July 1, 1999 -- Las Vegas might not be the first place that comes to mind when the topic is beer, but the city in the desert has very quietly become a small but decent beer oasis over the past several years, first with the Holy Cow Casino, Cafe and Brewery, then with Gordon Biersch and now with the third edition of the Las Vegas International Beer Festival.

Visiting the Vegas fest, it is quite apparent that one is indeed in Las Vegas and not Denver, Portland or Montreal. Yes, there are good breweries and good beers present, but no, they do not number nearly as many as they do in the brewing heartlands of North America. Nonetheless, the fest did feature a few interesting, palate-stimulating finds, such as Arizona's Mudshark Brewing Company and their crisp, appetizing Pilot Rock Pilsner, a very well-structured beer with good character and a wonderfully dry finish.

Also present at the fest but more thoroughly enjoyed at their location on the Strip was Holy Cow, the first brewpub in Vegas and still probably the best beer bet in town. Christine and I visited with enough time to taste through their complete line-up and were impressed by brewer Dave Otto's chocolate and hazelnut Rebel Red (a sort of hybrid English brown/Irish red ale), heavily hoppy Amber Gambler Pale Ale (with a seriously grapefruity American hop character) and seasonal Steam Beer (nicely in style and a quite satisfying pint).

We also had the chance to dine one lunchtime at Gordon Biersch, found just off the Strip at the only-in-Las Vegas intersection of Flamingo and Paradise. As in all of the Biersch locations I have visited, the food was the highlight, with Christine thoroughly enjoying her simple-sounding but deliciously complicated Old Fashioned Chopped Salad and I delighting in my turkey sandwich with apple and blue cheese, accompanied by Biersch's not-quite-famous-but-should-be garlic fries. The beers were likewise good but not quite as memorable, with the always enjoyable Marzen scoring top marks with me for its lightly sweet and balanced body and spicy finish.

Other Vegas beer spots demonstrate fewer highlights than do Holy Cow and Gordon Biersch. The brewpub in the Monte Carlo Casino, for example, offered us brews ranging from highly questionable (the diacetyl-laden Las Vegas Lite) to moderately successful (the dry, nutty seasonal "German Lager Special," which was the only description we were able to get from the waitress), partnered them with poor, tomato paste-y pizzas and laid it all out to a booming disco beat. And about the best thing that I can say about the Ellis Island brewpub, housed in the casino of the same name located just off the Strip, is that we walked out with a few extra bucks in our pockets after playing the video poker machine while trying to down our beers.

Other LV brewpubs include generally well-regarded Triple Seven in the Main Street Station casino and Barley's, both of which are located downtown and both of which we explored at the beer fest rather than in person at their facilities. Of the two, Triple Seven seemed the most noteworthy, but neither impressed so much that we felt a separate trip was in order.

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