The name zombies may conjure up images of the undead; in the case of the Beer Zombies, the name references founder Chris Jacobs’ background in art, as his company’s logo over time merged into an image of a zombie’s face with a beard in the shape of a hop cone.
A self-described beer geek, Jacobs grew up near Chico, Calif., home to the craft brewing pioneer Sierra Nevada. After moving to Las Vegas in 1995 and overseeing various craft beer programs, he shifted gears to go all in on creating his own brand that now encompasses a contract brew, craft beer bottle shops in Las Vegas and Salt Lake City, a future brewery in the works, and an annual beer festival (temporarily put on hold due to COVID-19).
His bottle shops sell beers exclusively from breweries that are 100 percent independent. A recent visit to the Warm Springs/Durango store found several of the 21 taps and 100-plus cans representing Nevada-brewed beers from Able Baker, Astronomy, Lead Dog and Revision; and gems from craft breweries such as Evil Twin. A new upcoming location in Downtown Summerlin will differ from the other two Vegas SkinnyFats collaborations by offering an eclectic menu by chef Marc Marrone, pairing foods that go well with beer (think pizza, tacos and bao buns).
The initial beerfest in 2017 drew 200 attendees, and grew exponentially to attract 3,500 in its last rendition in 2020. Unlike most other fests, the beers are selected and paid for by Jacobs, and represent beers he deems worthy of being imbibed by his paying customers. He hopes to resurrect the fest by the end of 2021.
The monthly Beer Zombies releases, available in 18 states and four countries, are contract brewed by California-based Mason Ale Works, but in early 2022 Jacobs plans to open his own 15-bbl brewery next to his Dean Martin Drive location. The future of Beer Zombies looks quite bright. He sums it up like this: “I started to drink good beers with good people, and that’s how I make my decisions on what I want to do with Beer Zombies.”
8680 W. Warm Springs Road, Ste. 170, 702.979.9797; 6261 Dean Martin Drive, 702.577.3232
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