BEER EVENTS
CraftHaus HausFest Anniversary Celebration — September 10-12
As it does every year, CraftHaus Brewery will celebrate its anniversary with a themed dayslong party.
This year marks its 12th anniversary, and the HausFest Anniversary Celebration will invite guests to raise a stein and revel in Oktoberfest-inspired décor, festive games, Bavarian food and four new beer releases at both the Henderson brewery and Arts District taproom on all three days.
The four beers being released are HausFest Festbier with Spanish Cedar, Dandy Shandy Pink Lemonade Shandy, Double Hop Hit Double IPA and Time & Oak Frey Ranch Whiskey Barrel-Aged American Barley Wine. There will be nightly stein-holding contests with prizes; on Thursday Erica Bell of Double Zero Pie will bring a creative Bavarian twist to a special pop-up dinner to the Arts District taproom; and at the Henderson brewery there will be live music from Lisa & the Haus Band on Friday and on Saturday Squeezebox Hero will perform.
Fairway to Heaven — September 13
Red Rock Country Club, Red Rock Country Club HOA, and New Vista will present Fairway to Heaven, framed by the scenery of Red Rock Canyon on the 18th hole of the Red Rock Country Club (2250 Red Springs Dr).
The event will include curated wine tastings, craft beer from our local breweries, a farmer’s market, a whiskey and cigar lounge, live music from Stevie and The Heartrockers and The Wedge Brothers, gourmet bites and food trucks.
The event will run from noon to 6 p.m. and tickets start at $58.76 for unlimited choice of beer or wine. VIP options are $90.92 (choice of beer or wine plus food) and $103.11 for access to the Whiskey and Cigar Lounge (a standalone experience, beer or wine not included). A portion of all proceeds will benefit New Vista, a Las Vegas nonprofit dedicated to empowering individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.
For more info and to purchase tickets, visit fairwaytoheavenlv.com.
BJ’s Brewhouse — September 14
The five Southern Nevada BJ’s Brewhouse locations will host a five-course beer dinner featuring Oktoberfest-style lagers and Bavarian-style wheat beers.
The dinner will include welcome beer—Paulaner Oktoberfest Bier, BJ’s Harvest Hefeweizen paired with Big Twist Pretzel with BJ’s Beer Cheese, Hacker Pschorr Oktoberfest Märzen matched with Broccoli Cheddar Soup, Schneider Weisse Festweisse paired with Wedge Starter Salad, palate cleanser—Sam Adams Octoberfest, BJ’s Oktoberfest matched with Sal’s Brewhouse Chicken and Sierra Nevada Oktoberfest paired with Strawberry Shortcake Pizookie.
The dinner will begin at 6:30 p.m. and the cost is $45 in advance and $50 (plus tax and tip) the day of the event. To purchase tickets, click here.
Mission Control — September 19
Mission Control, the craft beer and cocktail bar at Tenaya and Craig, will host an Able Baker partial tap takeover beginning at 3 p.m.
There will be giveaways throughout the day and Able Baker Head Brewer Burke Levien will be there to visit with guests and talk about the beers.
Silverton Casino Lodge Paws & Pints — September 19
The Silverton Casino Lodge will host Paws & Pints, a fundraiser for the Nevada SPCA.
Held in the Veil Pavilion from 4-7 p.m. with entry at 3 p.m. for Early Entry and VIP ticket holders, guests will sample unlimited pours from a lineup of participating breweries including more than 20 locals. VIP ticket holders will have exclusive access to the Puppy Lounge, where they can meet adoptable dogs from Nevada SPCA and enjoy paired bites. There will also be live music and a Silent Auction + Charity Raffle.
Tickets are $55 for General Admission, $70 for Early Entry, $125 for VIP and $15 for Designated Driver. To purchase tickets, click here.
Viva La SerVehZah Beer Festival — October 17
The Viva La SerVehZah Beer Festival will premiere at SerVehZah Bottle Shop and Taproom (1301 S Commerce in the Las Vegas Arts District) from 2 to 6 p.m.
There will be breweries from across the US pouring exclusive, limited-release beers, live music and a lively atmosphere. Early Bird tickets are $65 and sales end on Sept. 17. VIP tickets, which include early entry at 1 p.m., commemorative festival glassware and a pretzel necklace, are $85. For more info and to purchase tickets, click here.
Big Dog’s Brewing Dogtoberfest — October 24
Big Dog’s Brewing is a Wisconsin- and dog-themed brewpub and has several beers with canine names like Tail Wagger Wheat and Black Lab Stout, but its annual Dogtoberfest takes it a step further.
Held at the Draft House outdoor area (at Rancho and Craig Rd) from 4-9 p.m., the free admission pay-as-you-go beerfest will offer more than 50 beers from independent craft breweries including 25 from Nevada breweries. There will also be a human and dog Halloween costume contest, live Classic Rock and Island Reggae Music, Wisconsin-style grilled brats and other tasty choices and raffles and giveaways.
The first Big Dog’s Dogtoberfest was held in 2010 and the brewpub/craft beer bar has hosted more beer fests than any other venue in Southern Nevada, with this year’s Dogtoberfest marking the brewpub’s 55th beer & music festival.
For more info and to purchase ticket packages (with lower prices until the day of the event), visit bigdogsbrews.com/festivals/dogtoberfest-2.
Local Brewer Spotlight: Casey Jacobson
In this monthly feature, we spotlight our local head brewers. This month we learn all about Modest Brewing Head Brewer Casey Jacobson.
Casey Jacobson was born in 1984 and raised in Dallas, where he lived for the first 35 years of his life. From the time he was a kid the plan was for him to work in his family’s construction business, which he actually did for 16 years.
Casey’s aha beer moment was when he first tried the Belgian Chimay Grand Reserve and Delirium Tremens. After meeting his wife Drew, he became even more interested in craft beer and brewing, as she was homebrewing in part because she was going to a college located in a county that at the time was a dry county, so beer was not available to purchase. As they began homebrewing together, his interest in brewing grew, and Casey took a part-time job on Sundays as a beertender at Peticolas Brewing in Dallas. While working there for 2.5 years he took a journeyman brewers course at Eastfield Community College. The course included internships which led to him landing a job as an assistant brewer at The Manhattan Project Beer Company in Dallas.
Six months later, he and Drew were both accepting new jobs in California. Casey was accepting an assistant brewer job at Hamilton Family Brewery in Rancho Cucamonga, but during the move in 2020 the Covid shutdown hit and the job vaporized. He then became a stay-at-home dad with an infant and a two-year-old for six months until the brewery was allowed to reopen.
After another six months, in March 2021, the couple would again move due to Drew getting a promotion that came with a transfer, and they were off to Las Vegas and Casey to an assistant brewer job at Able Baker. After working with Matt Marino for two years, in March 2023 when Tom Harwood moved to another brewery, the opportunity arose for Casey to take the Head Brewer job at Triple 7 with Matt’s recommendation.
Two years later Casey teamed up with Scott Seales to open their own brewery, Modest Brewing, which had its soft opening in January 2026. During his path to become a professional brewer Casey credits Manhattan Project Head Brewer Jeremy Brodt, Hamilton Family Brewery Head Brewer Jonny Foster and Co-Owner Josh Hamilton and Able Baker Director of Brewing Matt Marino as the mentors that taught him and helped him the most and gave him invaluable advice.
The beer styles Casey likes to drink and brew are the same: Belgian styles. But he also loves the challenge of brewing lagers as “They take more time, but are rewarding because you can’t bury mistakes and can feel good about it when it comes out nice.”
Be sure to head over to Modest Brewing on Sept. 19 for the release of Casey’s newest creation: Festbier, a 6.7% Helles Bock (also known as Maibock), ready just in time for Oktoberfest season.
Local Brewery Champion of the Month: Rebellion Pizza
In this recurring feature we spotlight establishments that appreciate our local breweries enough to devote a large portion of their beer selection to beer made in Nevada.
Rebellion Pizza is fresh off celebrating its 5th anniversary and since opening in 2021 has always served a 100% local beer selection that is most likely the largest collection of locals in Southern Nevada. All eight of its taps pour local and there are an additional 20 cans from every brewery that brews enough to supply outside accounts with beers from Able Baker, Big Dog’s, CraftHaus, HUDL, Lovelady, Mojave and Tenaya Creek.
Over the past five years Rebellion Pizza has thrived and in early 2025 opened a second location in the Centennial area at 7240 West Azure Drive. The popular pizzeria, which in my opinion has the best NY-style pizza anywhere, has expanded yet again, with the opening of Rebellion Market. Situated next to its original location in Anthem at 2540 Anthem Village Dr, an opening in the wall connects the market to the pizzeria, so you can make market purchases and walk through to grab a seat and enjoy a brew. The market offers deli meats, cheese, fresh pastries and cinnamon rolls, freshly baked bread, pasta, sauces, yeast, balsamic vinegar and about a dozen seeded roll and focaccia sandwiches (including the best Cheesesteak I’ve ever had).
Hats off to Owners Ricky Lewis and Ryan Perras for continuing to support our local breweries to such a large extent and congrats on the opening of their new Market.
For more info, head over to rebellionpizzalv.com.
Bad Beat Closed
I’m sorry to report that Bad Beat Brewing has closed permanently. After relocating from the Henderson Booze District to the Downtown Arts District, it never quite found its footing amidst challenges of rising parking rates and competition from a slew of cocktail bars in the area. A message was posted on its Facebook page saying: “After 12 years we finally found a hand we couldn’t win. Thanks for the memories, we will cherish them always.”
ØØ Pie & Pub Expands Craft Beer Menu
ØØ Pie & Pub, a two-time honoree on the prestigious 50 Top Pizza USA list, has long supported local beer, and was in fact a recipient of the Local Brewery Champion of the Month in this column a while back. Now the popular Chinatown spot under the direction of Lead Pizzaiolo/GM Erica Bell has stepped up its beer game big time by adding several craft beers to its beer menu. Its local selection is still strong, with seven local beers including Able Baker Atomic Duck IPA; Big Dog’s What the Puck IPA; CraftHaus Tropical Forrest IPA, Sumo Stomp and Czech PLZ Pilsner; and Double Zero Lager (brewed by Tenaya Creek). There are also now a couple dozen craft beer choices from around the world, some of which you don’t see everywhere, such as the German Reissdorf Kölsch, Prairie Artisan Ales Bomb! Imperial Pastry Stout, Russian River Jannemie Saison, the Japanese Hitachino Nest Red Rice Ale and the Belgian Delirium Tremens and Chimay Cinq Cents Tripel. ØØ has also expanded its hours and is now open daily for lunch and has great deals on NY slices and sandwiches from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
What’s Pouring
Big Dog’s Head Brewer/Director of Brewing Operations Dave Pascual tells me they’re releasing three special beers this month. The Dogtoberfest Märzen is a 5.4% classic German-style Märzen brewed with several imported German malts such as Pilsner, Munich, Vienna, and Caramalt to give its color and flavor profile that pours amber/copper in color and has a strong malt presence due to the minimal hop profile and notes of bread, toast, and good old maltiness as the focal point. The popular annual fall brew Ol’ Jack Pumpkin is a 6% amber beer brewed with a combination of Silo 2-row Barley along with several Munich and Caramalt varieties to give enough malt body to balance with the cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger spices in the beer. And, they’re releasing on draft only the multiple medal-winning 9% Tripel Dog Dare (late September).
Beer Zombies Owner Chris Jacobs shared with me details about a double dry hopped 10% Triple Hazy IPA named Killer Zombies from Outer Space brewed with an out-of-this-world arsenal of Celeste, Alora, Nectaron, Apollo Salvo, Comet Salvo, Nectaron Hyperboost, Galaxy and Abstrax Quantum Brite that explodes with juicy tropical fruit, ripe peach, pineapple, passionfruit and bright citrus. And of course, there’s another heavily Fruited Sour in their Zombie hWhip series: Blueberry Strawberry Cake Batter Ice Cream that’s whipped up with juicy blueberries, sweet strawberries, rich cake batter and creamy ice cream flavor built on a tart zombie Berliner base bursting with berries and bakery sweetness.
In mid-September Evolve Brewing Head Brewer Josh Kunzli is pouring his Oktoberfest, which he describes as a “hot-climate” Märzen with fest flavor but not as heavy. At the end of the month, they’ll also have Bar Down Hazy (which Josh informed me is named for a hockey reference) for Golden Knights season with Citra and Krush hops.
North 5th Brewing Head Brewer Patrick Tofte says their main release this month coming out the first weekend in September is an Oktoberfest beer creatively named “Oktoberfest.” It’s a 5.9% Festbier with slightly sweet malty notes with a crisp, dry finish.
Nevada Brew Works Head Brewer David Castro has two new beers this month: The Oktoberfest is a 6% Märzen with a blend of Munich, Pilsner and Vienna malts and Tettnang hops; and a 5.5% West Coast style classic Pale Ale with Centennial, Cascade and Mosaic hops.
Triple 7 Head Brewer Tom Harwood has a 6% West Coast Pilsner coming out in late September that he informs me is crisp and bright, with tropical hops from New Zealand and North America.
Able Baker Head Brewer Burke Levien and Director of Brewing Operations Matt Marino have several new beers coming on. They include the 5.2% Freckly Flamingo Fruited Sour with strawberry and lemon (draft only), the brand new 9.5% Critical Assembly Imperial Dark Ale (draft only), 8% Hazy Morning Paddler Hazy Double IPA (draft only), 6% Ententanz Oktoberfest Festbier and M388 Watermelon Fruited Sour (with watermelon, cucumber and hibiscus).
Las Vegas Brewing Co-Owner Kyle Dolder tells me their main release this month is a light bodied 6.5% Saison hopped late in the boil and whirlpool with Mandarina Bavaria (German hop) which gives a tropical flavor and aroma, while using a saison yeast imparting a mild funk.
Neon Desert Head Brewer Jimmy Doyle has a couple of beers ideal to help us celebrate Oktoberfest. He’s brewed the interestingly named Dunkelzahn’s Secret, a 5.1% dark German-style Munich Dunkel Lager made with German malt, hops and yeast with malty and bready flavors without roasty bitterness and balanced with Hallertau hops. Jimmy, who is an attorney, also brewed Litigator, another dark German Lager that weighs in at 8%, was aged in a chocolate bourbon barrel and brings caramel and toffee flavors and a sweet finish.
As always, great beer happens in Vegas!
- Hero image © Adobe Stock AI – licensed for editorial and edited by A.D. Cook
- Modest Brewing Head Brewer Casey Jacobsen pic by David Canela
- Rebellion Pizza Owners Ryan Perras and Ricky Lewis pic by David Canela
- All other photos and graphics are copyright of their respective owners
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Bob Barnes began his food and beverage writing career in 1998 as Regional Correspondent for Celebrator Beer News and wrote the Nevada Beer Nuggets column from 1998 to 2019. He was Editorial Director of The Las Vegas Food & Beverage Professional from 2012-2021 and has covered Las Vegas for Gayot since 2010. He now writes the weekly Las Vegas Dining and Entertainment News column for FoodAndLoathing.Vegas, a monthly dining news column for The Vegas Voice, continues to contribute to Gayot, writing the Gayot Las Vegas Restaurant News and beer and spirit reviews. In addition to posting on ADCook.com, the Las Vegas Brewing News also posts on San Diego Beer News (sandiegobeer.news) and porchdrinking.com.
