Archive
Las Vegas’ best places for a pint
Barley’s Casino & Brewing Company
Make your way off-Strip to the area’s oldest brew pub, which even has its own brewmaster, Jeff “Bubba” Amas, on hand to make recommendations or talk beer with you. The bar has a selection of its own recipes on tap named for familiar Las Vegas local landmarks, such as Blue Diamond Beer and Red Rock Oktoberfest Lager, but don’t let the quaintness of the names fool you: these are serious beers that have earned Barley’s and Bubba several awards. On June 2, celebrate National Bubba Day here with the beer maker himself, as he taps his namesake Hopped Up Lager at 5 p.m., you’ll score yourself a free beer just for showing up. 4500 E. Sunset Rd., 702-458-2739, wildfire.sclv.com
Five50 Pizza Bar
There are few more ideal pairings than pizza and beer. But pizza from a James Beard Award-winning chef such as Shawn McClain deserves more than just your usual cold one. The all-domestic draft selection at Five50 features 11 microbrews, including locals Tenaya Creek and Big Dog. The extensive bottle list goes further on the map with craft beer notables such as Stone Arrogant Bastard and Rogue Dead Guy Ale, as well as imports Chimay and Unibroue. While you’re there, sample Aria’s signature beer, Cabaletta, a Saison golden ale created by Stillwater Artisanal Ales, available exclusively on property. Aria, 877-230-2742, arialasvegas.com
The Pub at Monte Carlo
There are plenty of places to grab a beer on the Strip, but this pub in particular is one of the largest. The Pub at Monte Carlo may outwardly seem like a sports bar, but once you get to the massive beer list with more than 300 selections, you’ll know this isn’t your typical watering hole. While you can find your standard beers that are available at any bar, dig deeper for varieties such as Sculpin by Ballast Point or Thornbridge Brewery’s Jaipur IPA, as well regional selections from Sin City Brewing Company, Joseph James and Tenaya Creek. Monte Carlo, 730-7420, montecarlo.com
Public House
There are two Public Houses in town — one at Luxor, the other at The Venetian. We’re talking about the one at The Venetian when it comes to serious beer drinking. When you walk past, you can’t miss looking into the expansive cooler, containing more than 200 beers, some of which even make it into the dishes. The beer lines from the cooler visibly run along the ceiling directly into the taps at the bar. The ever-changing list not only includes some really interesting, harder-to-find varieties, such as Wells Banana Bread and Innis & Gunn, not to mention Belgian dubbels, trippels and quads, but also features direct-draw cask ales. If you’re having a hard time deciding, there are several flights on the menu that can guide you through a tasting based on your preferences. The Venetian, 702-407-5310, publichouselv.com
Source: USA Today
Brewers Association: Economics of Draught Beer Quality Presentation
The Brewers Association November 2013 Power Hour, Economics of Draught Beer Quality presentation, produced valuable information that has now been made permanently available in the Retailers section under Line Cleaning.
This important research clearly demonstrates that retail establishment that clean and maintain draught beer lines according to the Draught Beer Quality Manual guidelines will realize additional sales and profits created by increased consumer satisfaction.
Brewers Association brewery members are encouraged to bring this important study to the attention of all their draught beer retail accounts
Source: Brewers Association
How to Build A Hop Infuser by the Crude Brew Crew Home Brew Club
Producing Traditional British Cask Beers
by Dick Cantwell, Fal Allen, and Kevin Forhan
Republished from BrewingTechniques’ November/December 1993.
Although equipment limitations and cultural differences make exact replication of traditional British cask-conditioning practices all but impossible in the United States, attention to detail and a commitment to quality puts top-flight cask beers within the reach of American brewers. Pike Place brewers tell the story of their quest for the gentle pint.
Producing authentic versions of traditional beer styles poses a complex challenge to small American brewers. Equipment limitations, availability of appropriate raw materials, and lack of awareness on the parts of both publican and consumer present distinct challenges. After learning to deal realistically with the boundaries drawn by these three and spending time experimenting, we feel that we have achieved a successful balance. The following case study describes what we at Pike Place Brewery in Seattle have done to try to produce traditional British cask-conditioned ales.
BEGINNINGS
When Pike Place Brewery was founded in the fall of 1989, its objective was to brew British-style ales using traditional methods and the finest ingredients. A floor-malted English two-row barley malt was selected, a London ale yeast procured, and a mixture of imported English and Northwest-produced English hops was chosen to balance authenticity and freshness. The brewery was fortunate in that its parent company, Merchant du Vin (also of Seattle), provided sufficient British contacts to make it possible to implement these choices. Also fortunate was the fact that the principal owners, Charles and Roseanne Finkel, were committed to the traditional British plan despite the substantially higher cost of raw materials. They had a small (4-bbl) brewhouse designed and constructed, assembled a conscientious staff (headed by Jason Parker), and released the brewery’s first beer, a reddish-amber pale ale, in late October 1989.
Practical challenges arose from the start, most of which involved product delivery systems and consumer expectations. In keeping with its traditional British objectives, for example, Pike Place Pale Ale was conditioned at first to a relatively low carbonation level of 1.9-2.0 volumes of carbon dioxide. We received complaints about “flat” beer, so we raised the level of carbonation to 2.5-2.6 volumes. At about this time a couple of local ale houses embarked on a plan of their own and began requesting cask-conditioned beers. We continued to produce brewery-conditioned beers at the higher level of carbonation but saw an opportunity in the budding market for cask beers. This is the story of how, over the following couple of years, we sought to satisfy this demand and at the same time realize our original objective of producing traditional ales.
Continue reading at: Morebeer.com
Typical Carbonation Levels in Beer
We are often asked what the carbonation levels are in various draught beers, so we can determine proper blend ratio’s of Nitrogen and CO2 using our Nitro-Draught. The following are some typical examples, but the best specific answer can be found by the brewer.
Porters & Stouts: 1.0 to 2.3
British Ales: 1.5 to 2.0
European Lagers: 2.2 to 2.7
Belgian Ales: 1.9 to 2.4
American Craft Ales and Lagers: 2.0 to 2.7
Lambic: 2.4 to 2.8
Wheat Beer: 3.0 to 4.5
Brewers: We want to add your specific CO2 volumes. Please contact us!
Ever wonder why your kegs are foamy?
PEGAS CraftTap and growler filling
We have recently seen a number of installations of 2 liter and growler filling systems from Pegas. Here is a link to their website for additional information: http://pegasdistusa.com/
While detailed installation and operation information isn’t available, we look forward to your comments.
Traditional growler filling is usually done via a beverage grade tube attached to a standard faucet. Since most draught systems are restricted to 2 ounce per second flows, a 64 ounce bottle should fill in 32 seconds.
The economics of draft versus bottle beer
Whether you are considering beer for your bar, restaurant or home, here are a few things to consider:
Space & Refrigeration:
Keg beer is delivered at serving temperature. It is the responsibility of the beer wholesaler to deliver keg beer to consumers and retailers at serving temperatures, while bottles and cans are stored at ambient temperatures. If summer ambient is 80 degrees, it is your cost and responsibility to chill it to serving temperature. Not only is this cost a burden, it also adds time to turning the bottle into profit. It can take hours to take a hot bottle of beer to proper serving temperatures.
Also, a half barrel of beer is approx. 6.7 cases of 12 ounce bottle. A typical case of 24 bottle is 16 x 16 x 24 and 6.7 cases is approx. 23 cu ft while a half barrel is approx 6.5 cu ft. If your limited on space, kegs are a better value.
Waste Removal and Recycling:
A keg of beer can have a 30 year life span and stainless steel is a very valuable metal for recycling. Bottle’s in 6.7 kegs (160 bottles) need to be recycled or added to local landfills. If you store bottles for recycling or throw them away, you will need to take up valuable room in your establishment.
Quality:
Domestic keg beer is not pasteurized while bottles and cans are heat treated. The pasteurization process kills “bad” bacteria and flavor. The keg is the optimum brewery experience and the bottle is a shadow of the flavor you would have received. The flavor difference can be compared to farm fresh, raw milk taste versus factory farm, homogenized and pasteurized milk.
Profit and Cost:
Keg beer is generally a better value from a simple cost and profit perspective. The benefit narrows when you move to kegs smaller than a half barrel.
Unique and Partnerships:
Local craft brewers make incredible seasonal and everyday beer. These finely crafted products are usually available in kegs only. It is expensive for a small brewer to setup and run a bottling line. Keg beer allows them to produce small batches of unique, seasonal beers. By partnering with a local brewer, a restaurant can have access to beer that their guests can only find in draft.
Fizz Dispense Optimization Group 