Las Vegas will be the focal point for some brewing professionals in the coming weeks as the Brewers Association hosts its annual Craft Brewers Conference, World Beer Bup, and BrewExpo America.
Vegas can get a bad rap for beer. With the sheer size of the casinos and arenas, it’s hard for smaller producers to compete against the big players. But step into good restaurants, off the strip, or outside of town and you’ll find a selection of great beer, innovative breweries, and fans building a community one pint at a time.
Listen in to this episode of Drink Beer, Think Beer as John Holl interviews three local brewing professionals who offer up tips to make the most out of your Las Vegas beer experience.
Guests
Wyndee Forrest is the Co-founder and Owner of CraftHaus Brewery, established 2014. She has also served as the President of the Nevada Craft Brewers Association since 2020 where she lobbied to improve the laws that govern the craft beer industry. She was instrumental in changing the landscape of craft beer in Southern Nevada by modernizing licensing on the city level. A proud UNLV Hospitality Alumni, who holds the designation of brewing the Official Beer of UNLV, with proceeds going back to the UNLV Foundation. She was awarded Craft Beer Marketer of the Year, Best Family Owned Business, Best Face of the Beer Industry and multiple Best of Las Vegas awards. She is passionate about building community around quality driven beer and loves to share that with others.
David Pascual started his brewing career locally while going to school at UNLV in 2004 as an unpaid credited brewery intern at Barley’s Casino and Brewing Company. Once he graduated, he decided to take a break from post graduate school and took the assistant brewer job at Chicago Brewing Company, in Las Vegas. After 3 years, he took over as head brewer and stayed there for over 10 years. In 2015 he decided to leave and run another local brewery, Big Dog’s Brewing Company, where he has been since.
Dan Pixley is born and raised in Las Vegas, and he has been a part of the local craft beer scene and homebrew scene since 2010. Dan is a certified BJCP judge and a credited contributor to the 2021 BJCP Guidelines. Dan has been a member of the Milk The Funk Facebook group since 2014 and has written and maintained around 80% of the Milk The Funk Wiki, which is a free to access wiki that summarizes and documents scientifically and experientially based knowledge about sour beer brewing.and fermentation with “alternative” microbes.
Hear the whole conversation on the Drink Beer, Think Beer podcast. Download via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, or wherever you download shows.
This episode is sponsored by:
Visit the Wonkas of tea beer at booth 2390. Firsd Tea has teas and botanicals to create new colors, flavors, and textures to craft beer and hard teas. Firsd Tea even has beer and cocktail recipes with popping boba. Step into pure imagination at booth 2390 at the Vegas CBC or email info@firsdtea.com.You can find out more about Firsd Tea’s collaborations with brewers and tea ingredients by visiting firsdtea.com/blog.
Malteurop Malting Company is North American proud with premium grains from field to flavor. Their selections include Base, Specialty and Distillers malt varieties. Stop by their Booth #2143 at the Craft Brewers Conference in Vegas! Contact MMC at customersuccess@malteurop.com or (844) 546-MALT (6258) for questions or to place your order.