Las Vegas Weekly

Real men (and women) drink fruity beers

Russell Gardner (foreground) is a brewmaster who owns the Backyard Brewing Co., soon to be providing Las Vegans with his delicious brews like the popular Raspberry Tart.

Photo: Allison Duck

Keg stands and Natural Ice may satisfy college boozers, but as their budgets and palates change, many beer drinkers progress to more complex and flavorful brews: craft beers.

Craft brewers are smaller, independent brewmasters who churn out less than 2 million barrels annually. This past weekend, Montelago Village at Lake Las Vegas hosted the Buckbean Brewing Company’s Craft Beer Festival to benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

Allison Duck

The group representing Pyramid Breweries showed off their popular Apricot Ale, a huge hit at the Montelago Village Craft Beer Festival.

Of the 18 breweries participating, Russell Gardner’s Backyard Brewing Company made one of the biggest splashes. Gardner is a brewmaster and owner of a new restaurant and brewpub, which will be opening soon in Las Vegas. He is also a member of SNAFU, the Southern Nevada Ale Fermenters Union. Despite its comical acronym, the regional organization is no joke. SNAFU helps home brewers with all their bathtub brewing supplies and never minds raising a glass to support local hop heads.

“This is a brewing club,” Gardner says, “but we’re even better at drinking it!”

Though some of SNAFU’s members really are making ales in their basements, others like Gardner aspire to take their in-home projects to the next level. Gardner hopes his beers like the Raspberry Tart Sour Ale and The Workday Wit, his two flagship beverages, will help put the Backyard Brewing Company on the map.

The Raspberry Tart Sour Ale is a fruity concoction that went over well with the crowd. As the stigma of fruity beers has dissipated with craft brewing’s growing popularity, men are no longer loathe to toast with a pint of Gardner’s Raspberry Tart or Pyramid Breweries’ popular Apricot Ale. After all, this is about taste, and these beers make getting soused scrumptious.

Weston Barkley, another SNAFU member who shared a booth with Gardner, is waiting for the day when he can follow his entrepreneurial dreams like his fellow club members. In the mean time, Barkley is making small home-brewed batches of the beers he has become known for – his Coffee Sweet Stout and Peanut Butter Porter. When asked how he came up with the idea to blend Jif with hops and barley, he said, “I’ve always been a fan of peanut butter sandwiches, so I figured I could make it work.”

Allison Duck

The brewing duo from The Auld Dubliner at Montelago Village at Lake Las Vegas.

Plus, Barkley needed something to drink. “When I turned 21, there wasn’t really any alcohol I wanted to drink. So I went to the Internet and found SNAFU.” After getting started with some home brewing supplies he purchased online, Barkley began shopping at the Vegas Home Brew store, the only one of its kind in town.

“You can get started for around $100,” Barkley said, “about $90 in equipment and $15 in actual supplies.” Before you know it, you’ll have your own beer pairing dinner’s next superstar.