Aces & Ales

Dogbrick

Ohio

4.22/5  rDev -2.3%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

(Visited 08/2011 3 days in a row for the 2nd annual Strong Beer fest): The bar is located on the east side of Vegas near Sam's Town on South Neill. There is a decent-sized private lot on the side and rear.

The inside is split-level with the wraparound bar on the lower portion, complete with the requisite inlaid video gambling games. Some breweriana on the walls and TVs all around. A sort of biker bar feel through and through.

Difficult to comment on the typical tap lineup as it changed daily during my visits for the festival. Over 20 taps in total. On my visit there were one-offs and specialty beers from Deschutes, Stone, The Bruery, Joseph James, Tenaya Creek, Mikkeller and many more. Over 50 bottled beers available too.

Service was consistently good on our visit, and because we spent hours there 3 days straight we got to know the bartenders pretty well (the wife winning money at Keno each day was fun too).

Food at Aces and Ales is pretty good. The sandwiches are solid and the sides we tried were all good.

Overall this place is one of the standouts in Vegas, and it will definitely be on the short list for future visits.

01-01-2012 23:35:07 | More by Dogbrick

Gavage

New Jersey

3.94/5  rDev -8.8%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$$

Decided to stop in here on around noon time on a Thursday. Place was very quite, only one patron there. It was very easy to find, but based on the feedback from the locals this isn't located in the best part of town.

The bar iteself is a weird shape and can seat about 20. There were beer lists of both draft and bottles. As I found out three of the beers I order were kicked, so the list was not really accurate. But the seelction was very good with offerings from Deschuttes, The Bruery, DFH, and some of the Vegas locals. The bottle list was very impressive despite some of the higher costs per bottle ranging from $15-$50 for some more of the one off beers like Abyss and Firestone Anniversary.

There is a large stage for live music, and plenty of beer related signs on the walls. Kind of a dive with a mix of upscale beers. And of course you can play video poker while drinking.

Service was prompt as I was one of two people there. The bartender seemed to know the beer selection.

This place definitely offers a nice beer selection, but it is off the beaten path so unless you have a car it will cost you. IMHO this place is good not great.

04-02-2011 20:10:38 | More by Gavage

BlackHaddock

United Kingdom (England)

4/5  rDev -7.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

Got here by using the free shuttle bus from Downtown (back of California Hotel) to Sams Town and walked the mile or so from there.

Late afternoon on a warm, sunny May day. Couldn't see a thing when we walked in, it didn't get much brighter when our eyes adjusted to the darkness. As you enter there is a room off to your left, don't stumble into there because it is just a space with tables and chairs in, you want the square shaped bar which is straight in front, lite by a few neon beer adverts and sports screens, it is down a couple of steps or a ramp.

Lindsay looked after us and anybody and everybody else, about eight max during our three beer and meal stay. Rock music filled the room, not over loud, just enough so you couldn't hold a conversation without raising your voice up a few decibel levels.

I started with a pint of Rogue 'Dead Guy Ale' which was delivered in a Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale glass. My wifes draught also came in the same branded glass as mine. My other two beers were just as good as the first, these coming from Joseph James and the Dogfish Head Brewery. Didn't take note of the wifes beers, but they tasted good too (I always check out her beer, just in case it is poison or something).

I ordered a basic burger and fries with everything, the wife a Garden Salad with Chicken, both were good, produced by an under worked (on our visit) cook.

Well worth the effort to get here (3 hour drive to London, 10 hour flight, half hour taxi ride, half hour shuttle bus and half hour walk).

It isn't cosy, nor over friendly, we didn't feel threatened or anything, it just seemed 'rough and ready' more than 'welcoming'. Lindsay was fine, worried about her young son taking some girl to the pictures and chatting to a couple of regulars who were drinking bottles of Lite something or other.

The draught beer selection however seemed very welcoming, the bottled choices challenging too, I'll revisit if I ever return to LV.

05-16-2010 02:02:31 | More by BlackHaddock

sholland119

Pennsylvania

4.4/5  rDev +1.9%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$$

Stopped in here on a recent trip to Vegas. Aces & Ales is definitely the best tap selection I have seen in (too) many trips to town.

The whole place is very dark, with an odd-shaped angular bar with seating for probably 25 people. Video poker machines cover the bar, though there were a couple of stools with a reasonable amount of real estate in front of them. I went mid-week, late afternoon so the place was pretty dead, with just the bartender, a guy playing video poker while smoking and drinking a Miller Lite, and me. I am sure it's a more fun spot later in the day.

Tap list was all high quality. At the time of my visit, most taps were still on from a Stone event the previous week. A bit of a bummer for me since Stone is pretty well distributed here. But I was able to grab a LaFolie on tap for the first time so this was still a winning stop.

The bartender could not have been nicer and she poured a beer well. Otherwise, she could hardly have been less competent. Inattentive, forgetful (she introduced herself and asked my name, which she promptly forgot-though I remembered hers), dropped off a food menu but did not ask if I wanted to order some food until *after* I requested my check. Oh, well. I'd still stop back next time in town, which will be in about four months...

UPDATE: As promised, I was able to stop in here again four months to the day. Still quiet but, hey, it was 7:30am. Having been thwarted by work responsibilities in my attempts to get here all week, I was able to squeeze in an hour visit before heading to the airport. Better luck in tap lists with Deschutes being featured. I was able to grab a Conflux, a Black Butte XXIII and a taste of The Stoic. Great service from both bartenders. This is a must stop for me now, though I hope to get a couple of years off from Vegas after many visits this year.

HV

06-21-2011 17:27:34 | More by sholland119

Beerandraiderfan

Nevada

4.36/5  rDev +0.9%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Roll into Aces & Ales, really like the stage setup, not enough rock n roll & craft beer events, too much of that granola hippy stuff associated with beer events. Roll up to the bar, what, a Sierra Nevada Snowed In Stout? Wow. They have a killer selection of stuff here that I prolly couldn't find at the brewery in Chico I'm already thinking. Started off with a Lagunitas Fusion 7 because I didn't want to start my night off going with something over 9% alcohol right off the bat.

Service was friendly, even the locals were friendly. Service got a little questionable when the chick started badmouthing sour beers as all being "gross," but its cool, I'm fine with personal opinions that aren't insulting to customers. Given that all the waitresses kind of have that junior high 'i'm more into metal/goth/emo etc. . . genre stuff wearing black vibe, its nice that you can distinguish them based on their opinion. Even the dudes working in the back/kitchen were cool too, one got me an extra bottle of the Mikkeller cognac brunch weasel after I loved the first and still had a ton of money on my video blackjack machine to figure out.

I drank 4 pints of Sculpin while I was here. I haven't known why, but Sculpin just hasn't seemed as good the last few years in the bottle. Well, it appears that may simply have been an age thing, as the Sculpin they had on tap got me reacquainted with why I loved that beer in the first place. Bursting with tropical hop flavor.

I love that this place is such a nice venue in terms of sound quality. The rock star owner dude from yesteryears must have really made the sound quality/acoustics of the building a big priority, because the sound from the 3 different bands that played was of great quality, even if the actual music genre (butt rock) isn't always my cup of tea.

Bottom line, I got wasted, had a ton of fun, great selection etc. . .

To me, Aces & Ales is hands down, the best spot for drinking in Las Vegas.

05-10-2012 17:16:42 | More by Beerandraiderfan

jdense

Oregon

4.16/5  rDev -3.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$

Visited with better half's brother 11.24.10.

Located on the first eastern end of Las Vegas near the Henderson frontier, Aces & Ales isn't the easiest place to get to from The Strip, but is well worth the trouble for the traveling BA who may have the pre-ordained idea that Lost Wages is a craft beer wasteland. It will only take one visit to be proved wrong.

The interior is dark and danky, there's a stage for music in a corner, several tables outside a U-shaped 15-20 seat bar with a number of flat-screen TVs for watching sports. The owner and head beer guy were very friendly, though the lady bartender seemed distracted, my buddy had a hard time getting her attention to get another beer, then when he asked for a beer once she finished what she was doing, she snapped "I can multitask" which apparently meant she could chew gum and pour a beer at the same time. Her demeanor aside, the rest of the staff was quite helpful and willing to accommodate us on our craft beer sojourn.

We were fortunate to pull into town the same day as they were hosting a mini-OC fest, Bruery (Rugbrod and Autumn Maple) several beers from Tustin and Newport and several other small Orange County beers (Noble Ale Works) . While they had the usual suspects Widmer Hefe and Deschutes Mirror Pond, there were a number of other exciting taps, Jubel 2010, Rogue Double Chocolate Stout, all three of the Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary beers, Kellerweis, a Hop** DIPA and Bigfoot. The star of the show was the 2008 Stone Bourbon Barrel Russian Imperial Stout, harder than hell to find and well worth the effort. I counted 21 beers on tap, and in talking with the beerheads in charge they had a significant amount of bottles for sale with bottles of Coton available for first time in Las Vegas ($30).

I didn't see *anyone* eating during our visit, but to be honest I wasn't there for the food. IMO, this isn't a place that caters to someone just out looking for a beer. It's location, fairly far off the Strip means this a place that generally caters to local beer aficionados along with traveling BAs. I did try and engage in a bit of conversation about making the tap list more available, either via their My Space page (which hadn't been updated in some time) or Facebook or Twitter, they didn't seem too interested, instead were using an antiquated email list which doesn't cater to traveling beer geeks. That social media foipa aside, I was more than pleasantly surprised by the quality of the taps, and can only hope I can get back one more time while I am in town. Highly recommended.

11-25-2010 20:57:29 | More by jdense

VegasBill

Nevada

4.18/5  rDev -3.2%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | $$

This is my first visit to Aces&Ales. The atmosphere is typical Vegas beer bar, nothing special. I say Vegas beer bar because of the bar top video games.
The service was outstanding. Everyone was very friendly, had a great knowledge of the beer and as in my case I tried three beers that I had never had before and I was given a sample each time.
The beer selection is great, many different offerings that were special for Vegas except the Frog.I tried the Goose Island Matilda, it pours with no head but the bartender assured me this is normal, this is not really something I would try again, I am not a big Belgian Ale drinker but still just not an impressive beer. Next was a Roque John John Juniper, the many different flavors in this beer made me want to order a second just to try to identify them all, but I decided to move on.Finally I had a Deschutes Hop Henge, while Deschutes is easy to find in the West this one is not. Of course being a hop head it was great.
So if anyone wants some great craft beer in Vegas this is the spot.

08-15-2010 20:06:37 | More by VegasBill

MarcatGSB

Michigan

4.68/5  rDev +8.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | food: 4 | $$

I really enjoyed my afternoon at Aces and Ales. One of a kind place, especially after enjoying the fine beer selection on the Strip, if you know what I mean.

They excel in their tap selections, as they focus on high alcohol beers, you won't find most other places. I got to try my first DFH Sah-Tea on tap and was very impressed. After sitting for a while at the bar, the owners came over and talked with Emily and I for a while. After a brief conversation, one of them told us that he was from Cedar Rapids, and began discussing our love for Mid-West beers, Founders mostly.

From the looks of things, they do quite a few special events, including tap take overs with Stone, and other semi-local and local brewers. They had alot of limited release beers from Stone, Rogue, DFH and others in bottles, and wish I could go back now to pick some of them up. Definitely the best beer bar in Las Vegas. I would recommend to anyone.

02-21-2011 02:14:15 | More by MarcatGSB

Domingo

Colorado

2.4/5  rDev -44.4%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 1 | selection: 2 | $$

Lots of talk about this place, so I figured I'd give it a shot.
Lots of beer signs and posters outside and in the entrance. Cool so far. Pool tables and TV's in a small room to the left upon entering. The main room has a large wooden bar in the center (with poker machines built in), a few scattered tables, some pool tables, and a chalkboard with taps. Beer posters are on the walls and I can clearly see a fair number of decent bottles there for the display.
I grabbed a table...and waited...and waited...and waited. I finally flagged a waitress and asked for the beer menu. She seemed nice at first and found one hiding somewhere in the back. She pointed out the draft list as well. It was mentioned that some of the bottled items weren't available due to a pending event in the coming week. Fair enough - no big deal.
The bottled list was pretty nice. Lots of items from Stone, DFH, the Bruery, as well as some Belgian and German imports. The tap list wasn't bad, too. Nothing amazing, but pretty good.
After making our decisions, I waited for another 10 minutes and again had to flag her down from talking to some other patrons. I'm all for keeping things friendly but c'mon. We weren't alone - other people were having to track her down as well...both at the bar and at tables.
After ordering I was informed that the items we wanted weren't available...and apparently haven't been for quite some time. In fact, almost nothing on the menu was available and 3 of the 10 or so drafts were also gone. They didn't have anything less than 6% ABV anywhere...and after copping attitude with us after placing 4 orders for items that they apparently might *never* have had, we just got 3 'Lil Sumpin Sumpin's and got out of there. It's probably worth mentioning that there were a whole host of dirty dishes at various tables and bar seats that were there when we arrived and still weren't cleared 1/2 hour later when we left. Service was a joke and the menu made the Falling Rock's seem up to the minute accurate. I didn't stick around long enough to eat, and the only signs I had of the food were dirty plates scattered around. Luckily my friend from the area was able to drive us elsewhere. The only real upside is that the prices on the menu appeared to be good/low in general. Of course that doesn't matter much when nothing on the menu is available and you can't find anyone to order from.
Not going back here and I don't recommend it...local or not.

01-16-2011 03:14:30 | More by Domingo

Radome

Spain

4.05/5  rDev -6.3%
vibe: 1 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4 | food: 3.5 | $$

I visited on 9 Aug 2010 while in Vegas for business.

This place had the ambiance of a college dive or maybe a biker bar, but it was obviously focused on beer, not fancy amenities. A large stage dominated the bar area, but was unoccupied the night I was there. The atmosphere itseld was not poor enough to rate a "1.0", but the roaches I saw dragged it down to that. More on that below.

That night they had 20 beers listed on tap with lots of rare and unusual ones in bottles. Bartender apologized for poor tap selection, but they were in the process of freeing up taps in prep for their Strong Beer Fest this weekend. Had several on tap from Deschutes, Rogue, Widmer, Firestone Walker, Lagunitas. Also had bottles like Westmalle, Rochefort, Jolly Pumpkin.

Strong Beer Fest on 13-15 August 2010 will have 60+ from Stone, DFH, Moylan's, The Bruery, Rogue, etc. I'm very sorry I'll miss it.

Bartender and owner were very knowledgeable and enthusiastic. They gave me several samples for free as we discussed various beers. The majority of clients seemed to be beer buffs.

The only mark-down I gave them was in atmosphere because of the obvious bug problem they have. I saw several roaches running around underfoot in the dining area while I was there. It was disappointing because they were so impressive in the beer department. I would gladly give them an A+ based on beer considerations after they solve the bug problem.

08-14-2010 04:59:18 | More by Radome