Well, it's been one month since my last visit, and I found myself in Las Vegas once again. No need to call Gambler's Anonymous or anything like that. This was a planned "family" vacation with my wife and her in-laws (seven of us in total). We had a great time and in between the shows, the great food and the scenery, I was able to squeeze in a few more new beers while in Sin City (and just outside of it).
Boulder Dam Brewing Company (BDBC) - I learned about this place while doing some "beer research" before my last visit, but since it's located in Boulder City (about a half-hour south of Vegas) and since I didn't have a rental car at that time, I had to wait for this trip to check it out. It worked out great because my brother- and sister-in-law wanted to visit Hoover Dam located right outside Boulder City and I agreed to chauffeur them if they would agree to have lunch at the BDBC brew pub. The historic downtown of Boulder City where BDBC's brew pub is located is a quaint little village with an obvious southwestern adobe-style building theme. Therefore, the brewpub looked pretty much like the rest of the little town from the outside. Inside wasn't anything to get excited about although their big brewing vat's sat right behind the bar which was kind of interesting and different. I started with their Highscaler IPA and wasn't overly impressed. It was decent, but the hoppy taste and aroma that I dearly love was fairly weak. My brother-in-law, Andy, tried their 6-sampler of beers and gave me a taste of their Black Canyon Stout which again I found to be OK, but nothing unique or memorable. He offered more of their products to me - a pilsner, a hefeweizen and a seasonal cerveza - but I passed on them because I knew what I would encounter. Probably the most interesting one they had was a mix of of their Lake Mead Light and lemonade...but I wouldn't call that beer...more like something a guy named "Mike" likes to make and bottle on a national scale. These guys seems to be quite infantile in their development as brewers and as a brewpub, and hopefully they will mature with their establishment as well as their beer, but for now, I have to say it's not worth a trip out from Vegas just for the beer and their theme, "A Bolder Damn Beer" is clever, but a bit of an overstatement. Luckily, Boulder City and nearby Hoover Dam and Lake Mead make this area a very cool area to visit no matter what's going on at BDBC.
Clinking bottles and dancing draughts (a few more beers I had at various locations during my visit to Las Vegas):
Squatter's IPA - I picked up a six-pack of this bottled gem of a product at a nice beer store with a great selection in Vegas on the way back from Boulder City. Excellent bottled IPA. Made in Salt Lake City. Way to go, Mormons! Pictured below are the Squatters in their makeshift sink cooler (so totally Vegas) along with a six-pack of In-Heat Hefewizen from Flying Dog Brewing out of Maryland that Andy had bought. I had a bottle of this before on our New Year's cruise and wasn't overly impressed, plus I am not a huge fan of "heffies" anyway.
Big Sky IPA - I got this on tap at a bar in the New York, New York Casino called Pour 24 (get it, two dozen craft beers on tap). It's from Mizzoula, Montana, and was pretty good, but I was expecting bigger results in terms of hops from a draught.
Gordon Biersch Marzen - I got this overpriced ho-hum amber Octoberfest-style lager at a Gordon Biersch restaurant/bar in the Las Vegas Airport waiting on our flight home. It was as plain as day and the nearly $9 price tag for a tall draught was ridiculous. GB is a regional franchise brewer from California specializing in lagers. Fairly popular among the masses, but nothing special to me.
Lindemans Framboise - Finally!! The Belgians have produced something that I like. Who knew it would be the best fruit-infused beer I have had to this point. The name sounds weird, maybe even a little girly, and it is a "fruity beer" but this stuff simply kicks ass. Incredible raspberry taste during consumption and lingering in the aftertaste. Full body with an interesting slight effervescence as well. A really amazing beer. My wife actually ordered it per a recommendation from our waitress at Yard House - the 100-beer-on-tap restaurant I discovered in Las Vegas during my last trip. After a few sips I was sold. I finished my Double Daddy IPA that I also had the last time I was at Yard House (excellent again), and decided I would go for the ultimate blend called the Youngberry Chocolate - that's Lindemans Framboise and Youngs Double Chocolate Stout (my current favorite stout). No need to bring the dessert menu, miss. I am already there!! Wow!! What a flavor rush. I enjoyed every last sip and I am noted for not having much of a sweet tooth. They also have a float with Lindemans and a scoop of ice cream....next time for sure. According to a little research I have done, fruit and even vegetables were used to season beer before hops became common. Lindemans has been in the beer biz for a long time and continue that pre-hop tradition with other fruit flavored beers such as peach (worth a try) and apple (definitely gotta try that one).
Another excellent visit to Vegas. Can't wait to go back again for more discoveries.
Boulder Dam Brewing Company (BDBC) - I learned about this place while doing some "beer research" before my last visit, but since it's located in Boulder City (about a half-hour south of Vegas) and since I didn't have a rental car at that time, I had to wait for this trip to check it out. It worked out great because my brother- and sister-in-law wanted to visit Hoover Dam located right outside Boulder City and I agreed to chauffeur them if they would agree to have lunch at the BDBC brew pub. The historic downtown of Boulder City where BDBC's brew pub is located is a quaint little village with an obvious southwestern adobe-style building theme. Therefore, the brewpub looked pretty much like the rest of the little town from the outside. Inside wasn't anything to get excited about although their big brewing vat's sat right behind the bar which was kind of interesting and different. I started with their Highscaler IPA and wasn't overly impressed. It was decent, but the hoppy taste and aroma that I dearly love was fairly weak. My brother-in-law, Andy, tried their 6-sampler of beers and gave me a taste of their Black Canyon Stout which again I found to be OK, but nothing unique or memorable. He offered more of their products to me - a pilsner, a hefeweizen and a seasonal cerveza - but I passed on them because I knew what I would encounter. Probably the most interesting one they had was a mix of of their Lake Mead Light and lemonade...but I wouldn't call that beer...more like something a guy named "Mike" likes to make and bottle on a national scale. These guys seems to be quite infantile in their development as brewers and as a brewpub, and hopefully they will mature with their establishment as well as their beer, but for now, I have to say it's not worth a trip out from Vegas just for the beer and their theme, "A Bolder Damn Beer" is clever, but a bit of an overstatement. Luckily, Boulder City and nearby Hoover Dam and Lake Mead make this area a very cool area to visit no matter what's going on at BDBC.
Clinking bottles and dancing draughts (a few more beers I had at various locations during my visit to Las Vegas):
Squatter's IPA - I picked up a six-pack of this bottled gem of a product at a nice beer store with a great selection in Vegas on the way back from Boulder City. Excellent bottled IPA. Made in Salt Lake City. Way to go, Mormons! Pictured below are the Squatters in their makeshift sink cooler (so totally Vegas) along with a six-pack of In-Heat Hefewizen from Flying Dog Brewing out of Maryland that Andy had bought. I had a bottle of this before on our New Year's cruise and wasn't overly impressed, plus I am not a huge fan of "heffies" anyway.
Big Sky IPA - I got this on tap at a bar in the New York, New York Casino called Pour 24 (get it, two dozen craft beers on tap). It's from Mizzoula, Montana, and was pretty good, but I was expecting bigger results in terms of hops from a draught.
Gordon Biersch Marzen - I got this overpriced ho-hum amber Octoberfest-style lager at a Gordon Biersch restaurant/bar in the Las Vegas Airport waiting on our flight home. It was as plain as day and the nearly $9 price tag for a tall draught was ridiculous. GB is a regional franchise brewer from California specializing in lagers. Fairly popular among the masses, but nothing special to me.
Lindemans Framboise - Finally!! The Belgians have produced something that I like. Who knew it would be the best fruit-infused beer I have had to this point. The name sounds weird, maybe even a little girly, and it is a "fruity beer" but this stuff simply kicks ass. Incredible raspberry taste during consumption and lingering in the aftertaste. Full body with an interesting slight effervescence as well. A really amazing beer. My wife actually ordered it per a recommendation from our waitress at Yard House - the 100-beer-on-tap restaurant I discovered in Las Vegas during my last trip. After a few sips I was sold. I finished my Double Daddy IPA that I also had the last time I was at Yard House (excellent again), and decided I would go for the ultimate blend called the Youngberry Chocolate - that's Lindemans Framboise and Youngs Double Chocolate Stout (my current favorite stout). No need to bring the dessert menu, miss. I am already there!! Wow!! What a flavor rush. I enjoyed every last sip and I am noted for not having much of a sweet tooth. They also have a float with Lindemans and a scoop of ice cream....next time for sure. According to a little research I have done, fruit and even vegetables were used to season beer before hops became common. Lindemans has been in the beer biz for a long time and continue that pre-hop tradition with other fruit flavored beers such as peach (worth a try) and apple (definitely gotta try that one).
Another excellent visit to Vegas. Can't wait to go back again for more discoveries.
1 comment:
Hey bud, noticed the new LOTR quote on the homepage; its one of my favorites from the whole series of movies as is... "fool of a Took!" and the entire song Pip sang for Denethor, Steward of Gondor. Did you know that Billy Boyd wrote and sang that song himself? OK, enough trivia... later!
Post a Comment