LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A Las Vegas man is now the holder of a prestigious award in craft brewing.
Chris Jacobs owns Beer Zombies and hopes to make Las Vegas more of a beer destination.
Beer Zombies was founded in 2013. At that time, it was nothing more than a social media page.
“Now we have five brick-and-mortar shops across Vegas, Salt Lake City and Dallas,” said Jacobs, the owner and founder of Beer Zombies. “And now we’re pumping out some beers, too.”
And after honing his craft, his branding, marketing and art, a worldwide panel of judges has named him Global Industry Person of the Year.
“It was something a lot more special to me because it was an award that was awarded by peers,” he said. “So, it was everybody inside the craft beer community that voted on who deserved this award and they decided that that was me, which was pretty amazing.”
His can art is one of the major reasons he won the honor. And why he’s made it through the pandemic, when Beer Zombies switched to a grab-and-go pick up approach.
“We kind of shifted over to that model—everyone coming in and buying beers they were drinking at home, and we wanted to make sure we were putting that can art right in front and letting people see that,” said Jacobs.
The hope is for this award to shine a positive light on Las Vegas and inch it closer to becoming a craft-brew destination.
“And there’s no reason with two-million people here that we shouldn’t be in that conversation, as well, so we’re just doing the best we can to be a part of that.”
He says there are a lot of other great taphouses out there--and maybe this win will encourage more people to try them out and help his city grow.
“It’s not just for me, it’s for Las Vegas. The fact that we are trying to build a community here and trying to rise everybody at the same time.”
In the past, he’s been named Nevada’s Craft Beer Ambassador of the Year.
You can find Beer Zombies at three locations in Las Vegas: on 8680 West Warm Springs Road, STE 170, on 6262 Dean Martin Drive and in Downtown Summerlin on 2010 Festival Plaza Drive, STE 140.
