Covering University of Colorado sports, mostly basketball, since 2010

Friday, October 23, 2015

Friday Beer Post: 2015 Gameday Pub-o-the-week - Oregon State Edition

Each week throughout the football season I'm going to suggest a good beer for the ubiquitous pre-game tailgate. Let's be honest, with tailgates it's not always top quality that you're looking for. To steal a phrase from the heinous beer terrorists at Budweiser, you want "drinkability." (or what a real beer connoisseur calls "a session beer") So, be warned, these may not be "the best" beers around. But, in the words of Dave Chappelle as Samuel L. Jackson "IT'LL GET YOU DRUNK!"

I'm going off script, so please bear with me.  With the move to the Pac-12, Las Vegas has become a town of increasing importance to BuffNation.  Between the annual Pac-12 Basketball Tournament, the forthcoming Las Vegas Classic, the occasional showcase game at the MGM Grand Garden arena, and the possibility of the football team being just average enough to make the Las Vegas Bowl, chances are you loyal Buff fans will be making a trip to LV to watch Colorado sports sometime in the future.  Should you do, and a craving for good beer strikes, might I suggest a trip off-Strip for your suds?  My favorite beer joint in town, the incredible Aces & Ales, is this week's gameday pub of the week.
The best beer bar in Vegas.  I'm not kidding.
I was introduced to Aces & Ales by renowned beer connoisseur @RicoBlank four years ago.  We've since made a pilgrimage to the hole-in-the-wall every year during the Pac-12 Tournament, and I've yet to regret it. It's a jaunt (we prefer the Nellis location, about 20 minutes from the MGM Grand, and decidedly off-Strip), but makes for a nice escape from the hustle and bustle of Las Vegas proper.  Between the excellent craft beer selection, outstanding food menu, and perfect dive bar ambiance, it ticks off every single one of my requirements for 'good bar' status, and has yet to disappoint.

They've always got a great tap list going, usually with stuff you will be hard pressed to find anywhere else, and have an extensive bottle selection of some of the rarest finds in all of craftdom.  As if that wasn't enough, their food menu is a treat, with the Arrogant Bastard steak wrap (steak marinated in AB... hell yeah!) and the deep fried Oreos my personal favorites.  Throw that in with a dark, local-focused atmosphere, and it's just a little slice of heaven in the middle of Sin City.

I'm deadly serious, you have to try this place out.  Walk away from the craps table.  Leave the neon lights behind.  You won't find a place more honest and real in all of town.  A perfect place to pregame for the whatever event you're in Las Vegas to see.


Happy Friday!  Go Buffs, beat the Beavers!

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