There was once a time before Instagram, Twitter, Tiktok and even Facebook where Vegas lovers from around the world gathered on internet forums to share their experiences. This is where I started writing trip reports and sharing my experiences. Eventually Twitter came along and all us Vegas nerds had a new place to congregate and share gambling memes. I’ve made some great friends within these communities as we all share an undying love of Las Vegas and a maybe a slight gambling addiction. I was really excited when my wonderful friends Jidan and Randy offered me the opportunity to checkout the breweries in Henderson Nevada. Henderson is a suburb of Las Vegas that’s only 12 miles from center Strip and home to five breweries. This long awaited final Vegas Beercation blog post will highlight two Henderson Nevada breweries and two breweries in Downtown Las Vegas.
Bad Beat Brewing
7380 Eastgate RD, Henderson, NV.
My friends and I were walking through the doors of Henderson's Bad Beat Brewing less than 20 minutes after they picked me up from Downtown Vegas. I take every opportunity to see more of Las Vegas Valley and the beautiful desert landscape.
Bad Beat was established in 2014 by Nathan Hall, who took the biggest gamble of this life when he sold his house and bet every dollar he had on his brewery. As semi-retired professional poker myself (which is a fancy way of describing someone who thought they could make more money playing poker while going to University than working at Subway), I loved all the poker theming throughout the taproom. Within their logo you’ll see the playing cards 7 and 2, this is the worst starting hand you can be dealt in Hold’em poker.
Throughout the brewery I could see design nods to Vegas history by way of colours, symbols and shapes. The combination of turquoise and red throughout that was surely inspired by Binion’s in Downtown Las Vegas. Binion’s Horseshoe is where the World Series of Poker was born and the tap handles feature a poker chip design similar to the WSOP logo.
The taproom is modern, open and spotlessly clean with community tables, a corner bar and comfortable seating nooks. Towards the back of the taproom is a door leading to another small dark seating area where you can get a peek into the brewery.
Today they were pouring 12 beers with a great selection of styles. The staff were super friendly and happily answered any questions we had. In my flight I had their Hoppy Times West Coast IPA, Bluffing isn’t Weisse Hefeweizen, Cupid Shuffle strawberry vanilla milkshake IPA and the Just Gose With It Raspberry Lime Gose. I thought the West Coast IPA was nicely bitter with big grapefruit flavour and the Strawberry milkshake to be equally sweet strawberry with a nice bitterness for balance.
It was nice experiencing a new brewery with friends and hearing their thoughts on the craft beer scene in Las Vegas which I personally think is really solid. If you’re thirsty in Henderson, you can’t lose with a visit to Bad Beat Brewing. Use the > to see more pics below.
Lovelady Brewing Co.
20 Water St. S. Henderson, NV.
After a quick bite and beer flight at the Hardway 8 Pub, the sun had set and I got to see the awesome red neon that highlights the exterior of Lovelady Brewing in downtown Henderson.
I was somewhat familiar with Lovelady’s beer as I’ve had a couple throughout the years at casino bars. I was hoping to be able to experience the brewery better but we found a jammed taproom for trivia night. Regardless I took the opportunity to walk around the expansive brewery with it’s tall ceiling and Southwest style interior. Of course I found a super cool Lovelady felted blackjack table that was complete with center beer tap.. I would never leave this table.
Since I had previously tried their flagship Love Juice NEIPA and 9th Island Pineapple Sour, I needed to judge them on their West Coast IPA, State of Chance. This was a textbook perfect Westie with a nice caramel malt backbone, big grapefruit and a serious resiny pine bitterness.
Despite being very busy the staff were super friendly and took the time to welcome me as a visiting Canadian and gift me a couple stickers! We headed out to the patio under the stars on a beautiful warm Nevada night, here I found the coolest brewery mural in existence. I stopped in mid conversation and left my friends wondering what the hell I was doing as I line up this perfect pic!
I will definitely return to Lovelady on a less busy night to try more of their delicious beer… and also because I have more silly pic ideas for that mural.
Banger Brewing
450 Fremont St. E. Las Vegas, NV.
I love Banger Brewing! I visit the brewery every trip, sometimes twice and always recommend to people visiting Downtown Vegas. Unfortunately, I have just found out that they are closing, in as little as two weeks.
The brewery is located just steps away from the Fremont St. Experience and a perfect place to grab a well-made brew to explore Fremont with. You’ll find Banger just past the Slotzilla tower tucked in beside the Heart Attack Grill, just keep an eye out for the silver grain silo.
Inside is modern and open with red and silver accents throughout, the full window walls give views of Fremont East and the Neonopoplis Shopping Center. Banger has always offered a cool and calm place to escape the craziness and heat of Fremont Street.
Every single time I visit Banger I am treated so incredibly well. The staff is always very knowledgeable on their beers and quick to give you a taste before you buy. Banger Brewing was formed in 2013 by 5 friends who all worked together at the Bellagio and I was fortunate to visit them during their very first week of operation. During that first visit, one of the owners took the time to give me a full tour of the brewery, a couple stickers and a keychain, Yep they earned a fan for life with a keychain bottle opener. This is when I first tried their El Heffe Jalapeno Wheat, which is an American style wheat beer infused with roasted jalapeno, serrano, habanero and green and red peppers. Back in 2013, a beer made with chili peppers and a bit of spice was unheard of. The taplist is always changing with classic and experimental styles but today’s flight consisted of their Tripel, Betty Bling NEIPA, Black Eye PA and of course El Heffe.
The beer is always great here and the people are awesome, I hope to be able to enjoy one last glass before they close. Thank you Banger for all the good times and great beer!
Triple 7 Brewpub
200 Main Street N. Las Vegas, NV.
Triple 7 Brewpub this is the place that sparked my love for visiting and experiencing breweries. I’ve been travelling to Vegas regularly since I was 21 years old and have been enjoying their beer for over 15 years. 777 is located within the Main Street Casino and Hotel which is only a block from the Fremont Street experience, opposite ends from Banger Brewing.
This is truly a brewpub that operates more as a restaurant than a brewery and taproom. They are well known to locals and tourists for their extensive menu of pub favourites at good prices, but I’ve always thought the food was average at best. The interior is anything but average with two story tall ceilings clad in copper, hard wood floors and the ornate English pub style bar. It’s hard to miss the tall copper brew tanks encased in glass that frame the back of the pub. But for all the time I’ve spent here, I’ve never actually seen anyone brewing.
It was a bit odd ordering a flight of their core beers since I’ve had them all so many times, but it was fun to try them all again for this post. In my flight of 5 is their High Roller Gold Lager, Marker Pale Ale, Royal Red Ale, Black Chip Porter, Double Down Hefeweizen.
The beers are classic, very true to style and have been consistently good over the years. If you are expecting trendy new beer styles, sours or pastry stouts… this isn’t the place for you. I am very partial to their Black Chip Porter which was my gateway into the world of stouts and porters, I am happy to say it was as good today as it always has been. For many years they had a monthly rotating tap offering a seasonal favourite, but this tap seems to always be their Carlsbad double IPA which is a great double west coast style IPA.
In its heyday the pub was open 24/7, but Covid was not kind to Main Street Station and Triple 777. Hours have been reduced to open at 5pm Thursday through Monday and closed Tuesday and Wednesday. The brewery supplies the casino floor and bars with beer, so if you fancy games of chance you can get ‘free’ 777 brews while playing. I will forever have a special place in my beer soaked heart for Triple 7 and I absolutely recommend you check it out when in Downtown Vegas.
And with that, I'm leaving Las Vegas... but not for long as I have the next trip booked in just a couple weeks… degenerate I know. It was such a great time catching up with friends and experiencing my favourite Vegas breweries again and many new ones. The craft beer scene in Sin City is aces, so get out of those casinos and check it out!
Stay positive and drink good beer.
