The Bar Towel

Will be in Vegas next week. First time in five years. I'm open to suggestions, but I will have a well travelled local beer geek to babysit me.

One place another contact has steered me toward is the local Brew Dog location. Looks kind of neat, even if it is probably over the top corporate. Anybody been? I've enjoyed every one of their beers I have had occasion to try, but I haven' been to one of their 'experiences'.

That reminds me, wasn't there talk of them opening a Toronto location? Probably got killed by COVID, or I image they came to their senses and realized how saturated the market is here.

Tapsucker wrote: ↑Wed Apr 12, 2023 11:02 pm Will be in Vegas next week. First time in five years. I'm open to suggestions, but I will have a well travelled local beer geek to babysit me.

One place another contact has steered me toward is the local Brew Dog location. Looks kind of neat, even if it is probably over the top corporate. Anybody been? I've enjoyed every one of their beers I have had occasion to try, but I haven' been to one of their 'experiences'.

That reminds me, wasn't there talk of them opening a Toronto location? Probably got killed by COVID, or I image they came to their senses and realized how saturated the market is here.

A friend went to the big BrewDog at the train station in London and he said it was quite something. I'd say worth a visit if you're nearby just to check it out!

BrewDog announced in January 2019 that they had 'signed a lease' in Toronto (http://www.bartowel.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=11002) but nothing came of it. I'm sure COVID had something to do with it. I also feel like Ontario never really embraced BrewDog, so perhaps it fell off the priority list.

Tapsucker wrote: ↑Wed Apr 12, 2023 11:02 pm Will be in Vegas next week. First time in five years. I'm open to suggestions, but I will have a well travelled local beer geek to babysit me.

One place another contact has steered me toward is the local Brew Dog location. Looks kind of neat, even if it is probably over the top corporate. Anybody been? I've enjoyed every one of their beers I have had occasion to try, but I haven' been to one of their 'experiences'.

That reminds me, wasn't there talk of them opening a Toronto location? Probably got killed by COVID, or I image they came to their senses and realized how saturated the market is here.

I spent an afternoon(probably 9-10 years ago) in the Brew Dog in Edinburgh. Had a great time. Good tap selection of their own stuff as well as some good guest taps.

Cass wrote: ↑Thu Apr 13, 2023 8:27 am

Tapsucker wrote: ↑Wed Apr 12, 2023 11:02 pm Will be in Vegas next week. First time in five years. I'm open to suggestions, but I will have a well travelled local beer geek to babysit me.

One place another contact has steered me toward is the local Brew Dog location. Looks kind of neat, even if it is probably over the top corporate. Anybody been? I've enjoyed every one of their beers I have had occasion to try, but I haven' been to one of their 'experiences'.

That reminds me, wasn't there talk of them opening a Toronto location? Probably got killed by COVID, or I image they came to their senses and realized how saturated the market is here.

A friend went to the big BrewDog at the train station in London and he said it was quite something. I'd say worth a visit if you're nearby just to check it out!

BrewDog announced in January 2019 that they had 'signed a lease' in Toronto (http://www.bartowel.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=11002) but nothing came of it. I'm sure COVID had something to do with it. I also feel like Ontario never really embraced BrewDog, so perhaps it fell off the priority list.

If I recall BrewDog was also getting a bit of bad press for their management culture around that time, so that might have soured things a bit too. I visited their Aberdeen pub on a trip to Scotland in 2018 and enjoyed it. Jet Black Heart on nitro is fantastic, I'd say if they're offering it at the LV location it's worth a visit for that.

As far as the rest of Vegas goes, the brewery district is a cool spot. Nothing I had would impress compared to what we can get here nowadays, but overall the city has come a long way on beer offerings.

seangm wrote: ↑Mon Apr 17, 2023 10:54 am If I recall BrewDog was also getting a bit of bad press for their management culture around that time, so that might have soured things a bit too. I visited their Aberdeen pub on a trip to Scotland in 2018 and enjoyed it. Jet Black Heart on nitro is fantastic, I'd say if they're offering it at the LV location it's worth a visit for that.

As far as the rest of Vegas goes, the brewery district is a cool spot. Nothing I had would impress compared to what we can get here nowadays, but overall the city has come a long way on beer offerings.

That's definitely true. I've only ever been to a BrewDog in London, and it was just a couple of their 'regular' bars. It was funny, they are very much in the style of U.S. brewery taprooms - industrial, metallic, loud playlists, etc. - but when I'm in the UK I prefer the traditional English pub, which of course we don't have much of over here. So I usually don't seek them out much when over there!

Cass wrote: ↑Mon Apr 17, 2023 1:42 pm

seangm wrote: ↑Mon Apr 17, 2023 10:54 am If I recall BrewDog was also getting a bit of bad press for their management culture around that time, so that might have soured things a bit too. I visited their Aberdeen pub on a trip to Scotland in 2018 and enjoyed it. Jet Black Heart on nitro is fantastic, I'd say if they're offering it at the LV location it's worth a visit for that.

As far as the rest of Vegas goes, the brewery district is a cool spot. Nothing I had would impress compared to what we can get here nowadays, but overall the city has come a long way on beer offerings.

That's definitely true. I've only ever been to a BrewDog in London, and it was just a couple of their 'regular' bars. It was funny, they are very much in the style of U.S. brewery taprooms - industrial, metallic, loud playlists, etc. - but when I'm in the UK I prefer the traditional English pub, which of course we don't have much of over here. So I usually don't seek them out much when over there!

For sure, same here. I've only been to the UK that one time, and it was only Scotland, but apart from that quick BrewDog stop it was all traditional pubs. I still remember that hand pulled pint of Dark Island at the Guildford Arms in Edinburgh as one of my favourite beer moments. First beer after our redeye flight too, so that definitely helps!

seangm wrote: ↑Tue Apr 18, 2023 11:42 am First beer after our redeye flight too, so that definitely helps!

LOL, I've done that very thing multiple times when going to visit my sister who lives over there. Land, head to town, early drink! I found it actually helped me stay awake through the jet lag strangely

So, reporting back here.

Brew Dog was a disappointment. The rooftop is nice, but after dark it was a bit too cool to enjoy. It would likely have been great during the day. They do have some small fire pit type things, but they were nowhere near the BTUs of even small patio heaters. The beer list was MINIMAL. Just a couple of their standards (well executed) and then 3-4 other brewers' beers, even macros. When we went the place was dead (8-ish on Wednesday), maybe 20 people including us. Despite that, the service was SLOW. There was enough staff, they just seemed to prefer each other's company. I saw no mention of food or any menus, but was told after that I should have downloaded their app. WTF??

The app thing is infuriating. Now in Las Vegas, just about anything you need to access to or to find out about, they just shove a QR code or app in your face. They have replaced so many people with bar codes. This is absolutely the least customer friendly way to treat tourists, but alas, I guess the data collection is now more important to them.

I did not get to any of the 'beer district' bars, but did go to a few local bars way off the strip. Nothing notable, but it was nice to just go play pool somewhere without all of the hyperactivity.

The local Yard House is still a good go to and still very popular. Good beer selection and decent food.

The general beer dynamic for the whole strip area has drifted back to mostly macro. It had been opening up to more interesting options a few years back, but taps are now down to a few national brands, I guess that's what they think their audience wants. The other scary thing is the typical prices now. 16oz (US) beers are around $11 US. I even saw one place as high as $21. Nuts.