Escape From Douchebaggery, Part 24: Aces & Ales

The Craft Brew Revolution has officially grown into an unstoppable force, as deliciously hoppy beers made with love and skill are replacing the watery mass produced mediocrities we used to accept as "beer" at good bars all over this great nation (which is why I find every "satirical" video or article targeting hipsters by lazily mentioning that they all ironically drink PBR to be tediously out of date).

Las Vegas, with its tourist driven economy, traditional embrace of plastic style over substance (your Manhattan skyline fools no one, New York New York), and embarrassing entertainment headliners (Celine Dion sold out nearly every show in her original five year residence at Caesars, prompting her to return for another) seemed like an impenetrable market for small batch artisinal beer producing Brewmasters to breach with their boozey revolution. Las Vegas isn't Portland, after all... yet penetrate the market they have with places like Public House opening on The Strip. And now Aces & Ales brings a positively Brooklonian and sensibility to the trend.

The casual, local's friendly Gastropub was inspired by the London Restaurant/ Bars that originally launched the G-word trend, but the place isn't one of those fakey British Pubs that are ubiquitous in ever suburb across the US of  A at this point. The staff is both beer geek knowledgeable yet super unpretentious as they can recommend you a great beer you may have never heard of but will never forget. 22 rotating Craft Brews are always on tap, and you can check their website to find out what they're currently pouring. As I write this, they've got Beers on tap from excellent Breweries like Stone, Mikkelner, Green Flash, Lost Abbey, and Ballast Point (whose Sculpin IPA is one of the best Beers I've ever tasted and whose San Diego based Brewery pours such fascinating beers as a Thai Curry Brew and Habanero Sculpin.)

Bottled Beers on hand come from excellent breweries like Dogfish Head, Goose Island, Brewdog, and North Coast Brewing. You can also get Beer to go in Growlers... a trend that I wish was more prominent in Los Angeles. (Aces & Ales Growler fills are a bit pricey compared to other places I've been to, to be honest.)

The thick and heavy Bar menu, praised as the best in the city by Vegas Seven, is rich with information on the flavor of the many many available Brews. If you're looking for something a little stronger, Aces & Ales has a beautifully curated selection of Scotches and Whiskeys, as well as a nice spread Tequilas, Wines, and signature Cocktails. The food is pretty good too, with standard Gastropub selections like Chicken Wings, Burgers, Pizzas, and Mac & Cheese made with higher quality ingredients than most Bar Food (so you won't hate yourself afterwards).

I also love Aces & Ales special programs, like their Tuesday night tastings where you sample six delicious Crafts for $20, their special visits from Breweries (if you're in town this weekend, Ballast Point's Brewmaster will be on hand to present a bunch of his inventive Beers on Saturday night), or their Annual Strong Brew Festival (which features some of the rarest Beers in the world), all of which give their customers the opportunity to learn a thing or two as they throw back amazing suds. You can also gamble Slot and Keno machines (this is Las Vegas, after all) or play some Pool and Shuffleboard.

Open 24 hours a day (so that you can get great Beer no matter what time it is) on the east side of town, Aces & Ales bills itself as Las Vegas' premiere Beer destination. With the abundance of Craft Brews available on tap and in bottles and their special Brewery events, the Gastropub backs up their boast and supports the Craft Beer Revolution exploding across the country. Viva la Revolucion!

Escape From Douchery, Part 8: Ellis Island Casino and Brewery

Craft brews have become another major trend for the young, hip and with it, and I'm going to use that fact as yet another litmus test to figure out how Las Vegas is developing into a truly hipster friendly city (you are doubtlessly noticing a trend in these blog posts at this point).

Vegas is a city that is fueled by alcohol. When beer and liquor are flowing, the philosophy goes, people are loosened up and keep gambling. While Sin City has not quite caught up with every hipster trend (I haven't seen many artisanal, organic, fair trade cheese stores in Vegas... yet), the increasing popularity of good and interesting beers is right in the Vegas wheelhouse. Craft breweries that offer adventurous pours are out there, if you know where to look.

While cocktail waitresses slinging comped drinks on casino floors are unlikely to pour you anything more exciting than a Fat Tire (no knock on Fat Tire, they're still one of my favorite nationally distributed beers), there are definitely a few places where you can find tasty brews made and distributed in the city. Sin City Brewing Company makes beers with "cleverly themed" (read "appropriately douchey") names like "Weisse is Nice," "Never Pass Up a Blonde," "Say Hello to Amber," and "The Dark Side of Sin," with locations in The Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood, The Grand Canal Shoppes at The Venetian and a location at The Flamingo with a large outdoor patio for sipping on your suds. In  Downtown Vegas, check out The Chicago Brewing Company in The Four Queens for a good selection of craft brews along with brewery favorite foods like pizza and burgers, or The Triple 7 Restaurant and Microbrewery at Main Street Station, which has become such a draw that the resort now markets itself as a "Casino, Brewery, and Hotel."


But if you really want an authentic Vegas experience to go with your microbrews, Ellis Island Casino and Brewery is a favorite of local beer enthusiasts, with a great selection of microbrews, sold at a shockingly reasonable price of less than $2 a glass. While gambling at the smokey and old-school off-Strip casino, cocktail waitresses will comp you with free beers if you ask nicely. Their restaurant is extremely cheap (like $5 for Steak and Eggs in the morning cheap), and the food is surprisingly better than merely edible.

The Casino and Brewery is located slightly off the beaten path, about a block east of The Strip. It's not nearly as slick as a place like Aria or The Cosmopolitan, but that's probably why locals dig it so much. It's unpretentious, the betting minimums at the gaming tables are low, and it has a scuzzy sleaziness that feels authentic and lived in, an increasingly rare atmosphere in Las Vegas these days.


Ellis Island's beers include a nice Amber, a summery Hefeweissen, a pleasingly hefty Dark Lager, and a Light lager (which I didn't even bother with; if you're drinking beer, just admit that it's not gonna be good for you no matter what and skip the light crap). They also brew a delicious Root Beer, which took me back to childhood memories of sharing a root-beer float my first girlfriend in the local Soda Shop (memories that might be from an old movie, and not my own childhood, now that I think of it).

To be clear, Ellis Island's Beers didn't approach the mind-blowing flavor of a cold Pliny the Elder from The Cap 'N' Cork in Los Feliz, but they got the job done... and get it done for absurdly cheap. Ellis Island is certainly worth a detour from The Strip for cheap eats and even cheaper craft brews.