Wonder Aleworks

neat spot, although i liked it a little better on their website than in real life, it presented much differently, and when i showed up on a saturday evening it had a kind of strange vibe, super hip but also a little strange, sort of club-like, but not really happening in that way, couldnt really put it together what they were going for. on the one hand its a neat older looking building with some exposed brick and a long layout thats obviously gotten a lot of quality work done on it, and it has one of the more ambitious beer lists we encountered in reno, but its also got odd neon lights in florescent colors casting strange energy, dj type electric music that isnt too loud to talk but doesnt invite conversation either, and it was both well populated and not busy. couples on dates played games, we sat at the bar and drank through a good amount of the list. there is a kitchen area in the back up a few stairs and maybe some concert or event space, but i didnt really go up there. wild list of beers, thats the coolest part, candy beers with circus peanuts and hot tamales, a very good black ipa, a gin barrel aged brew, a blonde barleywine, lots of fun and inspired choices, but i thought the beer was better conceived than executed, and i didnt love much of what we had, although in most cases appreciated the effort. staff was super nice, generous with samples, and i like the aesthetic in here, unique and sort of curious as it is, it never quite hit the circus theme i was anticipating. the food looked well above average but we didnt eat. the fridge magnet letter menu board was cool, and the beer was intriguing enough that i would go back. some bugs to work out, but a cool place to visit in a fun part of reno, would recommend checking them out, i will eat next time!