By Bob Barnes
Local Breweries Strike Gold at Great American Beer Festival
The Great American Beer Festival, the largest professional beer competition in the U.S., convened in Denver from Oct. 10-12, and 8,836 beers from 1,869 breweries and cideries from all 50 states, D.C. and Puerto Rico were entered.
There were 326 medals awarded to 273 breweries, and two of the medal winners are Southern Nevada breweries, with both earning a gold medal.
HUDL Brewing, located in The Arts District in Downtown Las Vegas, took gold in the Other Strong Beer category for its Soul of a Star, a 10% ABV wheat wine. HUDL Head Brewer Joe Cuozzo is no stranger to awards stages, as he previously medaled at GABF on four occasions and at the World Beer Cup three times.
Cuozzo said, “Our (brew) team is as strong as any I’ve been with, and we execute the HUDL brewing process to a T. We originally brewed this beer for the 2024 World Beer Cup, and although it didn’t medal, it made the final table. This beer is complex enough to last.”
The other local gold medal winner was CraftHaus Brewery, located in The Henderson Booze District. It medaled with its Czech Plz in the Kellerbier or Zwickelbier category.
CraftHaus Brewery co-owner Wyndee Forrest said, “To be awarded with a gold medal for Czech Plz, Czech Pilsner was such an honor. We strive to not only create consistent, quality-driven beer but also to make our fans proud to call CraftHaus their own.”
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. One of the original businesses to open in The Container Park on Fremont St. in 2013 in DTLV, Bin 702 devotes its eight taps and a handful of cans to Nevada-brewed beers.
Bin 702 even has its own beer: the bestselling Bin Blonde Ale, a hop-forward refresher made by HUDL and Juxta Nomad. Taps rotate, and on a recent visit North 5th Flor de Mayo IPA, Las Vegas Brewing Co 1677 Stout, Lovelady 9th Island Pineapple Sour, CraftHaus Belgard Coffee Stout and Mojave Punk Lemonade Cider were pouring.
Manager Melissa Ashbaugh said the reason they support local is “it’s important for us to keep putting back into the community. Featuring local, we can get the freshest pour within the same week of being brewed.”
If you get hungry, Bin 702 has several varieties of montaditos (mini sandwiches filled with gourmet meats and cheeses), charcuterie and cheeses. Although the two-shipping container space is only 640 square feet, there is an outdoor patio perfect for al fresco dining.
707 E. Fremont St. #1220, Las Vegas. (702) 826-2702; Bin702.com
Beer Zombies 11th Anniversary Party
Chris Jacobs lent his artistic talents to his love of craft beer as his company’s logo over time merged into an image of a zombie’s face with a beard in the shape of a hop cone. In 2013, he created the Beer Zombies beer brand that today is hugely popular with three bottle shops, a production brewery and a line of beers distributed to 32 states and 20 countries.
On Dec. 13, the brand’s 11th anniversary will be celebrated with a party at Beer Zombies Brewery. The event from 5 p.m. to midnight will feature 11 collaboration beers with 11 renowned breweries from across the U.S. (all of which were brewed at Beer Zombies) available on draft and package, a guest beer from each collaborating brewery and four special beers available exclusively at the event.
Participating breweries are Juxta Nomad, Relentless Brewing, Seven Islands, Wort Wrangler, RAR, Wake Brewing, Solaris, Brainstorm, Seek, Xul and Orchestrated Minds. The free pay-as-you-go event will also include music and food trucks.
831 W. Bonanza Road, Las Vegas. (702)-629-7534; TheBeerZombies.com
