It's Oktoberfest Season!
A sure sign that summer is coming to an end is when beer festivals begin to dot the calendar. September and October are also the months when Oktoberfest is celebrated and luckily for us there are two Oktoberfest-themed celebrations taking place in Southern Nevada this month worth knowing about and attending.
CraftHaus Brewery Celebrating 10th Anniversary
CraftHaus will celebrate a milestone this year, its 10th anniversary. Because of the momentous feat, instead of a one-day celebration, they will take an entire week. Dubbed HausFest 10!, there will be special happenings throughout September 16-21. For full details, click here to read my Vegas Prime Brewing News column or go to the CraftHaus website.
Oktoberfest Beer Festival at Ahern Hotel
The newest Oktoberfest Beer Festival in Las Vegas will make its debut at Ahern Luxury Boutique Hotel (300 W Sahara Ave), one of the few completely smoke-free hotels in Las Vegas. Hosted by Southern Nevada Brewers Guild and the American Lung Association, the inaugural event will take place on Saturday, September 21 (the actual beginning date of Oktoberfest) from 1-5 p.m. with early entry at noon.
The Oktoberfest Beer Festival features all-you-can-drink local craft beers, all-you-can-eat Bavarian food, live music, games and a Stein-Holding Competition (entry fee of $10 per person for who can hold a full stein for the longest time with the winner receiving $200 gift card to Joel’s Chophouse and brewery tours at select locations).
Breweries pouring include Able Baker Brewing, Beer Zombies Brewing, Big Dog’s Brewing, Chicago Brewing, CraftHaus Brewery, Deadwood Meadery, HUDL Brewing, Juxta Nomad, Neon Desert Brewing, Nevada Brew Works, Tenaya Creek Brewery and Voodoo Brewing.
German-inspired food will be served throughout the event, including Soft Pretzels with beer cheese; Pork Tenderloin Schnitzel with lemon and arugula and German potato salad with smoky bacon; Sausage Fest Plate with knockwurst, bockwurst, kase krainer with sauerkraut and German style sweet mustard; Whole Chicken with lemon/thyme garlic butter and sour cream and chive smashed red potatoes; Cheesy Spätzle with crispy and caramelized onion, gruyere and gouda; and Sauerbraten with ginger bread cookie and braised red cabbage. Like Ahern’s last beer festival, the price of admission is worth it for the food alone.
Online tickets are $69 for general admission and $79 for early entry at noon. Tickets at the door are priced at $95. For more info and to purchase tickets, visit www.eventbrite.com/e/kickoff-to-oktoberfest-beer-festival-tickets-966491481037.
Palate Hosts Its First Beer Dinner
The newly opened Palate, situated in the heart of the Arts District at Main and Colorado, with inventive cuisine by culinary luminary Executive Chef Sterling Buckley, will host its first ever dinner event, a beer dinner featuring fellow neighbor HUDL Brewing on Sept. 26.
Titled Beers & Cheers, the four-course dinner will include:
- Grilled Pear Salad with burrata, smoked orange vinaigrette, bacon and praline hazelnuts paired with HUDL Pils
- “Beer Belly”—beer braised pork belly with quince mostarda, pickled Brussel sprouts and smoked onion soubise matched with HUDL FestBier
- Snapper “Casi Cruz” with preserved kumquats, crispy capers, overnight tomato, pearl onion and saffron broth paired with HUDL Mosquito Bite Cerveza
- Beer Battered Ice Cream Sundae with fig compote, Cocoa Krispies, pumpkin seeds and candied quince matched with HEXX® Chocolate Vanilla Oak Cream Ale.
The dinner will begin at 6 p.m. and tickets are $65 per person. To purchase tickets, click here.
Boulder Dam Brewpub Remaining Open
Last month in this column I reported on Bouder Dam Brewpub, Boulder City’s first and only brewpub, possibly closing its location on Nevada Way or relocating as the building’s owner was looking to sell but was asking a price more than Boulder Dam Brewpub can handle. Now I can share the news that the brewpub will remain open after securing an agreeable lease thanks to the new owner of the property.
A statement on Facebook stated, “We are overwhelmed and humbled by the outpouring of support from all of you. Your rallying cries, words of encouragement and unwavering loyalty truly made the difference. We cannot wait to welcome you back, raise a glass together and continue creating memories. We will continue being open for drinks as we work on reopening our kitchen in the next few weeks. Here’s to many more years of good times, great friends and even better pints!”
What’s Pouring in September
Big Dog’s Brewing has three new beers releasing this month. First up is Hopical Storm, a 6.5% classic West Coast-style IPA hopped with imported and domestic hops including Chinook, Galaxy, Amarillo, Nelson and Mosaic imparting assertive hop bitterness that melds softly into the finish with aromas of citrus, peach, blueberry and tropical notes of passionfruit, mango and papaya.
Coming out later in the month will be Cool as a Cucumber Lime Lager, a slightly tart American craft lager infused with fresh cucumbers and limes that has a light and clean body showcasing the specialty ingredients; and Dogtoberfest, a 5.3% traditional festbier brewed with all German ingredients including lightly kilned barley to impart classic malt sweetness and bread-like and slight biscuit notes.
Beer Zombies Brewing has Punktoberfest, a 4.6% Kölsch-inspired ale which is a clean, crisp, delicately balanced beer with subtle fruit and hop character and a light bready maltiness throughout leading into a refreshing finish.
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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.
