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|  | |  |  |  | | | Nevada Beer Nuggets - Celebrator Magazine
By Bob Barnes
I recently made my way to Reno to attend the 15th Annual Great Eldorado BBQ, Brews & Blues Fest, hosted by the Eldorado Casino. This fest has the three B’s covered, with thebest of BBQ, live blues and beer, and with three blocks closed off to traffic, it was a real kick to walk around Virginia St. while sampling brews from over 30 different regional breweries. The earlier hours of the fest had a family feel to it, as all ages wandered about checking out the several craft booths. Brewers had an opportunity to enter their beer for judging. The Best in show Award went to Firestone Walker’s Humboldt Hemp Brown Ale. A local brewery placed third in the Dark Ale category, with Doppelgangers out of Carson City earning the honor for its DG Stout.
While in the area, I visited Doppelgangers in Carson City. Joe Renden has returned as brewmaster and is brewing some very flavorful creations. I enjoyed the Honey Ale-made with orange blossom honey, imparting a distinct honey flavor; 7.8% Imperial Stout-intensely roasty; Strawberry Blonde-tart, with real strawberry flavor; and a 7.4% IPA that is robustly hoppy. The brewpub faces Carson Street and is located across the street from the state capital building; it’s rumored that Joe’s brews are favorably influencing Nevada’s laws.
Congrats are in order for Dan Pederson and his team of brewers at the Reno BJ’s brewery. Their beers earned two gold medals at the North American Beer Awards for their Brewhouse Blonde and PM Porter, which won in the cream ale and brown porter categories.
In Reno, Great Basin Brewing Company has opened a 2nd location, a 25-bbl. brewhouse with two 25 bbl. fermenters and four 50-bbl. fermenters. Owner Tom Young reports that plans are in the works to install a bottling line. It’s located at the corner of McCarren and Virginia at 5525 South Virginia St.
Silver Peak is opening its 3rd location in Reno, called Slice of the Peak Pub. According to Chef/Owner David Silverman, it’s well-named, as this new venue is more of a pizza joint, with pool tables, pinball machines and 20 taps, of which 6-8 will be Silver Peak’s brews. The pizza dough is made with malted barley, and from my first hand experience, I can attest that it results in a scrumptious flavor that makes a perfect companion to beer. The new pub is optimally located across the street from the Reno Aces baseball stadium at 300 E. 2nd St.
Buckbean Brewing Company is sponsoring the second annual international beer judging and tasting for canned beer, CANFEST, on Saturday, October 9 from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Grand Sierra Resort & Casino in Reno. The can has come into its own in recent years, with advantages of superior protection from sunlight and oxygen, and the containers being more portable and environmentally friendly. There’s no question canned beer is gaining acceptance, and according to the National Brewers Association, 52 microbreweries now offer their brews in a can. CANFEST is a showcase of the quality breweries that distribute their brews in cans. Winners of a judged canned beer competition will be announced the night before the event at an awards dinner. Price for beer tasting and food is $40, or $30 for beer only, and can be purchased in advance through Ticketmaster or the Grand Sierra Resort. If you buy tickets at the door, there will be an additional $5 tacked onto each of those amounts. For more information on CANFEST or for details on entering your beer, contact Buckbean’s Doug Booth by email at doug@buckbeanbeer.com or by calling 775-722-3949.
Aces & Ales in Las Vegas recently devoted all 20 of its taps to dispensing the robust creations of Stone Brewing Company.Owner/Founder Greg Koch attended this Stone showcase, signed bottles of Stone brew and posed for pictures with his adoring fans. Greg said, “I’m impressed with the way the craft beer scene is heating up in Vegas. I pledge to come to town more often, and you can quote me on that.” This was the first time an all Stone tasting of this magnitude had taken place in Las Vegas. The event ran for three consecutive days and the place was jam packed throughout.
Next on tap is a strong beer festival, August 13-15. All 20 of the Aces & Ales taps will be devoted to beers that are at least 7% abv, and all of the beer will be specialty or extremely rare beer. In addition to its 20 taps, jockey boxes will enable an additional 20 taps to be poured, which will result in an opportunity to choose from more than 40 different beers each day. Confirmed beers so far include Dogfish Head’s 120 Minute IPA, and Midas Touch; Sierra Nevada’s 30th Anniversary Imperial Stout, Bigfoot Barleywine and Imperial Helles Bock; Deschutes’s Hop Henge IPA, The Abyss and Jubel 2010; Joseph James’s Duci, Belgian Triple and Belgian Dark Ale; and several more beers from Stone Brewing.
In Las Vegas, Tenaya Creek Brewery’s outside keg sales continue to grow, necessitating a remodel and expansion of the brewery. The expansion includes one new 15-bbl. fermentation tank and two 20-bbl. brite beer tanks, but the best news is the addition of a 22 oz. bottling line, enabling us to obtain the beer at retail stores. At Ellis Island Casino & Brewery, Brewmaster Joe Pickettreports that he has maxed out on production and is consequently adding two more fermentation vessels, which will increase capacity by 25%.
The Yardhouse has opened a 2nd location in Las Vegas, which is its first casino restaurant, at the Red Rock Casino, Resort & Spa. Sporting 130 taps, the new venue is out at the west edge of the city at the 215 Freeway and Charleston. The Yard House now has 29 restaurants in its growing portfolio.
Nevada brewers continue to toil through the dog days of summer, providing us with the fruits of their labor. In Las Vegas, Matt Marino at Main Street Station’s Triple 7 Brewpub will bring out his world famous and multi-award winning Black Cherry Stout. Due to an equipment failure of his bottom steam jacket, he had to have a steam halo installed. In honor of this new modification he has named his newest creation HALO Bender, a super hoppy, super dark Black IPA that’s aged on cocoa nibs and dry hopped.
Richard Lovelady at the Las Vegas Gordon Biersch will be releasing his annual Festbier on Sept. 14. In Reno, Dan Pedersonis gearing up to brew massive quantities of BJ’s Oktoberfestseasonal offering, which will also come out in September. Both brews will prove to be an excellent way to usher in Oktoberfest.
In Boulder City, Todd Cook at Boulder Dam Brewing has collaborated with Boulder Bean, a locally-owned/ operated coffee house, the result of which is the Boulder Bean Stout - an Irish dry stout with the addition of 500 shots of freshly brewed espresso. He also has his Cascadian Dark Ale, a Black IPA using copious amounts of Cascade, Clusters and Fuggles hops. As always, great beer happens in Nevada!
Yardhouse @ the Red Rock Casino, Resort & Spa
11011 W. Charleston Blvd.
Las Vegas, NV 89135
702-363-9273
Slice of the Peak Pub
300 E. 2nd St. Suite 104
Reno, NV 89501
775-324-1864
Great Basin Brewing Company
5525 South Virginia St.
Reno, NV 89502
775-355-7711
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.
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