Scenes from the Great Vegas Festival of Beer

Photo Credit: Fred Morledge

Nevada’s largest craft beer event, Motley Brews’ Great Vegas Festival of Beer, celebrated its fifth anniversary with more than 6,000 festival-goers filling the streets of Downtown Las Vegas on Saturday afternoon. Craft beer fans sampled more than 400 iconic craft brews served by more than 100 breweries while dining on craft beer-inspired dishes by some of Las Vegas’ top chefs.

Joining in on the festival’s celebration and success was the City of Las Vegas, which proclaimed Saturday, April 11 “Motley Brews Craft Beer Day.”

In honor of the celebration, Motley Brews and CraftHaus Brewery created a specialty fifth anniversary beer, dubbed “Motley in the Haus,” which was an Xtra Pale Ale brewed with five different hop varietals. Alongside the anniversary beer, kegs were tapped by breweries from near and far, including Old School Brewing Co., Hop Nuts Brewing Co.,  Tonopah Brewing Co., Alpine Beer Co., Rough Draft, The Bruery, Banger Brewing Co., Deschutes Brewery, Watsach, Green Flash, Big Dog’s, Joseph James Brewing and many more.

A fan favorite was the gastropub, where guests indulged in mouthwatering dishes from MTO Café, DW Bistro, Stack Restaurant & Bar, Naked City Pizza, O Face Doughnuts, Nacho Daddy, TruckUBarbeque, Sausagefest, The Goodwich, Echo & Rig, Cantina Laredo and Pot Liquor. Once again, Motley Brews pushed the limits of the craft beer and culinary world with BrewLogic sessions. During the session, Chef Justin K. Hall showed how to make beer vinegar and Stone Brewing Co. craft beer ambassador Bill Sysak paired decadent doughnuts with the perfect complimentary beers.

As the sun set upon downtown, VIP guests sampled exclusive beer cocktails from local celebrity mixologist Andrew Pollard and menu items created by celebrity chef Ben Vaughn’s new restaurant, Southern Kitchen. Adding to the atmosphere were beats created by Las Vegas’ very own Josh Royse and Brumby. A portion of the proceeds from the event went to the Goodie Two Shoes Foundation and Nevada Craft Brewers Association.

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