Hey Matt!!!! I really enjoyed the Burger Bar in Mandalay Bay -- taps were above average and bottles were solid (multiple Firestone Walker one-offs, which we get distro in CO on, but are still fun to open in a group!) -- I'd highly recommend. - Erich
Nice to hear from you! We are in downtown, so prob, wont be heading that far. But I have heard good things about that place. We need to do a trade again!
I think Atomic Liquor Bar may be your best bet. Easier to say though, avoid Banger. Sure it's pretty but the beers are pretty awful.
I actually had a good experience at Banger, but apparently that's non-typical. It's worth going in for a minute to try the IPA, though. Unless I'm the luckiest person in the universe, it was a good beer by any standards I know. Triple 7's is like stepping back into the 90's...but in a good way. Their cherry stout is the kind of fruit beer you just don't see anymore and their pale ale is as old school as they come. For me, the beers to avoid would be the ones from Bad Beat. They range from passable at best to full-on terrible. They don't have a tasting room down there, but you might encounter them in bottles or at a bar.
Atomic is my downtown go-to for craft & vibe. 777 & Pizza Rock (ridiculous pie) are also pretty solid. Radio City Pizzeria is under new management & has some very fun draft & bottle offerings as well
Going to Vegas in late March, staying at the Monte Carlo. Looks like a pretty good beer joint there. ANy input on that?
Atomic is my favorite spot downtown. Avoid Banger like the plague. If you are downtown and looking for a brewery, try Hop Nutz instead. They just opened. Chicago Brewing Co also has a hub in the Four Queens and Triple 7 has been around forever.
The Pub in Monte Carlo has about 80 taps or so...not all craft. Have some FSW, etc. They also have a menu of bottles. Last time I was there, they had Sucaba, but it was like $32 or so, so a bit overpriced, but its Vegas, so what do you expect???
(This is Strip related, FYI) I used to hit up the Monte Carlo Pub but on 2 consecutive visits (6 months apart) I had beers from bad lines. The bartenders acted like I was trying to hustle them when I pointed out that a maibock and brown ale shouldn't taste like gueuze. Of those 80 taps, I bet they really only turn over significant amounts of 15-20 of them. Todd English's PUB is 5 minutes down the street and while they don't have the same amount of taps, they seem to understand beer a lot more. Ditto with Burger Bar, although that's a much longer trek down to Mandalay. Pour 24 in NYNY might surprise you with what they have, although their selection isn't huge. Prices are never going to be great, but they aren't as bad as you might fear. Especially for an area where people can lose hundreds of dollars in seconds.
I have been to Banger 3 times and thought the beers were decent. Triple 7 is good. Walk east a block or so past the end of Fremont and there's a new grocery store kind of like a Whole Foods that has a good bottle selection. The Bier Garten at the Plaza at the other end of Fremont also has a few good beers.
The IPA is good at Banger, hard to ruin Citra hops. Not much else to speak of. If youre hitting the strip, the Public House at the Venetian is a beer centric-ish place, good beer (per usual for the strip very expensive)
found this in another thread and will be hitting it this weekend ... but do yourself a favor and check out the beer menu at Tacos & Beer -> http://tacosandbeerlv.com/ The food reviews look damn good too ... just about a half mile north of the Hard Rock, this looks like an absolute hidden gem!
