Taste

Las Vegas’ small-but-mighty Beer Zombies brings new flavor to Downtown Summerlin

Image
Beer and pizza at Beer Zombies
Photo: Christopher DeVargas

It looks like a cool but tiny taproom to most people, but for those of us who live close enough to frequent Downtown Summerlin a little too frequently, Beer Zombies is a revelation. This mall is fantastic, and so is this neighborhood, but there are some things it still didn’t have, like a fantastic beer bar with chill vibes and righteous grub—and maybe most importantly, a suburban spot for a late drink on weekends.

The team that made this welcoming new venue happen is anchored by former Cosmopolitan bartender Chris Jacobs, founder of the Beer Zombies brand and recent recipient of the Craft Beer Marketing Awards Industry People of the Year honors. BZ started as a craft beer lifestyle brand Instagram page and quickly grew to include bottle shops and beer festivals. A local brewery is now under construction.

Jacobs partnered with SkinnyFats for Beer Zombies’ first bottle shop and taproom location, and did so again for the Downtown Summerlin spot, located a few doors down from the fast-casual eatery. And while the always rotating brews on the 16 taps are the star of the show here, the food menu was created by chef Marc Marrone, whose Graffiti Hospitality also recently partnered up with the SkinnyFats crew.

Everything you can eat is designed to complement an afternoon of beer sampling, and the more time you spend at the bar, the more free samples of various, flavorful bottles and cans might come your way. Soak up all those suds with hearty pan pizza square slices ($7 for 6 inches or $13 for 12-inch rectangles) topped with cup-and-char pepperoni, pickled peppers, fennel sausage or other favorites. This is essentially the same pie Marrone serves through his Gemma Gemma’s pizza operation out of the southwestern Graffiti Bao kitchen, with a three-day fermentation process imparting rich flavor into each Sicilian-style bite. For $40 you can get 27 inches of pizza bliss with four different sets of toppings paired with four different beers.

The toasted Prime Rib dip ($13) is certainly worth your time and energy, too, or if you want to stick to the snacks, pretzel bites with hazy beer cheese for dipping ($12), crispy baked chicken wings ($14) or roasted cauliflower ($12) with Nashville hot spices and parsley pesto are fast favorites.

The food and drink offerings at Downtown Summerlin continue to evolve, and Beer Zombies is a clear hit.

BEER ZOMBIES Downtown Summerlin, 2010 Festival Plaza Drive #140, 780-0297. Sunday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m.; Friday & Saturday, 11 a.m.-1 a.m.

Tags: Dining, Food, Beer
Share
Photo of Brock Radke

Brock Radke

Brock Radke is an award-winning writer and columnist who currently occupies the role of managing editor at Las Vegas Weekly ...

Get more Brock Radke
Top of Story