David and Wyndee Forrest didn’t particularly care for beer up until several years ago. As with many travelers, it took an encounter with foreign brews to realize that there was a wider spectrum than the yellow, fizzy beers prevalent in the U.S. In May of 2004, they took a trip to Amsterdam and discovered a love for flavorful beer.
That fateful encounter sparked David’s homebrewing hobby which quickly turned into a passion. He went on to win Sierra Nevada’s first “Tell Us Why You Deserve to go to Beer Camp” contest. It didn’t take long before his beers were winning awards, and he realized he could reach more people by setting up his own brewery.
After running a successful Kickstarter campaign for CraftHaus that exceeded David and Wyndee’s $20,000 goal by $5,000, they ran into a roadblock. You see, they live in Henderson, Nevada, a suburb of Las Vegas. Nevada hasn’t been a hot bed for craft beer—but it does have numerous bars—all of which offer video poker, because, well it’s Vegas. Having video poker is a given for bar owners because it’s easy money.
But the couple didn’t want gaming in their taproom. “It’s a different experience and brings in a different crowd,” said David. “We wanted a place where you could come and have a conversation and focus on the beer.”
Unfortunately at that time, Henderson laws didn’t have a license for a non-gaming drinking establishment. The Forrests were told that they didn’t have to provide gaming, but they would still have to pay the $60,000 fee for a gaming establishment.
Becoming Lobbyists
They put a halt to their brewery plans for a year and became licensed lobbyists. They set to work educating the city council by comparing their business model to that of wineries in the area offering tastings. Eventually the board instituted new licensing that didn’t require CraftHaus to have video poker.
In January 2014, they succeeded in creating a provision that allowed for a brewpub. The new designation waived the game license, creating a $10,000 initiation fee instead of the previous $60,000. They also had to update the zoning for their location as it was not zoned for the taproom or on premise consumption. With the help of their property managers, they amended the zoning to allow the tasting room.
Hiring Brewers
With the biggest hurdle cleared, they could now focus on making beer. Through chance they found two Australian brewers who were finishing up a one-year brewing road trip. After securing work visas for Steph Cope and Steve Brockman, they were able to take David’s homebrew recipes and scale them up for CraftHaus’ 10bbl barrel system.
They currently offer two year-round beers, a seasonal IPA series and a range of specialty brews. The first year-round beer, Evocation, is a bright, lemon and peppery saison that they often riff on with one-off cask variations including rooibos, elderberry and nutmeg.
For the hot Las Vegas summers they offer Resinate IPA, a beer that is clean and light enough to keep you in good spirits while trying to stay cool. They’ve recently released a hefty (9.8 percent) Comrade Russian Imperial Stout aged in whiskey barrels from their neighbors at the Las Vegas Distillery.
On a given night you are likely to find David, Wyndee, Steph or Steve working the bar in their eclectic tasting room. The influence of their overseas inspiration is readily apparent from the Opa Dutch bike hanging from the ceiling to the wall of Glockenspiel-inspired clocks. Each clock is set to the time zone of each member’s hometown.
Sometimes all it takes is a trip around the world to find something you never knew you were looking for.
Brian Devine is a full-time traveler who seeks out beer stories all over the country via a Class C RV. Using craft beer as his compass he has visited over 400 breweries in 40 states and seven countries on three continents. He is a freelance designer/illustrator who also writes about his travels at The Roaming Pint and founded the Society of Beer Travelers.
CraftBeer.com is fully dedicated to small and independent U.S. breweries. We are published by the Brewers Association, the not-for-profit trade group dedicated to promoting and protecting America’s small and independent craft brewers. Stories and opinions shared on CraftBeer.com do not imply endorsement by or positions taken by the Brewers Association or its members.
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