Hard Rock - Beer fest - Nov 14th

http://motleybrews.com/ - November 14th.

Most likely I will be making it there, as craft beer + NFL + Vegas = TheCesspit very happy.

Unless anyone else has been and knows it's lame.

I'm sure it's interesting but I'd never go. It's on a Sunday afternoon, it's right next door to the Hard Rock Hotel, and unless you're in your early 20's it'll be too overcrowded & noisy for comfort. Besides, the HRH has all of that and more.

Maybe, maybe not - the $35 door fee might keep out the party crowd and the beer list had an intriguing selection of seasonal brews on it. Not all of the breweries are bringing their most interesting stuff (e.g. Deschutes) but there's enough on the list to make for at least a few hours' entertainment. Not that I mean to criticize Deschutes -- I live near Portland and had a snifter of the Black Butte XXII a few weeks back. It was amazing. And strong... (11%)

I've found door fees and serving fees keep the eejits out. There's enough on the list of stuff I don't get up here regular that'll it be interesting.

(Besides it's not at the Hard Rock Hotel... it's at the Hard Rock Cafe...)

I haven't been to that one, but I went to one once, and never again. Wall-to-wall, elbow to elbow 24 year old guys. A waste of $50 (the entrance fee). I'm sure there were some great beers there, but it was too uncomfortable to enjoy any of them. It was also too loud to talk to anyone at the tables, if you could get near. And I'll mention it again; wall-to-wall, elbow to elbow, guys in their mid-20s. Maybe one woman to every 100 guys.

(This was at Shadowbrook Resort in NE PA. I couldn't imagine that it would be less crowded in Vegas, or that any amount of money would change the demographics.)

And Dogfish Head is bringing 60 Minute IPA, Indian Brown Ale, and Punkin Ale? Yawn.

Better to take your smartphone to the beer store and pick and choose things that fit your taste or that you'd like to experiment with, while checking beeradvocate.com or mybeerbuzz.com for guidance.

$35 in LV is nothing. The crowds will be unbearable.

I got in for $20 with a Coupon from Groupon. Beer and food once in was free. Though the line up for the food was huge, so I never went to grab anything, but there was a variety of wings, chips n' dips and the like on offer.

Servings were in a glass that might not quite have been 4oz, and most places were not even handing out a full glass. However, you could easily go back and get a top up. There was little in the way of a queue for any of the stands.

Attendance was good, but there was plenty of space to move around, and talk to the brewers and other attendees. I had a couple of interesting discussions with brewmasters wanting to know about the BC beer market. I'd highly recommend "Knee Deep" who had a great IPA (Hopstar) that had a very interesting mix of hops and malt, giving a more complex IPA than some of the normal high IBU west coast IPAs I'm used to. Plus their "Tanilla" stout was very very drinkable.

Couple of the breweries were muck and marketing (Buckbean's noddy girls especially), and others nothing special. There was some great imports as well, especially Piraat, a Trippel from Belgian I've heard about, but not tried.

Male/Female split was 80/20, for those who care about such things. The NFL games were on, and we had commentary from one game, and TVs showing the others, so plenty of chance to cheer on the Rams (dammit). Met a couple of people to chat about football with too. That's what you get wearing a Lions jersey.

So in short : crowds not unbearable, experience good, probably not for everyone, but one of the better small beer fests I've been to.

I was also generally impressed by several of the bars having a much better range of beers now... Fat Tire seemed to be everywhere (and I like their Belgian Amber), two places had Stone IPA on tap, and the Orleans has a good set of taps including Dog Fish Head 60 minute (a big favourite of mine). Pour 24 in NYNY probably had the best list out there, but I did also enjoy a good beer at Sin City in the Flamingo, and the Ellis Island Porter isn't half bad either, though I'm not sure that walk is worth it anymore.... I can get good beer on strip and play in much nicer surroundings.

Thanks for the report. I am not familiar with Pour 24. Do you recall anything particularly noteworthy that they had available? (EDIT: Never mind. I found a list on their website. Still would be interested in your observations, tho.)

I am pleased to report that Orlando, FL is finally recognizing the craft/import beer market. Three "World of Beer" outlets are in the process of opening, each sporting 50 taps exclusively devoted to craft/import beer, as well as 500 varieties in bottles.

Abita Purple Haze, Stone Ruination and Rogue Shakespeare Stout jumped at me.

Can we drift this a little toward a beer thread?

I'm just absolutely taken by Dogfish Head's Burton Baton. It knocks me over. The complexity is just captivating.