Every state has its geographic divides, but few industries feel it quite like Nevada’s brewing community. Reno breweries and Las Vegas breweries are separated by nearly 450 miles of high desert. This is enough distance that “networking” can mean a full day’s drive. This year, the NCBA solved that problem the obvious way: meet in the middle. Tonopah, sitting almost exactly halfway between Reno and Las Vegas, hosted this year’s conference and it turned out to be exactly the kind of shared ground the state’s brewing scene needed.

We were proud to sponsor this year’s event and host the welcome reception, and it gave us a front-row seat to some of the best conversations happening in Nevada craft beer right now.

One Industry, Two Regions

The biggest theme of the conference wasn’t a new hop variety or a brewing technique, it was connection. Northern and southern Nevada breweries don’t compete for the same customers, but they rarely get the chance to compare notes, either. Bringing both regions into one room in Tonopah opened up conversations about shared challenges: distribution across the state, sourcing ingredients affordably, and building a “Nevada beer” identity that customers recognize whether they’re in Sparks or Henderson. If this year’s turnout is any indication, a Tonopah-based, midpoint meeting spot could become a real tradition for the association.

greenUP!: A Conversation on Sustainability

We also sat down with Donna Walden of greenUP!, a clean energy nonprofit focused on helping businesses and breweries lower their environmental footprint. Brewing is a resource-intensive process. Water, energy, and heat are involved at nearly every stage which makes breweries a natural fit for sustainability initiatives. The conversation centered on practical first steps breweries can take to join the nonprofit’s program, from energy audits to smaller equipment changes that add up over time. For breweries thinking about sustainability but unsure where to start, this kind of partnership offers a clear, guided path rather than a full overhaul overnight.

Making Marketing Dollars Work Harder with Chris Overlay

Chris Overlay, of Get Hoptimized, joined the conference to talk through a topic every brewery owner wrestles with: how to make a limited marketing budget go further. The discussion covered ways smaller, independent breweries can compete for attention against bigger regional and national brands. Leaning into local storytelling, tightening up digital presence, and being deliberate about which channels are actually worth the investment. It was a good reminder that great beer alone doesn’t sell itself; the brewery that can talk about what makes it different tends to win the customer.

Behind the Brew: A Look Inside Tonopah Brewing Co.

One of the highlights of the trip was spending time with Ed, Head Brewer at Tonopah Brewing Co., who walked us through their hop-handling equipment and gave a live demonstration of the brewing process from grain to fermenter. He also showed us what happens to the spent barley once the brew is done, the leftover grain that’s pulled out after mashing. Spent grain is one of brewing’s biggest waste byproducts, and seeing firsthand how a brewery like Tonopah handles it was a great, tangible example of the kind of resourcefulness this industry runs on. (Fittingly, it tied right back into the sustainability conversation from earlier in the day.)

Celebrating Nevada’s Best

No brewers’ conference would be complete without recognizing the people behind the beer, and this year’s awards ceremony did exactly that, celebrating the breweries and brewers pushing Nevada’s craft beer scene forward, from both ends of the state.

Why We Were There

As Nevada’s brewing community continues to grow, and stretch across more miles, the need for reliable, independent support only increases. Whether it’s validating ABV for label compliance, checking for contamination, or dialing in a new recipe before a big release, that’s where we come in.

We’re proud to support the businesses that make Nevada, Nevada. This state’s breweries are built by people who care deeply about their craft, their communities, and each other. We’re glad to be a reliable resource brewers can count on for consistent, dependable results, release after release. It was an honor to sponsor this year’s conference and spend time with the brewers, partners, and advocates shaping the next chapter of Nevada beer. If you need any help, our offerings of testing include full beer panel testing; microbiology testing, ABV testing, full pathogen panels, indicator organisms, color analysis, pH analysis, IBU HPCL analysis, and VDK-Diacetyl testing.  If your brewery is gearing up for a new release or working through a quality question, reach out to our lab. We’d love to help.