A couple of good friends of mine came to visit in Las Vegas. Rather than do the typical Strip stuff like gamble in a casino and lose all their money, I opted to show them an area that’s being “revitalized” and, what I would consider, a pretty chill kick it spot with a lot to offer. The area is right near Main & Charleston. Somewhat reminiscent of a Melrose, but with a more laid-back vibe, the street is lined with restaurants, bars, more restaurants and a brewery: Hop Nuts Brewing.
We met at Hop Nuts in the mid-evening. There were a few groups of people there playing games, watching the World Series, and…drinking beer. Many laughs can heard while I waited for my friends for a few minutes, enough time to try something on tap and see who’s on deck.
The tables featured dark wood with heavy stools. Each table was large enough to fit a party of 6 or more. Also worth noting, the tables weren’t too far from the bar and taps, so it made getting a drink pretty easy.
The open-air patio was pretty cool (both literally and figuratively, as the night was a cool 50 degrees–who said it doesn’t get cold in Vegas?). The only drawback to the patio was that there were a few patrons puffing on and suffering from little cancer sticks (cigarettes). Once the breeze blew, it also blew some smoke into the bar area. Cough…cough…cough.
These days, I’ve been to enough breweries and have drank enough beer to not be wowed by a whole lot. The beer at Hop Nuts was tasty, clean and inexpensive. Three great qualities if you ask me. Although the beer didn’t stand out to me, I would still go back and grab a couple brews to throw back.
What does stand out, though, is what Hop Nuts is; it is essentially a dive bar with a brewery component. This may seem strange, but they have something going here. Too many times, I’ve seen the run-of-the-mill brewery in an industrial warehouse; with their cold stainless steel and try-too-hard-to-fit-the-mold ambience where beers run over $8 a pop and name brand over quality becomes the trend. Maybe that’s why I appreciate Hop Nuts. They don’t try to be fit what has grown to be the norm in microbreweries. They simply provide a fun place to grab a craft beer or two and keep your night moving.
Tenaya Creek Brewery sits right across from the historically-significant site of the Moulin Rouge. The Moulin Rouge was once known for acts like Louis Armstrong and The Rat Pack, but that same West Las Vegas area is also known for being the center of Las Vegas’ civil rights movement of the 50s and 60s where integration was first introduced to Las Vegas. Paying tribute to this legacy, Tenaya Creek Brewery integrates flavors and aromas that defy assumptions of what craft beer is supposed to be while bringing people of different backgrounds together.
Tenaya Creek is easily a favorite of mine to visit and recommend to friends out of town. It’s not too far off The Strip and you get sip some stellar Las Vegas craft beer right on the historic Pioneer Trail.