Great Basin Brewing Company started out as a dream for Tom Young. His love of homebrewing and the decline of the mining industry in the early nineties lead to that question of “Why not?” Why not put it all on the line when there is a chance to live a dream? Luckily for all of us, he did.

Tom faced many obstacles, including laws that prohibited beer production and a lack of banks unwilling to give a loan because they believed beer would not be popular. Today, Nevada’s oldest brewery is possible partly because Tom helped to get legislation passed that allowed the production of beer. Opening in 1993, Tom and his wife Bonda learned through many trials and tribulations how to run a restaurant and brewery. As the years passed, popularity grew and Great Basin became the local place to go for great beer, great food, and a great time.

To help with rising demand of great local craft beer, Great Basin opened the second location in Reno in July 2010. Opportunities allowed Great Basin to open the Taps & Tanks location in 2012 as a production facility and taproom. Great Basin is distributing several of our beers to Northern Nevada, Southern Nevada, Northern California, and looking forward to expanding even further. Twenty years later, it still feels like a dream that has come true over and over again.

Great Basin is proof that dreams can come true, especially with a great community following. We love the Reno-Tahoe area and are proud to represent the state of Nevada as the oldest and the most award-winning brewery, having won numerous medals at the prestigious Great American Beer Festival® and even more prestigious World Beer Cup®. The dream lives on…