Beer Crawl draws people to downtown shops

You might say the Beer Crawl, put on Saturday by the Carson City Downtown Association, provides a little something for everybody.

"What I like about it is we get to come into all the shops and get to know the downtown area a little bit," said Mary Stires, who was tasting beer with her husband

Bill. Part-time Minden residents, the Stires had participated in the monthly wine walks in the past, but this was a first for the beer version.

"We were just in White Cat antiques, and we had never been there before," Bill said.

At Cherokee Scents candle shop, they had a choice of beverage between Black Butte Porter, Landshark Lager and hot chocolate.

"The wine walk has a life of its own now," said store owner Jolene Miley. "The beer crawl only started in May, and it's a little slower to pick up. I don't know if it's because it's called the beer crawl, but Reno's doing it, so we must be doing something right, because they copied us."

Together, the two monthly events have brought more business to downtown Carson.

"If it weren't for the wine walk and beer crawl, we wouldn't be open," Miley said.

At the Horseshoe Club, they had Blue Moon Ale to go along with Mexican munchies from Juan's Kitchen, which is in the process of relocating from Mo & Sluggo's Bar. Juan's salsa drew rave reviews from several beer crawlers.

Down at the Firkin & Fox pub, the homemade potato chips and sweet potato fries were the appetizer of note, along with the New Belgium 2 Below Ale.

"It's great," said Sherry, a resident of South Lake Tahoe who didn't give her last name.

She was doing the beer crawl for the first time. "It just needs to be expanded, with more places and more beers."

- Contact reporter Kirk Caraway at kcaraway@nevadaappeal.com or 775-881-1261.