After three days of booze-focused seminars and special events featuring top-notch suds and spirits, Mandalay Bay's Booze & Barrel Project is in the books. Breweries and distilleries near and far sampled their stuff at Saturday night's main-event Beachside Beer & Barrel Festival at Mandalay Bay Beach, where attendees could pair their boozy finds with scrumptious small bites from some of MGM Resorts' top fine-dining outlets.
Brews and spirits might’ve been in the spotlight throughout Beer & Barrel, but my favorite pour at the fest added grapes to the hops-and-grain-heavy mix. Southern California’s Cismontane Brewing Company again collaborated with Monterey County’s Mer Soleil Vineyard to create the third iteration of its The Mesa beer, No. 3 being a blend of 20 percent grenache blanc, 20 percent chardonnay and 60 percent pilsner malt. The experiment’s result? Delicious. Straddling a very thin line between sweet and sour, the beer/wine mixture’s unique tartness ends with a crisp finish—and at 7 percent ABV, this fun blend goes down the gullet way too easily. The director of craft at Bonanza Beverage, Cismontane's distributor, says the brew is on tap at local spots CraftHaus, Public School 702 and Rebel Republic, and can also be found in the bottle at Khoury's and White Cross Market.
After drinking Left Hand’s Milk Stout, I can say that the Colorado-based brewery’s new Nevada distribution—which began with the Beer & Barrel project—is a very, very good thing for the Valley’s brew enthusiasts. Rich and velvety with notes of dark chocolate and espresso, this stout was surprisingly lighter than what I would expect from the style, which was welcome at a summertime fest with so many solid beers to sample. Look out for a Mandalay Bay-branded variety at the hotel, as Left Hand produced one just for the occasion. Fun fact: Its label features a not-so-hidden portrait of cicerone Sarah Johnson, Mandalay’s director of food & beverage. —Mark Adams
I made a beeline to the New Belgium booth as soon as I arrived at Beer & Barrel. Why? Because I missed the keg tapping for the Colorado brewery’s Love Cherry Felix at Downtown’s Atomic Liquors last week. I was hoping they had some left for this brewfest, and they did ... and it was so good. Light and bright with substantial sourness, it was the ideal beer for a hot, steamy summer night, refreshing in a bold way. It also provided the perfect foil for my favorite bite of the night, Yusho's tongue-tingling chicken wings.
Running a close second in my flavor poll was Pizza Port’s Bacon and Eggs Porter, a breakfast beer if ever there was one. Its deep, dark brown color belied its smooth tone and easy drinkability. It smacks you with a blast of rich, roasted coffee flavor, then swirls into smoky, slightly chocolatey, savory and nutty notes. Bacon and Eggs is a beautifully balanced beer but I’m not sure if I’d want more than one. That Love Cherry Felix though? I wouldn’t want less than three. Or four. —Brock Radke
