I recently got yet another cheap, cheap flight to Las Vegas ($150 RT!) on Frontier Airlines and in between poker tournaments and some more sightseeing I was able to try yet more new beer in Sin City which is quickly becoming on of my favorite beer towns in the country.
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| First up was Chicago Brewing Company, despite the name, this is a local establishment that has won best Las Vegas microbrewery on more than one occasion, most recently in 2010. I thought their beer was very good. Their Hardaway IPA was stinking of hops which I love. I also tried their Cocoa for Coconuts Porter which had a great finish to it. This place is open 24 hours and has video poker machines in it, so I drank for free while I played and even made enough at $1 blackjack to go see the movie "Red Tails" at a theatre next door. The beer was much better than the movie BTW. |
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| Among the new sightseeing I did in between poker and beer was nearby Mt. Charleston, the closest ski area to Vegas. The peaks had just gotten a fresh snowfall the night before, and the drive up from the desert valley floor was breathtaking to say the least. The half-hour drive from Vegas was well worth it. |
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| With a quick elevation change, the world changes drastically from the flat desert roar of Vegas to the green and white rugged tranquility of the mountains. |
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| Gordon Biersch is a large chain microbrewery found across the U.S. and their brewpub in Vegas on Paradise Road which runs parallel to The Strip, is definitely a flagship facility. The brewery is surrounded by a beautiful restaurant as well with some tasty food (I had the garlic fries as a snack...yummy) and some descent German-styled beers. I had a nice big 22 oz. glass of their signature Schwarzbier (dark lager) on a quick stop-in one afternoon. Speaking of German beer and such, I have to give a big disappointing thumbs down to the Hofbrau House just down the street. I stopped in this huge German-style beer hall/restaurant for a quick beer and found it to be quite the tourist trap. Man, what a cheese-fest. Plus their beer was bland (I had their seasonal dark wheat - the hefe weizen dunkel ) and at $9 a pop, I can see why the place was completely dead??? Yep, $9 for a glass of weak beer, that is not a misprint. Schweinhunds!!! |
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| My favorite new pub in Vegas is The Crown & Anchor, this British-influenced hole-in-the-wall is located a few minutes from The Strip and is open 24/7. I drank free here as well thanks to playing video poker/blackjack while I was there (plus I won $20 on top of that). I chose the Bombardier IPA, a California-produced concoction from Pizza Port Brewing. It was great. Speaking of English pubs, I have to give another huge thumbs down to The Queen Victoria Pub in the Riveria Casino. The place was dead when I walked in and I figured out why quick...a crappy, overpriced beer selection...I paid $7 for a glass of Boddington's....really, people?? You know I can get great beer FOR FREE at other places in town??? Yet another tourist trap. Of course, the three goobers who had come into town for the "World of Concrete" convention seemed to really being enjoying their Coronas....yeah, at a "British pub"......ass-clowns. |
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Of course, when you go to Vegas you always have a good chance of seeing someone famous. Best of all was Ronald McDonald in the car behind me at a red light having his girlfriend take him to work. In the Aria poker room I saw 2-time World Champion and living poker legend, Doyle "Texas Dolly" Brunson, popular, young poker pro, Antonio "The Magician" Esfandiari, World Poker Champion, Huck Seed, and I even played at the same table with former MLB star and budding poker pro, Jose Conseco. He seemed a nice enough guy and chatted with the whole table, but was complaining a lot about bad luck at the game which is weird to hear from a guy whose obviously seen a lot of money come (and go?) his way and is playing in a cheap, daily tournament with the rest of us grunts (roid rage maybe?). Speaking of rotten luck, the closest poker success I got on this trip was 13th out of about 70 people, but they were only paying the top nine. Close, but no ceeeeegar.
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Another fun trip to Vegas is in the books. Incredibly, I still have a couple of breweries to visit out there, so I can't wait to go again!
