5 nights downtown, Arts District brew crawl, Have car will coupon

The skinny....

- 5 nights split between Four Queens and The D.
- LOTS of button pushing (video poker)
- I attempted to put together an Arts District Brew crawl (https://www.vegasmessageboard.com/forums/index.php?threads/aug-29-brewery-row-crawl.210201/#post-2821742) but didn't quite pan out. That said, looks like there may at least be a group of 3 of us from the board. Will report here.
- Have a car Friday - Saturday so I can pick up friends coming to town. Taking advantage and doing a big looping coupon/promo run around the city. Bar sign ups (note - I'll be a sober driver), Henderson casinos, off the beaten path stuff.
- Food, beers, cigars, scotch, pools - I'll report whatever I deem interesting.

I have my laptop which is the only reason I'm bothering with a report. I can't stand typing on my phone. This will mean there will be gaps between the time I post and then get the pics up. I'll use my laptop to type and post, then go back and edit via my phone to get the pics up.

Ok. I'm all settled in at Four Queens. It's time to hit the street and get this thing going! Brew crawl starts around 5 pm.

 

Good luck and keep us posted as best as you can.

 

Following along. Have a great trip. I was just at FQ a couple of weeks ago.

 

Good luck!

 

Since my crew doesn’t arrive until Saturday I decided to visit some old friends

 

The beer in the previous pic is the new Winner Winner Wit from Main Street Station. MSS (Triple 7) has a new brewer and he just won gold at the US Open Beer Championship. I can see why. I found the body a little rich and sweet for the style, but boy did he nail the balance between spicy wheat, coriander, herb/pepper, and light orange. Its a seasonal so go getcha some while you can. Hopefully this means more great beers coming out of 777!

 

So let's talk about the Brewery Row crawl! I took the Downtown Loop from Mob Museum to Able Baker. Other than the bus being late by about 10 minutes, and their tracking app not working, I found the shuttle to be very convenient, clean, and comfortable.



@Dms79 (doing his epic crazy walk, check out his trip report) and @LvBlitzforce (fighting through a hangover and little sleep) will be joining me in about 90 minutes so I decided to work my way through a few beers.



I figured start with something mild. Let's see what this brewer can do with little to stand in the way of flaws. I chose a pint of "Excited State", a German Pils. WOW was I impressed. I find so many places mess this style up by either being way under or over hopped. It should be crisp, dry, and firmly hopped but balanced with the light pilsner malt. They crushed it. Those spicy German noble hops balanced just right with the light bready sweetness of the malt and the whole thing finished dry and moderately bitter. Clean. Fresh. Excellent


I moved on to a flight that included their Saison, Triple, Quad, and a farmhouse ale aged in wine barrel (sorry I forgot what kind of wine).

(Sorry photo won’t upload. Picture a flight of 4 beers here)

Saison - good but not great. Too rich and sweet with a hint of banana that shouldn't be there. Mild orange and low peppery/clove phenols were pleasant. Not dry enough not bitter enough. There are better choices.

Triple - soft orange, light phenols, delicate, great balance. A tad sweet, which maybe would be ok with a little more earthy/herbal bitterness from something like Goldings hop. Alcohol well hidden, no heat. Tiny bit of bubble gum as it warmed. Very good.

Quad - medium sweet malt with light raisin/grape, perhaps a touch of dates. Here again the alcohol is well hidden. Just enough hop bitterness to be present but allows the malt to shine. Good, but not complex enough to call it great.

Farmhouse on wine barrel - the fruity/wine character from the barrel overpowered the beer. I didn't care for it and didn't finish it. Sorry, that's a lame report but bottom line if you like wine you'd probably like this. Just not my thing and I didn't spend time on it since I had so many other beers to sample yet.

As I'm taking notes about the beers the guy next to me strikes up a conversation. Turns out he's the general manager of the place and we talk beer and process and industry. I'm on a brew tour and bump into this guy. What luck! He buys me a couple more things to sample and give feedback.

Imperial stout - moderately sweet, rich, chocolate/cocoa, very light coffee, medium booze and warming in the finish. Bitterness is on point. This is one of those styles it seems so many brewers mess up and it just ends up being an overly sweet boozy bomb. This isn't. Great dessert beer or just something to sip slowly and relax. He was excited about this beer and I understand why. Glad he bought me one because I would have otherwise avoided it.

Sour - I forget what it was called or exactly what they described it as. To me it was a sour apple jolly rancher with pineapple. If you like that sort of thing go get it cuz they nailed it.

Let me sum up with this, if you're going to go to Brewery Row or you only have time to stop at one place, make it Able Baker. Definitely the best I've had of all the places there. Consistent quality beers. Clean. Bright. Great service.

 

If you're gonna brew crawl, you gotta dress for the occasion



I moved on to Nevada Brew Works where the other guys joined me.



Hefeweizen - Body, cloudy appearance, and low hopping spot on for the style. Unfortunately the complex banana/clove vital to this beer is very low. Not a bad hefe, just average at best. Not exceptional. OK. Same impression as the last time I had this beer about 3 years ago.

Irish Red - too sweet for this style. It had the light caramel malt you'd expect of the style, but just too sweet and didn't finish dry. Average.

Schwarzbier - ah here we go! They nailed this. Subtle sweet pils malt with just a kiss of light chocolate roast. This is sometimes called "the dark beer with a blonde soul". This tastes just like that statement. Close your eyes and you might not even know this beer is dark. Not a lot of brewers make this and when they do its usually not great. This is. Get some.

Tripel - this was a mess. Thick, lots of banana, syrupy, boozy. Don't bother.

Rye IPA - Med caramel, light copper, light spice from the rye and moderate grapefruit from the hops. Spot on medium high bitterness. Very good beer.

Kolsch - I recall from my visit 3 years ago that this was a pretty good beer, just needed to be crisper. Not today. It was a mess. Chewy, old, flabby. I'm just guessing the last of a batch or somehow this thing got oxidized somewhere in their process. Perhaps better when you visit, but today it's a dumper.

West Coast IPA - I had just a tiny sample of this. I should of had more but it's getting to be quite a bit of beer If you're into great West Coast IPA this thing has all the grapefruit, citrus, resin you're looking for.

So other than a couple bad beers this was an enjoyable stop. And if you play video poker at the bar they comp it all (though I did lose $40. Oh well).

Stop and get some Schwarz and the IPAs.

 

Last stop, Hudl Brewing.

LAST you say? But there's more breweries and tasting rooms. Yes there are. But I'm not 22 any more and had several beers and a crown and coke earlier and it's all starting to catch up with me. Every beer I'm tasting are starting to all taste like one thing - too much.

But for all of you, I push on



Vanilla cream ale - dammit when I bought this I thought it was just a cream ale. I expected cream ale so when I smelled and drank it I about spit it out. Not because its bad, just because I didn't expect vanilla and I'm full of beer. So I don't have a great review on this beer, but can say its as good as any other vanilla cream ale I've had. I just don't get why people are into putting vanilla in such a light beer.

Hummingbird Red - spot on Amber Ale that so few breweries do any more. Kind of a dying style outside of the western U.S. Moderately sweet grainy malt with a light touch of caramel, citrus/grapefruit hop, dry finish a tad boozy at 6%.

I had 2 other beers here but honestly I was so full I barely touched them. One was the wheat wine which I really did want to evaluate, but all this beer has caught up with me. The other guys are going strong, given their later start and decade younger than me. At this point I'm done. Checked out. Felt kinda bad not keeping up.

We all walk back downtown and I call it a night. Thanks for joining me @LvBlitzforce and @Dms79 . I'd be up for doing it again but different spots and maybe not down several drinks before we start

 

What are the numbers at the bottom of the periodic table elements? I assume the top is the ABV% of the different styles?

 

I believe that’s color in Lovibond units

 

Coupon run this afternoon. My route



Emerald Island, Pass, Rainbow casinos in Henderson
St. Honore donuts
Sporting Life bar
O’Aces bar
Flowing Tide bar
Walmart somewhere on the route
Possibly 1 other bar before return downtown.

 

First stop in Henderson was Pass Casino. They have $5 free play for new signups, a monthly $7.50 free food if you have a pulse, and Fridays are free spin.

The 6 people in front of me all won $10 free play. I won $25!

Finished with $30, a Stella NA, and maybe the best onion rings I’ve ever had

 

Next was Rainbow casino. The Las Vegas Advisor has a free spin on the cash wheel after 200 points. Took me 10 minutes to earn the points. Wheel spin = $20

Apparently my photo is too big to upload. I’m sure you can envision it.

 

Great stuff so far. Taking notes on some of your recommendations for my next trip. Appreciate it all!

 

100% agree especially taking notes on the local bars. I’ve done promotions at the Pass and LVA coupons at Rainbow and Emerald. I’d like to add in some local bar promos.

 

I really enjoyed the write up on the brew district tour beers, thank you for posting.

 

Good stuff so far! Bummer I missed out on the tour.

 

Last stop in Henderson is Emerald Isle. This casino is linked with Rainbow. When I tried using the LVA wheel spin coupon they told me only once every 24 hours between both places. I must have looked heartbroken because she called the manager and they let me do the promo. And I just miss the top prize…

And dammit again the site says the photo is too big. Why are some photos from the same phone not working? Well I hit $20 and just a hair away from falling into the hundy top prize.

They also give you a little new player coupon book with a couple free meals in it.

 

Next stop…Sporting Life bar. Play $20 and lose or double it and you get a free meal. I doubled it and got their delicious steak sandwich.