Tovin Lapan
Americans are drinking more craft beer than ever, and Las Vegas has woken up to smell the hops.
Gone are the days when a bar could get away with three taps: Budweiser, Heineken and Guinness. With more breweries opening than ever before, drinkers are looking for greater variety, flavor and choice. A handful of beer-focused establishments opened in Las Vegas this year as resorts move to tap into a growing market of craft beer connoisseurs.
When MGM designed the Park, the pedestrian area connecting the T-Mobile Arena to the Strip, it carved out 7,150 square feet for its very own biergarten, Beerhaus, which boasts a worldwide selection of brews including 23 on tap. In June, Hard Rock Resort & Casino welcomed Goose Island Pub, which will feature eight of the brewery's beers on tap.
While overall beer sales were nearly flat in 2015 (down 0.2%), domestic craft beer sales were up nearly 13% and imported craft beer sales jumped 16%, according to data from the trade group Brewers Association. Between 2011 and 2015 the craft beer industry's share of all beer consumed in the U.S. doubled to 12.2%. Additionally, the number of operating breweries in the U.S. grew 15% in 2015, bringing the total to 4,269, the most in American history.
"For the past decade, craft brewers have charged into the market, seeing double-digit growth for eight of those years," Bart Watson, Brewers Association chief economist, said in a release announcing the 2015 statistics. "There are still a lot of opportunities and areas for additional growth."
At the off-Strip Tuscany Suites & Casino, a new beer-lover's mecca opened in early July in the form of Pub 365, which, as its name suggests, has 365 craft brews on rotation and 40 taps. To help prove their dedication to the craft, all of the servers are completing the Cicerone Certification Program, the equivalent of a sommelier for wine.
While Vegas has always embraced drinkers of all kinds, the establishments are paying more heed to beer aficionados than ever before. While Pub 365 has a "Usual Suspects" list of popular beers found across the country, a large portion of the offerings fall under the "Unicorn List" of rare, "majestic and hunted" beers.
"The most intriguing part of the whole process is producing a list that is balanced and appeals to all customers, while also engaging beer connoisseurs," Howard Samber, Tuscany Suites & Casino's food and beverage manager, said in a press release announcing Pub 365.
The additions on and near the Strip complement a burgeoning craft beer movement in the area. Several brew pubs, many of which opened in the last three years, can be found in Southern Nevada, including Bad Beat Brewing and CraftHaus in Henderson and both HopNuts and Banger Brewing in the downtown Las Vegas. The newcomers added to the collection of already established local breweries such as Tenaya Creek, Joseph James, Big Dog's and the brewery at Ellis Island Casino.
With the new additions in 2016, not to mention a few local annual beer festivals, Las Vegas is quickly becoming a destination for hops hounds.