary Barley Wine, a 10.4% full-flavored brew that destroys the myth that they make only wimpy beer in Utah. Also on the table was Wyld, the 1^st organic beer ever produced in Utah, and Monkshine, a hybrid between a Belgian and American-style pale ale that is made with American barley and a Belgian yeast strain.

  The Anchor Brewing wooden serving bar was a welcome sight, with Anchor’s Dan Mitchell and Bob Brewer tapping its flagship Anchor Steam, hoppy Liberty Ale, Anchor Bock, Small Beer and the 8.8% Old Foghorn barley wine. A special treat for the trade show was the 8% Our Barrel Ale, a secret blend of several of Anchor’s ales aged for six months in an Old Petrero Rye barrel.

  A bevy of British imports were spotlighted at the British Imports booth. Cotleigh Brewery’s owner, Frederick Dommellof, exhibits his admiration for birds of prey, by naming and featuring beautiful images of them on several of his beers. All are smooth drinking session beers and are brewed with local malted barley, spring water, whole hops and the brewery’s 30-year-old yeast strain. The Buzzard Dark Ale is a traditional bottle-conditioned winter ale with subtle flavors of chocolate and nuts. It was twice voted the Good Beer Guide’s “Beer of the Year”.

  Fuller’s impressed me with its 2008 Vintage Ale, a rich 8.5% bottle conditioned ale brewed with Maris Otter barley and Challenger and Northdown hops. Only 145,000 bottles were produced.

  The land down under was represented by Coopers, who brought its seasonal Vintage Ale, a bottle conditioned 7.5% strong ale brewed once a year with an American IPA finish that’s accomplished with the use of Cascade hops.

  Duvel Moortgat introduced Duvel Green, a lighter (6.8%) and less carbonated single fermentation draft version of Duvel. Also new is the Ommegang Adoration Winter Ale, a 10% spiced brew with cardamom, mace and orange peel.

  Brewer Marc Antoine De Mees was proudly pouring his St. Martin Blonde and Tripel, strong ales from the Brunehaut Brewery, which was founded in 1890 in the village of Guignies, Belgium.

  The distinctive tastes of oak-aged Flemish Sour Ales were compliments of the Rodenbach Brewery from Flanders. The Grand Cru imparts wine-like flavors with hints of ripe berries and oak, the result of spending 18 months aging in solid oak vats.

  United States Beverage introduced three strong French ales, the most impressive of which is the Amadeus White Beer, which possesses a slight lemony character.

  Delaware’s Dogfish Head poured some of its newer offerings. Palo Santo Marron is a 12% barley-wine like brew with caramel and vanilla complexity and aged in Paraguayan wooden brewing vessels. Indian Brown Ale, at 7.2%, is a cross between an India Pale Ale, a Scotch Ale and an American Brown Ale and has characteristics of each style that inspired it-the color of an American Brown, the caramel notes of a Scotch Ale, and the hopping regimen of an India Pale Ale.

  Stone Brewing Company rolled out its version of a light beer; the Levitation at 4.4% is dry hopped with Amarillo. A special treat was the Oaked Arrogant Bastard, a 7.2% version that is fermented with American oak chips. 

  Jerry Vietz, Unibroue’s master brewer, was on hand to talk about his brewery and some of his latest creations. The brewery is now brewing to capacity, with output increasing from 180,000 to 250,000 hectoliters. A native of Quebec, Vietz designed the ‘400’ anniversary beer to celebrate the 400^th anniversary of the founding of Quebec City. It’s brewed with four spices (cardamom, Curacao, paprika and star anise) to represent each century. The yeast strain used is the same strain used in their Don de Dieu, which happens to be the name of Samuel de Champlain’s ship, which was the first to sail into Quebec in 1608. Also new to the brewery’s portfolio is Black Currant Ephemere, which unfortunately for many of us, is currently only available in Canada.

  Allagash, out of Portland, Maine, is becoming sought out for its Belgian-style creations. Founder Rob Tod poured his latest creation, the 9.5% Interlude, which is created with a Belgian farmhouse yeast and a house strain of Brettanomyces and aged in French oak Merlot & Syrah wine barrels. Also new to his portfolio is Allagash Black, a Belgian-style stout with full-bodied roasted malt flavor.

  New Belgium Brewing Company, from Fort Collins, Colo., has a new beer that lives up to its name. La Folie is a 6% wood-conditioned sour brown ale that is fermented for 1-3 years in French oak barrels that were formerly used in wine production. The result is a flavor profile of a sharp lambic, sour in the finish, with the oaky tannins one might find in a cabernet.

  Joseph James Brewing Company, from Henderson, Nevada, introduced its Weize Guy, a Bavarian hefe that logs in at a mere 120 calories, but with ample flavor. Rounding out the new brewery’s portfolio are its Red Fox (a 9% Russian Imperial Stout), Tahoe Blue (pale ale hopped with Cascade and Galena), Blueberry Ale, Apple Ale and Alpine Wit (with coriander and orange peel).

  I tasted my first ever watermelon beer from San Francisco’s 21^st Amendment Brewery. Its Hell or High Watermelon is a refreshing brew with noticeable watermelon flavor. Its Brew Free! Or Die is a golden IPA with a sucker punch of six different hops, and is also the first IPA I’ve ever encountered in a can.

  Napa Smith Brewery is proving that wine isn’t the only beverage to come out of Napa. I sampled its Wheat Beer, a filtered American wheat flavored with fresh ginger. 

  Merchant du Vin brought out a stunning array of full-flavored imports that included Orval, Lindemans, Ayinger and Pinkus. New to its portfolio are the organic versions of Samuel Smith ales, which come in varieties of Cherry, Raspberry and Strawberry.

  This was my sixth time attending the trade show, which has become noticeably dominated by craft beer choices, a trend that has grown exponentially over the past ten years. If this trade show is any indication, it would appear that more and more distributors are embracing the craft beer segment as it slowly but surely chips away at the pie, securing a larger piece of its share of the beer market.

  The NBWA is a major beer biz convention that wisely comes to Vegas every other year and alternates in other cities (sans trade show). Next year’s convention will meet in Chicago, Oct. 3-6. For more information visit the NBWA’s website at www.nbwa.org.

  Beer dinners continue to flourish in Southern Nevada, with beer pairings regularly occurring each month. Move over wine!  On September 30, Simon at Palms Place featured the culinary artistry of its chefs, with a five-course feast paired with craft brews from Italy. One doesn’t usually think of Italy when considering craft beer, but that is changing, as the Italians are now enjoying a craft beer resurgence that mirrors that which the U.S. experienced in the 1990’s. Each course was prefaced with an informative talk about the beers by Jon Lundbom, Division Manager of B. United International, Inc., the importers of the beers served at the dinner. Lundbom related that Italy’s craft beer movement is integrally involved in the slow food movement, which is defined as sustainable agriculture using local ingredients. Italian craft brews use a variety of food ingredients and tend to be served in large bottles the size of wine, and are meant to be enjoyed with a meal as one would a fine wine.

  The appetizers course featured bleu cheese-stuffed chicken wings with a habanera sauce and warm pretzels, which was served with Friska, a crisp white ale from the Sardinia region that is spiced with coriander and orange peel. 

  Next up was a grilled chili dog with heritage pork sausage, roasted fennel and heirloom bean chili, paired with Nuova Mattina, a saison-style from the Emilia Romagna region. The name means ‘New Morning’ and this brew had a perfect balance of sweetness and sour derived from an assortment of coriander, ginger, green peppercorn, chamomile and anise.

  Seared striped bass with roasted squash and faro salad blended with Strada San Felice, an amber lager flavored with chestnut honey and fresh Piemonte wood-fire roasted chestnuts. The chestnut harvest is an extremely important event in the Piedmont region and this beer is a tribute to its prized local crop yield.

  The main course featured an 18-hour beef brisket with beer-caramelized onions and a Vermont cheddar soufflé. This hearty dish was backed up with Malthus Baluba, a complex double toasted malt ale from the Lombardia region that is fermented with dried apricot, pineapple, ginger and rue.

  The dessert course was apple pie with sour cherry and brown butter ice cream that was matched with Scires. This  lager is infected with a sour brettanomyces bacteria and fermented with sour cherries and aged in oak barrels. The sweetness of the dessert was a wonderful marriage to the sweet and sour complexities in the beer.

  The bonus beer finale was Tosta, a 12% barley wine brewed with cacao from Cost Rica. This beer was so rich and robust you could be jailed for liking it. Actually, my pun is in reference to the fact that this beer is made by prisoners at the Rodolfo Morandi maximum security penitentiary in Saluzzo, Italy. The inmates were selected after a rigorous examination by the Rodolfo Morandi directors and work under the supervision of the brewmaster. That’s what I call motivational rehabilitation.

  I truly had never experienced such a varied assortment of ingredients in beer, which one would not normally expect to find. All were delightful and backed up by dishes prepared with as many varied flavors as the beers they were paired with.

  All of the aforementioned beers are distributed by BMC Spirits here in Southern Nevada and can be found at Khoury’s Fine Wine & Spirits and at Whole Foods Markets.

  More football deals are popping up. At Gordon Biersch Sunday NFL games can be viewed on its eight 52” plasma TV’s in HD, and game day specials are offered from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. and from 9 p.m. to closing. Deals are $3 Gordon Biersch lagers, $5 Cosmos, Margaritas, Mojitos and Specialty drinks and $2 off wines by the glass.  As always, great beer happens in Vegas!