It was supposed to be a detox trip to Las Vegas. I had planned to drink nothing stronger than Diet Mountain Dew. Alas, although my intentions are usually innocent, I have a nose for misadventure.
“Wait a minute” you might think, “detoxing in Vegas? Isn’t Las Vegas synonymous with booze?” Hard liquor, sure. Margaritas, daiquiris, Jäger shots? Yep, but try to find a good selection of craft beer in the middle of The Strip. Oh, sure, you can travel several miles south of the airport and find an alehouse with 75-100 beer taps and you can find a couple of good brewpubs downtown. But within walking distance of the central strip, not so much. Until now, that is, thanks to The LINQ, Caesar’s Entertainment’s new retail and entertainment district.
The LINQ resides in a formerly decrepit alley bounded on the north by the Quad Casino (the old Imperial Palace) and on the south by the Flamingo. The west end is open to Las Vegas Boulevard (The Strip), while the east end is anchored by the High Roller – at 550’ it’s the world’s tallest observation (don’t say Ferris) wheel.
I headed off from Planet Hollywood to explore the LINQ about 11:00 a.m., planning to see what shops and restaurants were open. I discovered a veritable beer oasis. My first discovery was Tag, a lounge inside the Quad with about 300 different bottled beers in inventory. Next up to the east was Chayo’s Mexican Restaurant with about 6 taps. O’Shea’s Blarney Bar had 8 taps outside, including Lagunitas IPA.
On the Flamingo side, I encountered Brooklyn Bowl, a three story bowling alley/concert venue. They had about 12 taps, including Brooklyn Brown Ale, Pilsner and Lager. (Apparently, the original Brooklyn Bowl in New York shares a building with Brooklyn Brewing). Further west is Flour & Barley, a brick oven pizzeria with about 10 beers on draft.
The final establishment on the Flamingo side is Tilted Kilt, a Hooteresque franchise where the barmaids wear plaid skirts. I was curious if the girls wear anything underneath their kilts, but I was too sober to sneak a peek. Anyhoo, they’ve got about 20 draft beers available.
So far, so good. I recrossed to the north side of the alley and discovered the real gem of the LINQ – a Yard House. With 180 taps dispensing 145 different beers, my pretentions of sobriety came to a screeching halt. My bartender, “Jersey Jarid”, explained the setup. Most beers were available as a shorty, a goblet/pint or a half yard. Beers above about 7.5% ABV were limited to a pint maximum. I thought about drinking shorties, so I could sample more beers. Then the following conversation came to mind – Travis – “What’s that in your hand?” Wild Bill – “It’s a shorty” Travis –“THAT’S WHAT SHE SAID!”
I settled on a six pack sampler. You can get the traditional, the Belgian or the IPA sampler. I chose Belgian, containing 3 – 4 ounce glasses of St Feuillien La Blanche (6.3%ABV), St. Bernardus Prior 8 (8.0%), Troubadour Magma (9.0%), Yard House Belgian Amber Tripel (9.0%), La Trappe Quadrupel (10.0%) and Bourgogne Des Flandres (5.0 %). The IPA sampler consists of Deschutes Fresh Squeezed (6.0% ABV), Green Flash Le Freak (9.2%), Yard House IPA (5.8%), Rogue Farms 7 Hop (8.0%), Tenaya Creek Hop Ride (6.9%) and Uinta Detour Double IPA (9.5%).
I then had a sample of Stone Enjoy By 07/04/14 with my lunch, followed with a half yard of Epic Copper Cone (6.8% ABV). That’s when I overheard a couple of ladies seated to my right discussing the merits of wheat beers vs. IPAs. Sylvia was the hop hound, whereas Marilyn settled for a shorty of Karl Strauss Orange Wheat. Eventually, the remainder of their party from Sacramento showed up, Clayton and Joanne. We talked about beer for the next couple of hours. I recall enjoying a goblet of Lindeman’s Framboise Lambic and a pint of Deschutes Red Chair NWPA Nitro. Clayton didn’t mess around, sticking with pints of Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA. Sylvia tried several different IPAs. We broke up about 3:00 p.m. or so. It seems that Clayton brought a couple bombers of über IPAs from California. Since Clayton and Joanne were staying in Planet Hollywood and the other ladies were next door at Paris, we decided to meet at 5:30 in my posh 31st floor Panoramic Suite.
Sylvia, Clayton and Joanne showed up as promised for our ultra hopping session. The 22 ounce bombers were from Knee Deep Brewing Company in Auburn, California. They’ve supposedly been beating Russian River Pliny The Younger and Pliny The Elder in recent competitions. First up was the Hopologist Double IPA at 9% ABV and 102 IBUs. We finished with the Simtra Triple IPA at 11.25 % IPA and 131 IBUs. Adam and Micah, eat your hearts out! We caught up with Marilyn in the Planet Hollywood Diamond Lounge and mercifully ended the days drinking with one last round. I wussed out with an Amstel Light.
If you find yourself in Las Vegas with a thirst for good beer, head to the LINQ. And be sure to befriend any beer-savvy Californians you run into. You can detox when you’re dead!
No comments:
Post a Comment