What’s the first thing you think of when Las Vegas is mentioned? It’s probably not beer or breweries. Casinos are why tourists flock to the city in the desert in their millions and for good reason. The area surrounding the world famous Las Vegas strip contains a multitude of casinos of all shapes and sizes from the smallest one-room slot machine venues to the enormous mega-casino resorts which can accommodate thousands.
Of course many of those poker players, roulette wheel spinners and blackjack aficionados also want to enjoy a beer with their favourite pastime and not all of them are happy with the standard low quality, bottled beverages served up by the big companies.
Help is at hand however; Las Vegas hosts a number of micro-breweries which produce some fantastic beers so the following selection are some of our favourites:
Barley’s Casino and Brewing Company
Now this place always counts as one of our all-time favourites as it combines two of our favourite pastimes – drinking and gambling. While one should be careful about combining the two with too much enthusiasm, it seems appropriate here. There’s a huge variety of slots, video poker and progressive machines here and a great variety of beers to refresh you, including Blue Diamond, Red Rock, Black Mountain and Boulder Gold.
Barley’s Casino & Brewing Company
Sin City Brewing Co.
Sin City Brewing Co. opened it’s doors in 2003 and local resident and proprietor Rich Johnson says it was the first to do so. Johnson is a beer brewing fanatic who makes sure all his offerings adhere to the 1516 German beer purity law known as the Rheinheitsgebot. Sin City’s beers include Sin City Weisse, Sin City Light, Sin City Amber and Sin City Stout so there’s something for everyone.
Tenaya Creek Brewery
Originally a restaurant and brewhouse which opened in 1999, Tenaya Creek made the decision to focus on brewing exclusively in 2008. This proved to be a wise decision and the brewery expanded in 2010 to take advantage of a growing market for beer in this casino city. It’s offerings are now sold in several U.S. states and even north of the border in Canada.
Tenaya Brewery produces a range of 11 beers of which some of our favourites are the Pilsner, the mega-strong Imperial Stout and the Calico Brown Ale.