Great Basin Brewing Co. is a brewery headquartered in Sparks, Nevada. It is Nevada's largest and oldest currently operating brewery - though not the state's longest operated. Great Basin beers are available as draught beer and in bottles at over 400 locations in Northern Nevada and the surrounding regions, including Aces Ballpark. They also serve beer at many special events, such as the Best in the West Nugget Rib Cook-off and The Great Reno Balloon Race. Growlers and kegs may be purchased or filled at any of the company's tap rooms.
The company was established in 1993 after Nevada brewers, including company founders Tom Young and Eric McLary, successfully lobbied the Nevada Legislature to allow for brewpubs in the state. The original brewery and restaurant is on Victorian Square in Sparks. Their beers were winning national awards as soon as the next year. The Reno location was opened in 2010 with the expectation that its added capacity would satisfy demand for the next five years. Great Basin began regular bottling operations in 2011 (holiday releases had previously been available for several years, but on the scale of a few hundred bottles a year) and currently bottles three of their flagship brews. As demand increased further, a third facility was established when Great Basin moved into the warehouse formerly occupied by the defunct Buckbean Brewery. Along with the facility, they also acquired Buckbean's equipment, which was modified to meet Great Basin's needs. Taps & Tanks opened to the public at this location in 2012, and a high speed bottling line was installed there the next year - providing capacity to bottle seasonal beers. In 2014, just one year later, Great Basin bottled their millionth beer. Great Basin saw increases in business every year during its first twenty years in operation. Taps & Tanks no longer serves to the public due to new regulations on bars, but beer is still brewed and bottled there.
Great Basin brews several different beer styles and maintains ten to fourteen beers on tap. Many of their brews are seasonal or otherwise available for a limited time. Cask conditioned, barrel aged and nitrogenated beers are available by the glass on location.
These beers are available year round.
Ichthyosaur IPA - or simply Icky, an American-style India Pale Ale made with CTZ and Cascade hops the company's first 'Brewer's Special' upon opening, named after the state fossil (available in bottle and cans)Nevada Gold - Kölsch lager made with 2-row barley and wheat malts, and noble Saaz hopsOutlaw Milk Stout - an oatmeal stout with lactose (available in bottles and cans)Wheeler Peak Wheat - hefeweizen-style wheat beerWild Horse Ale - altbier-style amber ale brewed with five malts (available in bottles)404 Scytale - imperial stout aged in whiskey barrels for 404 days (available in bottles)Balloon Brew - brewed to benefit the Great Reno Balloon RaceBelgian Lavender - a Belgian-style ale flavored with locally-grown Royal Velvet lavenderBitchin' Berry - fruit beer made with raspberries (available in bottles)Bitter Recession - an English-style bitterBlack Eye PA - an American black-aleBuster No. 4 - strong IPA brewed to benefit the ALS Therapy Development InstituteCowboy Coffee Stout - a coffee-flavored stoutDawn Patrol - crystal pale brewed to benefit the Great Reno Balloon Race (available in bottles)Fat Monk Belgian Style Dubbel - a Trappist-style dubbelGone to Helles - a helles, or German-style pale lagerHarvest Ale - released in fall and brewed with locally sourced piñon pine nuts, juniper berry, and sageHopasaur - the same recipe as Icky, but using fresh instead of dried hopsHop Head Ale - a heavily hopped strong ale measured at 100 IBUsJackpot Porter - formerly a flagship, Porter in the English styleKatie’s Cream Ale - a cream aleKristall Weizen - a filtered version of Wheeler Peak WheatMayan Maybe - brewed with vanilla, honey, chocolate, corn, and chile peppers, released in 2012 to celebrate the Mayan doomsday prophecy, rereleased subsequent years as Mayan Maybe Not (available in bottles)Mollie’s Irish Stout - Irish-style dry stoutMoment Deathwish - a collaboration with Moment Skis, an American Pale AleMunich Kellerbier - an unfiltered lager, thus the designation kellerbierNevada Museum Of Art 80th Anniversary Egyptian Ale - brewed to commemorate the Egyptian Exhibit at the Nevada Museum of Art, this was a recreation of a New Kingdom-style beer made with emmer and no hopsOktoberfest - usually brewed around October for the celebration of the same name, made with German barley and noble hopsPogonip Pilsner - pilsner brewed with noble hopsPreservation Ale - organic ale brewed to benefit the Nevada Land ConservancyRare Bear Cream Style Ale - a cream ale dedicated to the aircraft of the same nameRed Eye PA - hoppy red aleRed Nose Holiday Wassail - not a true wassail, but a Christmas beer brewed with cinnamon, orange peel, cloves, vanilla and Nevada honey (bottled near Christmas as a stocking stuffer)Risky Biscuit Barley Wine - a barley wine, sold in smaller glasses and unavailable for growler fillsRoad Cone Delirium - brewed to celebrate the opening of the Reno location, the surrounding area was experiencing heavy road maintenance at this timeRock Mai Bock - maibock, or a helles brewed to bock strengthRussian Imperial Stout - a heavy Imperial stout with seven malts at 9% abvSmoke Jumper - a brown ale with smoked maltsTectonic Event Imperial IPA - a strong India Pale Ale brewed to 100 IBUs (bottled)Truckee River Red - an organic red ale named after the brewery's water source, the Truckee RiverWhite Eye PA - a Belgian-style India pale ale.(available in bottles)Wicked Icky - a stronger version of IckyAs a non-alcoholic or child-friendly alternative, Great Basin also brews their own root beer, which is available only on premises.
Great Basin is renowned for integrating their beers into the menu items available from their kitchens and offers beer braised pork, homemade beer cheese, beer batter fish and chips, chocolate brownies baked with porter, and many other dishes. They also reuse spent barley left over from mashing along with brewer's yeast in artisan bread. As a result of these and similar initiatives, 95% of Great Basin's waste output is reduced.
Awards and Recognitions
Great Basin's brews have garnered several awards at many national and international beer competitions.
