West Street Market Does Craft Beer Right

American craft brewers are small, independent, and traditional, and Reno is no stranger to the craft beer scene. The movement as a whole is definitely having a moment, with tens of thousands of brands and hundreds of styles to be found across the country. Here in Reno, we have a good dozen breweries and change, and you’ll find a lot of those represented right here at West Street Market. You know, because we’re doing craft beer right.

What’s the Deal with Craft Beer, Anyway?

Unlike its watered-down, mass-produced counterpart, craft beer is incredibly tasty, boasts more alcohol by volume, and goes hand-in-hand with really great food. That’s important, because to the merchants here at West Street, good food is totally our thing. We tapped Rich Selden from The Deluxe for more details.

Craft Beer at West Street

“We decided to focus on craft beers because of the seemingly never-ending selection of breweries,” Rich says, “and because of Reno’s growing and prosperous craft beer scene. The beer is tastier and has more flavors. They are much more likely to come out with seasonal flavors, and that’s what our restaurant is all about.”

That’s a great start, but it gets even better. “Craft breweries are much more likely to partake in local food systems and source from local food sheds,” Rich explains, “which ultimately falls right in place with what we are doing at Deluxe.” That’s also true of many of the other merchants here at West Street, which is why you’ll also find a great selection of craft beers at places like Thali and The Pizza Collective.

The Deluxe plans to keep a good thing going, too. “We currently carry 30 beers, all of which are craft, and 20 of them are local,” Rich says. “We definitely have something for everyone, and we always stock a variety of styles and flavors.” Plus, the Deluxe switches out the selection in little ways every Wednesday, just to keep things interesting.

That means you can find IPAs, porters, blondes, ambers and more from local breweries like Revision, Record Street, Under the Rose, 10 Torr, Occidental, and Lead Dog, just to name a few. The chalkboard hanging outside the Deluxe shows the current brew selections – plus all the “not beer” options for you teetotalers– with handy stars to denote local breweries. But hey, this is West Street, so you know it’s mostly local. “We usually source 60 to 75 percent of our beers locally, but the line-up changes week to week, depending on availability,” Rich says.

Next time you have a hankering for a really good brew-and-food combo, remember that you’ll find it here at West Street Market. Oh, and take Rich’s advice – if you’re eating at the Deluxe, you can’t beat the kimchi tacos with local pork shoulder and a Revision Blonde Ale.