By Bob Barnes
One of the most sought-after beer festivals is coming to Las Vegas for the first time: Free the Whales on Saturday, Sept. 14, from 4-8 p.m. at Beer Zombies Brewing. Named for the term whale – something unique, rare or not seen before – what began as a rare beer bottle share event in Florida in 2016 by founder Kris Moreno has reaped a reputation for featuring the best beers in the nation.
Different from nearly all other beer fests, the breweries are hand selected by Moreno and fest host Beer Zombies owner Chris Jacobs. Brewers are tasked with bringing their very best beers to be served by the brewers themselves, giving attendees the opportunity to interact with their brewing heroes.
“I want to take beer fests out of parking lots and make it an event,” Jacobs says. “This will be an experience with live music, DJs, zombies wrestling in a ring, characters in costume and multiple food trucks.”
Seventy-five breweries have been invited, such as the renowned 3 Floyds, Great Notion and Russian River; and Angry Chair will brew a barrel-aged imperial stout with cocoa nibs, vanilla beans and strawberries to be served exclusively in the VIP section of the festival. EventBrite.com
Local Brewer Spotlight
Any brewer would be thrilled to win just one coveted medal at one of the world’s two most respected professional brewing competitions: the Great American Beer Festival and World Beer Cup. One of our local brewers, Dave Pascual, who I dub “The Michael Phelps of Nevada brewers,” has the distinction of having garnered more major medal wins than any other brewer in the history of Nevada, with 13 GABF and three WBC awards.
The 45-year-old is entering his 20th year of brewing. Pascual got the brewing bug while at UNLV in the 1990s taking an elective class on beer taught by Michael Ferguson, Barley’s Brewing Brewmaster at the time. Pascual went on to apprentice under Ferguson before landing a brewing job at Chicago Brewing, where he would brew for 10 years and rack up several brewing competition medals before taking his current head brewer position at Big Dog’s Brewing nearly nine years ago.
When asked how he comes up with his recipes, Pascual said, “Trial and error and being honest with myself when something doesn’t work and learning from mistakes. I also get ideas by trying other beers brewed by respected brewers.”
Pascual said his favorite beers to drink and brew are lagers. A fun lager he’s brewing soon is a Festbier (like a Märzen but lighter hued) to be unveiled for the first time at the brewery’s annual DOGtoberfest celebration Oct. 26. BigDogsBrews.com
Local Brewery Champion of the Month
In this recurring feature, we spotlight establishments that appreciate our local breweries enough to serve only beer made in Nevada. Situated next to The Strat down the street from The Arts District (the main brewing hub of Las Vegas), the newly opened Atomic Golf is set in a massive space covering four floors and encompassing 99,000 square feet, 15,000 of which are devoted to golfing exploits.
As drinking beer traditionally goes hand-in-hand with golf, it’s fitting the facility is equipped with six bars, including the Tap Room & Bar, which offers a 100% local draft beer lineup of 15 beers you pour yourself. The rotating selection includes Able Baker Atomic Duck, Big Dog’s Red Hydrant English Brown Ale, Hudl High Hatter American Pale Wheat, Lovelady Paleo Porter and Mojave Sinamon Toast Crunch Cream Ale. AtomicGolf.com
