Keys to a Quality Beer Bar
New and expanding taprooms and bottle shops that are hidden neighborhood gems. When I walk into a bar with 20-plus taps, my beer quality radar sounds, often clouding my excitement about the variety. How long have these kegs been on? When do these lines get cleaned? I’ve had too many stale or dirty beers than […]
Moving Toward Sustainability
Business changes make space for successful beer bars and breweries. Now’s not the first time in history that Reno-Tahoe has enjoyed a booming beer scene (see: Reno Brewing Co., circa 1903), but the recent turnovers, mergers, and business pivots may make this the most sustainable era so far for Reno-Tahoe beer. Yes, local breweries have […]
Cheers to More Beers
A variety of new breweries opens in Reno-Tahoe. Beer is the ultimate affordable luxury, the field leveler. No matter who you are, if you like beer, you’re a beer drinker. And it’s a great time to be one in the Reno-Tahoe area. Whether you’re in the Tahoe forest, the Great Basin, or somewhere in the […]
Hoppy Place
Truckee’s Donner Creek Brewing is a communal space with hot cheese and cold beer. “Hey, Emma, have you met so-and-so?” is how Greg Speicher often introduces me to other locals at his redwood slab bar before cracking open a fun beer for all of us to taste. Welcome to Speicher’s living room, aka Donner Creek […]
Sip, Stamp, Win
Craft beverage passport celebrates Nevada producers. “Way out in the land of the setting sun,” Nevada’s official state song goes, “… home means Nevada to me.” A phrase from that opening line became the name of a beer that kicked off the state’s inaugural craft beverage passport program established by Made in Nevada and the […]
Beer Professional
Why I became a certified cicerone. I’m the kind of person who wakes up before dawn for a long day of sticking my nose into small, plastic cups in a warehouse full of Nevada homebrewers. In other words, I’m passionate about beer. My journey began with the bright bouquet of my hometown’s Lagunitas IPA. I […]
Spirited beginnings
Alchemy connects Truckee’s railroad history to a roaring future. Old Trestle Distillery began as a solution to a problem — one that a group of Truckee friends recognized back in 2012: The world’s best whiskey had yet to be created. So the group, affiliated with Truckee Craft Ventures alongside Drunken Monkey Sushi and FiftyFifty Brewing […]
Busiest chef in town
Renown’s kitchen staff was stretched thin during the pandemic. In March 2020, the COVID-19 virus threatened to overwhelm hospitals across the nation. Justin Bart, executive chef at Renown Health in Reno, helped put a thorough emergency plan together to keep patients and health care workers fed. Part of that plan included partnering with local company […]
Made in NV – Shop Local
Made in Nevada launches e-commerce website. Made in Nevada combines entrepreneurship, small business, and Nevada into one solidified, economy-boosting movement. According to associate project coordinator Bradford Scribner, it is “The Silver State’s longest-running, statewide, small-business marketing cooperative and gains all its power from the incredible Battle Born businesses that call this state home.” An […]
Sorghum Beer
Will work for gluten-free beer Researchers’ attention turns to sorghum for brewing. Bread, cereal, spaghetti, snack bars. What do these food items have in common? Grain, which typically constitutes a nightmare for gluten-sensitive eaters. Thankfully, modern food scientists have discovered many gluten-free substitutes that commonly have a base of sorghum, a naturally gluten-free variety of […]