Craft Brewers Conference Invades Las Vegas
The Craft Brewers Conference (CBC), the largest conference for the alcohol beverage industry, will convene in Las Vegas for the first time at The Sands Convention Center April 21-24. In this case, invasion is a good thing, as 12,000-15,000 brewers, brewery owners and others associated with the industry will come to town and geek out attending seminars and a trade show delving into all technical aspects of brewing and running a beer brewing business.
The World Beer Cup, the largest professional beer judging competition in the world often referred to as “The Olympics of Beer Competitions,” will also be taking place during the conference and the awards ceremony will be on April 24 from 5:30-7:30 at the Venetian Ballroom F&G at The Venetian.
Even if you’re not associated with the industry and are not attending the conference, fortunately for our city, there will be plenty of special events taking place at some of our local breweries and stellar craft beer bars, which will be open for all to attend.
Big Dog’s Brewing (4543 N Rancho Dr.), Las Vegas’ very first microbrewery that opened as Holy Cow! in 1993, will host several events from April 20-24. Its festivities will start off with the 15th annual Peace, Love and Hoppiness beer and music festival on April 20. Held in the outdoor area of the Big Dog’s Draft House from 3-8 p.m., there will be more than 50 craft beers pouring, BBQ, live music and raffles.
The beerfest will be followed by four more days of special events involving so much beer that they will resemble additional nightly beer festivals. From 4-10 p.m. on April 21-24, the Front Porch will be transformed into an outdoor beer garden with strung lights, covered tent dining (brats, pulled pork sandwiches and more), live music from 6-9 p.m. and the new Big Dog’s “Tap Container” (a freight-container bar) featuring 40 taps of collaboration and Nevada-born local beers, a tap truck with 8 additional taps and 53 more drafts inside.
The culminating event will be the Award Ceremony Watch Party on April 24 from 5:30-7:30 p.m., during which the awards will be livestreamed, followed by a Nevada Craft Brewers Association after party from 7:30-10:30 with food and drink specials.
In addition, there will be 15 collaboration beer releases and conference attendees can show their badge and claim a free special souvenir pint glass and coupons for beer and merchandise. For the full scoop on all the details, visit www.bigdogsbrews.com/bigdogs-events/cbc-events-24.
Beer Zombies Brewing (831 W. Bonanza) will host four days of fun events at the brewery beginning with Rolling with the Homies on April 20 from 4:20-11 p.m. and April 21 from 11 a.m.-10 p.m. The name of the two-day event signifies a tap takeover of epic proportions, as Beer Zombies Founder/Owner Chris Jacobs will bring in 13 of his brewery friends. Each brewery will take over two tap lines, and as soon as the keg empties it will be on to the next. There will also be live music, food trucks and four new Beer Zombies can releases.
On April 22 from 5-10 p.m. the fun will continue with the LUKR Faucet event with guest breweries Sacred Profane Brewing and Cohesion Brewing side pour faucet education and serving.
The final event will be the official National Black Brewers Association Tap Takeover on April 23 from 6-10 p.m. with 20+ taps pouring beers from NB2A member black-owned breweries, live music and food trucks. There will also be a fireside chat with Beer Zombies Founder/Owner Chris Jacobs and Marcus Baskerville, Head Brewer/Co-Owner of Weathered Souls and creator of Black Is Beautiful, to discuss meaningful collaboration in the brewing industry and its impact.
The Silver Stamp (222 E Imperial Ave.) is hosting the highly regarded sour beer lovers event Zwanze Day, on April 20 from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. with the Worldwide Zwanze Toast happening at noon. It’s only one of 28 accounts in the US to be chosen for this prestigious lambic event featuring eight Cantillons on draft. Not surprisingly, tickets sold out less than two minutes after going up online, but after 3 p.m. any Cantillons left from the private ticketed event will be pouring.
On April 22 from 5-8 p.m. The Silver Stamp will also host a popup with Advanced Cicerone Em Sauter, who is the author/cartoonist behind Pints and Panels (PintsandPanels.com). The event is free and open to the public and there will be books, pins, prints, stickers, glassware and more for sale.
Las Vegas Brewing will host three events, two at its brand-new Arts District taproom (1226 S Third St.) and one at its brewery. First up will be a Pink Boots Society national meetup on April 22 from 4:30-6:30 p.m. at the new taproom. On April 23 will be a Haas sponsored Happy Hour from 4-6 p.m., also at the Arts District taproom, that will feature an American Pale Ale brewed with HBC 586 and Incognito Citra, a West Coast Pilsner collaboration with Unmapped Brewing, Haas Hops and Lallemand yeast which features Elani Lupomax and Spectrum Eclipse; and a Hop Water with Hop Kick Citra, Mosaic and El Dorado. Also on April 23, there will be a UC Davis Master Brewers Alumni meetup at the brewery (3101 North Tenaya Way) from 5-7 p.m.
During CBC week April 21-24, 595 Craft and Kitchen (4950 S Rainbow Blvd #100) will host its SoCal Superbrewery Soiree. All 24 tap handles will be pouring some of the best beer California has to offer, including brews from Beachwood, Riip, Pure Project, Karl Strauss, Radiant, Green Cheek and Russian River.
Cin-Cin Brewhouse Now Open
As I reported last month, the former Neon Desert space at 914 S. Main St. sold last spring and was reopening as Cin-Cin Brewhouse and Seafood Bar helmed by renowned chef Virakone Vongphachanh (“Chef V”). The good news is, as I write this in late March, the brewery is now open, and Head Brewer Cisco Talley has 10 beers pouring. As they are currently in a soft opening, there is no food being offered yet but will be offered soon.
What’s Pouring in April
Triple 7 (at Main Street Station) Brewmaster Casey Jacobson tells me this month they’ll be pouring Winner Winner Wit, a 5.3% Belgian Witbier with coriander and orange honey, which will take the place of the Double Down Hefeweizen for a bit. He’ll also have a Kolsch and a Belgian Golden Strong.
Brewer/Owner Todd Cook at Boulder Dam Brewing in Boulder City is celebrating his brewery’s 17th anniversary with the 5.7% 17th Anniversary Ale Prickly Pearadise, an American wheat ale that gets its deep scarlet color from over 100 pounds of real prickly pear and the rich fruit tartness of pears pairs (pun intended) perfectly with the mellow wheat malts and soft hop balance.
This month he’ll also have The Orange Cream Ale flavored with 100% natural oranges and Madagascar bourbon vanilla bean that will make you think of the creamsicle flavors you love; The Vanilla Cream Coffee Stout with gentle notes of Madagascar bourbon vanilla beans and French roast coffee balanced by dark roasted malts; and the return of Our 16th Anniversary Ale, a 6% cold IPA that this year was brewed at a lower temperature and with lighter grains than more traditional IPAs for a clean, crisp beer that places the Centennial, Mosaic and Cascade hops centerstage.
North 5th Brewing Head Brewer Patrick Tofte will have some special beers timed to be released by the time the Craft Brewers Conference rolls into town. They include their recurring collaboration with The Silver Stamp called Yippee Pi Yay #4, a Fruited Pie Sour Ale with Cinnamon and Vanilla with this rendition including raspberry; a collaboration with Roy Hop Farms that will showcase an experimental hop currently called ADHA 218 with notes of lime and citrus along with a distinct fruity sweetness and Azacca hops that are expected to give it a nice tropical fruit note; and a collaboration with Big Dog’s that is a Fruited IPA with Mango and Pineapple.
Just in time for the Craft Brewers Conference, HUDL Head Brewer Joe Cuozzo will have a new batch of West Coast IIPA, an 8.7% delight full of Amarillo, Columbus and Simcoe hops and dry hopped with all cryo versions of Amarillo, Simcoe and El Dorado brewed with fresh White Labs California Ale Yeast.
- Beer Overhead View – AdobeStock (licensed)
- Big Dog’s photos and graphics courtesy of Big Dog’s Brewing
- Boulder Dam Brewing photos courtesy of Todd Cook
- HUDL Brewer Joe Cuozzo and Bob Barnes pic by Dave Canela
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Bob Barnes began his food and beverage writing career in 1998 as Regional Correspondent for Celebrator Beer News and wrote the Nevada Beer Nuggets column from 1998-2019. He was Editorial Director of The Las Vegas Food & Beverage Professional from 2012-2021 and has covered Las Vegas for Gayot since 2010. He continues to contribute to Gayot, writing the Gayot Las Vegas Restaurant News, features on new restaurants, and beer and spirit reviews. He also writes regularly for Off The Strip, The Vegas Voice, Neon Feast, and Las Vegas Magazine.
