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Reno, NV. Lots of Breweries. Lots of beer. Lots of good food. Day 2.
Day 2 finds us at Great Basin Brewery, located at 846 Victorian Ave. The entire area is packed with food joints so Great Basin Brewery must have something special to attract attention.
It doesn't.
Now usually I can find a couple of great things to say about a place, so I will here too. There's free parking in the back in a garage, the beer is served cold and not over/under carbonated, and the lighting is great.
The food, on the other hand...
I had one of the more expensive items on the menu- a $17, 14oz (hah) "pepper encrusted rib eye". It was more along the lines of pepper dusted, and while I was very happy that it was cooked to perfection it quickly became a game of 'find the steak in the fat'. I don't get rib eye's from the supermarket with that much fat. This one was less than 3/4" thick- looking like it had been pounded to achieve that feat. The potatoes were excellent though.
My coworker had chicken shishkabobs. He remarked on their lack of ... ingenuity... when devising them. Chicken, green pepper, chicken, onion, repeat. Thats it. In a part of the country where practically EVERYTHING has colour, you can't do better than that? Can't even mix in some yellow/red peppers? How's about some mushrooms? Or onions bigger than 3 layers thick, sadly clinging to the chicken in a desperate attempt to flavour them.
Lastly, since this is a brewery, I should mention the beer. The beer was fairly good, if you didn't mind waiting over 25 minutes for the first waitress to come up to order one. Then to subsequently have to ARGUE with said waitress over the cost of a sampler pack (they don't do samplers, you can 'buy' 12 samplers for $12!!!!). When said samplers arrive you have to rely on the obviously busy waitress's memory to hope you get the right ones- they don't even provide a tearaway sheet for notes. I thought Silver Peak's was expensive from the night before- boy was I wrong.
The Icky (named after a fossil) was a strongly hoppy beer with an excellent finish- if you love cascade. There seemed to be quite a bit of that one particular hop in there with no other flavours- and if there were other hops they were simply overwhelmed. A score of 3/7/7
The Vienna Lager (At least thats what I think she brought me) was quite smoky and Delicious- it gets a 2/7/8 Score- very pleasant.
The Truckee Red had an excellently clean finish- could have used a bit more floral hops- and the malt wasn't overpowering at all. Score 2/8/7
Lastly she delivered a 'Boont Amber' guest beer from ?Anderson Valley?. Note the question marks and the quotes- I have no idea what I really was given and even though I asked her to repeat it 3x I still don't know. Score of 2/6/8
Overall the price for the meal was cheap but so was everything else. Good outdoor seating, lots of space, but just skip it unless you're coming in on "Tightwad" Tuesdays where beer is 2.50$ a pint.
On an aside, I overheard a conversation about another brewery south of town called "BJ's". Think I'm going to hit that in the next two days before I leave.
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Jason Hirsch,
Rochester, NY
(07/15/2008) |
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Had the sampler (11 beers today) All were pretty good, except the wheat beer with cloves... The guy next to me said he really likes the Weizen there so it's probably just me who doesn't want cloves in his beer!
Any way, the Ichy really is good and the Porter was quite delicious. Wait staff was attentive as well as attractive.
Worth a stop.
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Bob,
Seattle, WA
(10/23/2007) |
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Awesome!
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Best microbrewery in Sparks, NV and tied for best microbrewery/brewpub in the reno/sparks, nv area. Best IPA I've ever had! Gimme an ICKY! They have an awesome location on Victorian Square Ave every Thursday late afternoon (until 9 pm) during the summer they have a beer tent along with a live band. This night rivals munch and music in Bend, OR with Deschutes Brewery.
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todd domini,
Reno, NV
(07/20/2007) |
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Their beer and food is excellent. They have free bumper sticker and other fun free stuff. It is a family friendly environment, so go ahead and bring your kids!
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Reno, NV
(06/17/2007) |
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Awesome!
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Nice selection of brews but several that are listed on the menu were not available. Both the Octoberfest and the Jackpot Porter were acceptable. Nice selection of food items. Overall, a great pub and well worth a visit.
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JRFaris,
Menlo Park, CA
(10/07/2006) |
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Thank goodness this great brewery was just a few blocks from my hotel. I thoroughly enjoyed the brews I tried, especially the Chilibeso jalapeno beer. It is a LOT better than it sounds. Crisp beer with a nice zing at the end. The "Icky" was very good and true to IPA form. Anyone visiting Reno should stop by. A great place to drink and eat.
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Dennis,
Tucson, AZ
(08/05/2006) |
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A very comfortable place to enjoy a few beers. Just a short rental car ride from the Reno airport, and very easy to find. All beers are expertly brewed and true to style. Started with the Pinnacle Pale Ale which was great, and then enjoyed an "Icky" IPA, because you must. A great IPA that all hop heads will enjoy. Well worth a stop.
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Scott P,
Tucson, AZ
(07/29/2006) |
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Great
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ZAM,
Lakewood, CO
(07/08/2006) |
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Awesome!
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Almost everything is great about this place. I just wish it were closer to downtown. They always have a great selection. The chili beer is very unique.
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Glenn,
Bakersfield, CA
(02/28/2006) |
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Awesome!
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Gold stars! Went twice in one weekend, it was that good! All the beers were awesome and that's saying a lot since we don't usually like some of the beer types we tried. We started with a sampler tray, of 7 or so. My wife and I couldn't chose a favorite. I recommend everyone to try a sampler tray before chosing a pint. See what you think for yourself! The service and food quality also shined.
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Kenneth N,
Flagstaff, AZ
(12/02/2005) |
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Great selection. Service was really good. Would have like to have spent a little more time but we were in a hurry that day.
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Bob Morseburg,
Seattle, WA
(10/08/2005) |
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Great
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When visiting family in Sparks, our trip isn't complete without spending some time at the Great Basin. We love the food, beer, and atmosphere.
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Ed & Linda Donovan,
LeRoy, IL
(06/29/2005) |
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Located across the street from the Nugget, this brewpub serves OK beer - the IPA somewhat unexciting, although the porter seemed somewhat palatable. Much of this could have been the temperature. The waitress was indifferent, putting my friend & I in a dark corner in front of the door. I guess she noticed my own indifference by the fact that she gave us the tab without even asking if we wanted anything else. The food was enjoyable - although bruschetta should be more than toasted french bread with a dollop of canned tomatoes. I would go around the corner and get some reliable Sierra Nevada...
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Jerry Boesen,
Gaithersburg, MD
(06/20/2005) |
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I have been to Great Basin several times for lunch, the most recent being Sunday 6/12/05. It seems the service has always been mediocre, but this last time was the worst. The three of us sat in the dining room for an easy 10 minutes without being asked what we'd like to drink. I finally had to ask a server to come to our table! This after having to argue with the manager about not wanting to sit near the bar (smokers- yechh!). The food was pretty good, as usual, but I have to say the Ichy IPA was rather lackluster. With several other really good brewpubs close by (namely Silver Peak)I won't spending any dollars at Great Basin soon.
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Matt Peterson,
Concord, CA
(06/16/2005) |
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Great ABasin is a MUST Stop if you are in the Reno/Sparks area. The Icky, Red and their Barley Wine are most personal favorties. Food however can be hit and miss but hey it is a brewery and we are really there for the Beer. Check out GB you will be happy you did.
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michael,
port orchard, WA
(02/27/2005) |
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recently visited great basin. we thought the beer was great with a great selection. we did not have any food but the menu looked great. definitely stop in.
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paul wyak,
binghamton, NY
(02/23/2005) |
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I like a little more "brewpub" atmosphere. This place felt like a bar that serves "Natty Light". Fortunately, they don't serve "Natty" and have really good beer. Really can't say to much great or bad about the place - kind of "Ho-hum". However, if you want good beer, go here! To the brewery - I love the Icky! Great brew.... great name!
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Chad The Brewery Guy,
Houston, TX
(02/01/2005) |
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Another local favorite. A terrific drink is the Nevada Native Icky. Pair the Icky with fish and chips, and it's a dining delight. Can't say I've ever had a bad meal here...well, had one "oops" but I can't hold it against them, just don't think I'll ever eat their fried pickles again. Also, since the restaurant expanded, it is nice to have a little more space and to not feel like your seated in an awkward extension.
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Reno, NV
(12/03/2004) |
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Great
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Awesome!
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We were just walking by one night and found this place. We enjoyed the band playing outside, great food and a couple cool ones.. Nice evening..
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lodi, CA
(08/31/2004) |
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Great
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Awesome!
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When in the Reno area we stay at the Nugget in Sparks just to be close to this place. Great Beer and Food. Service outstanding..
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Walnut Creek, CA
(08/09/2004) |
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Lousy
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I don't know what everyone is talking about. I was very disappointed with my visit. After reading about the awards and how great this place is suppose to be, I must be missing something. The Icky IPA didn't even resemble an IPA. So I tried several of the other beers, very thin and stripped down. About the awards. I noticed all the awards were from about 1994 - 2000. Nothing since. So we asked the waitress if the brewmaster left. She said he used to be the main brewer, but turned that over to someone else, whick probably explains why the beer is not very award worthy now. We ordered the fish and chips. Big mistake. If these people want to see how to make fish and chips, travel to WI/MN and attend a Friday night fish fry. Sorry to be so blunt, but I was hoping for so much more. Go to Silver Peak for great beer/food.
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Daryl VB,
Lakeville, MN
(04/12/2004) |
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Awesome!
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This is one of my favorite brew pubs. Their "Nevada Gold"(a Kolsch)was excellent and the women liked the rasberry flavored "Lip Locker Lager". The Quesidilla special on Sunday was truly great as were the other foods I tried. I doubt the "Death by Chocolate" Stout appeals to many guys but they sell alot of it.
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TRN,
Albany, MN
(03/09/2004) |
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Whoa, SO sorry that we ran out of two of our seasonal beers. Emma, if you see this, we have both Chilibeso and Wheat on tap right now. As for the dude above , Tim from Turlock, I actually AM sorry about that. Those are beers that are our house beers and we try our hardest to keep them around. Unfortunately we get demanding, pushy people clamoring for specialty beers whom we also have to try to satisfy. With a limited capacity, we are bound to run out of something sometimes.
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Jazz Aldrich,
Reno, NV
(12/19/2003) |
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Awesome!
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Awesome!
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Awesome!
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Great
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Awesome!
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Reno, NV
(11/29/2003) |
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I have a hard time with brewery, which do not have one of the two standards, a Porter or a Pale Ale which display the true ability of a brewmaster, in my opinion.
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Tim Hulen,
Turlock, CA
(08/27/2003) |
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