The Reno Beer Guide Who Also Drives the Van
Flights and a behind-the-scenes look at three Reno craft breweries, with the stops picked for you and sent a day or two ahead.
The van leaves from the entrance canopy of the Renaissance Reno Downtown Hotel on South Lake Street, and the person who checks your name is the one behind the wheel. City Brew Tours runs its public Reno tours this way: the beer guide is also the driver, so nobody in your group has to sit out the tasting to get everyone home.
From there it is three breweries, about fifty minutes at each. The listing promises a flight of four at every stop, up to a dozen pours in all, and the operator's own tour page goes as high as sixteen samples. One traveler who kept count came away with ten.
At the end the van brings the group back to where it started.
Tickets on this listing start at USD 89 per person, sold to adults aged 21 to 85. One booking can take up to 14 people, and the operator lists 14 total spaces on each public tour, so a party of 14 takes every spot. Booking closes two hours before the start, and confirmation is instant.
Reno's Original Brewery TourThree Reno craft breweries, a flight at each stop, a paired snack along the way, and round-trip van transport from the Renaissance hotel.www.viator.comThe Three Stops Are Confirmed a Day or Two Ahead
Neither the listing nor the operator fixes the lineup when you book. The listing calls its three stops sample itineraries only, and the operator says the actual itinerary arrives through a link in the reminder email 24 to 48 hours before the tour. If one particular brewery is the reason you are booking, you will not know it is on your route until that email lands.
The samples show the pool. The listing names The Depot, The Brewer's Cabinet and Slieve Brewing, and the operator's own sample lineups add Parlay 6, Pigeon Head and IMBĪB as stops that rotate in.
The Depot is the one with a building worth a second look. It occupies the former Nevada-California-Oregon Railroad Depot on East Fourth Street, built in 1910 to a design by the architect Frederic DeLongchamps and marked by Nevada State Historical Marker No. 210. The listing describes Slieve as sitting in Reno's original Firehouse No. 2 and calls The Brewer's Cabinet one of the city's original craft breweries.
The Guide Pours, Explains, Then Drives On
In the operator's description of its Reno tours, the guide meets you at the pickup, drives from brewery to brewery while filling the ride with beer history, then drops everyone back where the tour started. Because the guide does the driving, the whole group can drink; one reviewer singled out having the guide as designated driver.
Inside the breweries the guide walks the group through how the beer gets made. Two travelers, writing months apart, said their three stops ranged from a large production setup down to very small batches, and a Reno local who got the tour as a Father's Day gift wrote that two of the three breweries were places the family had not known were in town.
Another traveler mentioned the guide pointing out the city's brewery district along the way.
What Goes in the Glass
You do not pick the beers. The operator says each stop pours a handpicked selection chosen by the guide, and the listing describes it as a flight of four per brewery. One stop pairs the beer with a snack, and a traveler who reviewed the tour in March 2025 placed it at the second brewery.
The operator notes that beer is typically not gluten-free and that it cannot guarantee a gluten-free option at any stop. It asks guests with dietary restrictions to tell it when they book.
A guest who describes themselves as not a beer drinker wrote that you can always order a different drink at the stops, and ended up falling for one of the beers anyway.
Shoes, ID, and Who Can Come Along
- Everyone must be 21 or older and show valid ID, the operator says, whether or not they plan to drink
- Closed-toe shoes are required at every stop; the breweries enforce the rule themselves, with no exceptions
- The operator's vans have passenger seats and can carry only a folding wheelchair, and it says many of its stops are wheelchair accessible
- The listing allows service animals
- The listing does not include a gratuity; the operator suggests fifteen dollars a person if your guide did a great job
📍 Renaissance Reno Downtown Hotel, One South Lake Street, Reno. Meet under the entrance canopy 10 minutes before the start. Departures on this listing are Fridays at 4:30 PM, Saturdays at 12:30 PM and Sundays at 12:00 PM. The operator's own site also lists Thursday tours, which this calendar does not offer.
- The listing blocks out 225 minutes; the operator calls it about three and a half hours
- Cancel at least 24 hours ahead for a full refund under this listing
- One person can book, but a tour runs only with enough guests; the operator's FAQ puts that minimum at two on one page and four on another
- The operator decides on weather cancellations at least 12 hours ahead and says those are refunded in full
- Leave the car at home: the operator recommends a car service or public transit, with parking at the Renaissance or nearby lots if you must drive
The van drops you back at the hotel on the Truckee River, with downtown Reno a short walk away.