World of Beer celebrates grand opening Saturday

World of Beer has been open for a few weeks, but they are having their official grand opening celebration this Saturday, Nov. 14.

According to their e-mail, they are having an outdoor party from noon to 6 p.m. with a free cookout from 2 to 5. The party moves indoors at 6. They say they will be "family friendly" with games until 7 p.m.

The beer bar is at 8217 Tourist Center Drive off University Parkway near the Interstate 75 exit. For more information, call them at (941) 306-5868.

Herald-Tribune writes about World of Beer

My colleague at the Herald-Tribune, Steve Echeverria, writes about World of Beer, the new beer bar on the border of Sarasota and Manatee counties, in his No Cover column in this week's Ticket.

You can read Steve's column online here.

Read my past coverage of World of Beer here.

World of Beer first impressions

I stopped by the newly opened World of Beer on the border of Sarasota and Manatee counties after work on Friday night. I got there about 11:00. I only lasted five seconds.

The place was packed and they had a band playing in their loft with the sound set to concert levels. I turned on my heels and left. It's tough for a place to be more repellent than having smoking, but brain-breaking loud music is worse.

But I didn't want to give up on the place; after all, I went on a Friday night.

I went back on Tuesday evening and got there just before 7:00 to take advantage of their happy hour $1-off draft specials.

A good number of people were there, but there was still plenty of space. No bands, and the piped-in music was much softer than Friday night. It was a bit too loud for my tastes, but the sound wasn't in the danger level.*

I was welcomed by a server right after arriving and sat at the bar, where Josh tended to me. Nice guy. They were out of Cigar City's Jai Alai IPA, which was only a mild disappointment because I'm hoping to get up to the brewery on Wednesday. Josh suggested Hercules Double IPA, a great double IPA from Great Divide Brewing in Colorado, but the keg ran out. He then gave me a sample of Weyerbacher Double Simcoe IPA, another good, bitter beer. I had a glass of that, which was $5 with the happy hour special.

Some friends have called World of Beer a corporate place. I must be a corporate shill, because I liked it. Brick and dark wood with a wall of beer in coolers divided by about 30 taps. They have a covered lanai where patrons can smoke. It's connected to the bar by a big open doorway, so if you're really sensitive to smoke you'll need to keep clear.

This is a good bar. I will be returning to the World of Beer and suggest you check it out for yourself, just get their earlier when the music isn't so loud.

*I'm the guy who wears earplugs to concerts. My father had profound hearing loss and if the same thing happens to me, at least I'll know I didn't do it to myself.

World of Beer opens, and I miss it

Wouldn't you know it, I leave town for a few days and World of Beer opens their newest beer bar on University Parkway on the Manatee-Sarasota county line.

I hear they planned on a "soft" invite-only opening but the word got out and lots of people showed up. I'm not sure if they have had the official grand opening cookout they promised on Twitter, but their Web site is fully operational.

I'll have to get over there ASAP and file a report.

SRQ beer scene featured in Herald-Tribune

My colleague at the Herald-Tribune, Steve Echeverria Jr., wrote an article, "Kings of beer" in Thursday's Ticket section that features the Cock & Bull Pub, Sarasota Brewing Co. and the Shamrock Pub. I confess I've never been to the Shamrock. I'll have to check it out. The soon-to-open World of Beer also gets a mention.

Here are two great excerpts from the article:

"The guys who say they love beer but only drink Budweiser, or they like a particular brand, are not true beer lovers," said Vince Pelosi, brewmaster at Sarasota Brewing Co. "The true beer lover tries them all."

This is exactly the way I think about beer. I can't wait to try new ones. Who knows? The best beer I've ever had may be the next one I find.

The second excerpt:

"My husband created the beer culture in Sarasota," said Hochberg's wife, Dawn.

Dawn, you're not exaggerating. Sarasota owes its beer scene to Howie Hochberg. And I owe my love of beer to your pub. It's where I learned about the wonders of the hop and how great a Belgian strong dark ale is.

The Herald-Tribune's online version of the story does not have all the cool photos -- taken by our incredible ace photographer Chip Litherland -- that are featured in the print edition. Here's Chip's picture of Howie from Ticket's cover:

So I'm not just shamelessly pimping our product when I say you should try and find -- dare I say buy -- a copy for yourself.

World of Beer starts training

World of Beer posted on Twitter today that they have started training their staff at their in-progress beer bar off University Parkway in southern Manatee County. So they are another step closer to opening.

World of Beer pushes opening to October

I visited the Web site for World of Beer's coming Sarasota-Manatee beer bar and they have pushed their grand opening back to October. Originally they were hoping to open in August or September.

I'm not surprised, considering the state the bar was in when I stopped by recently. Starting up a place like that always takes more time than planned.

When they open, I'll be there.

Waiting for World of Beer

I drove by the soon-to-open World of Beer off University Parkway in southern Manatee County today after visiting Total Wine & More.*

Looks like they still have a ways to go; I didn't notice much progress since my last visit a couple of weeks ago.

And a source within Sarasota's craft beer community tells me that World of Beer may allow smoking inside if they can't get approval for their patio. Let's hope the place can be nonsmoking: A nonsmoking beer bar will be a big hit with all the beer fans who would never go to a smoky bar. Perhaps one day Florida will follow other states and ban smoking in all businesses.

*I went there to buy my wife some Saranac Root Beer, a great root beer that she loves. I told myself I wasn't going to buy any beer, since two weeks ago I spent almost $80 on a few 22-ounce bottles (see my post on Hoppin' Frog).

I decided to walk past the beer shelves to see what was new so I could blog about it. Well, they had a new Cigar City beer, Improvicasion ($9.99), and Dogfish Head's Sah'tea ($13.99), which was the beer they brewed while being visited for an article by the New Yorker.

So my willpower snapped and I bought a bottle of each and hope the Dogfish Head Sah'tea is better than their Theobroma.

And I see that my footnote is now longer than the main post. Great.

World of Beer Sarasota-Manatee micro-update

As I've noted before, World of Beer is planning on opening a new beer bar on University Parkway in southern Manatee County in September. To recap the details: 30 taps, 500 beers, nonsmoking.

They're on Twitter now, and posted that they are planning a grand opening celebration with free food, live music, giveaways and beer. No specifics on date and time, yet.

World of Beer Sarasota-Manatee mini-update

Back in May I wrote about the World of Beer bar that's coming to University Park in August or September. Here's a map from their Web site:

I was in the neighborhood today and stopped by to check on their progress. They had more info in the window about what's coming: 30 taps, 500 beers. Fantastic. The inside was still a long ways from being completed, looked like they had dug a trench in the concrete for pipes and drains.

The window sign also said they are hiring and to visit www.wobusa.com/sarasota.html for more info and to apply.

World of Beer update

In response to another one of my e-mails, Matt LaFon said the upcoming World of Beer will be nonsmoking and feature a large patio.

It will be great to have a nonsmoking beer bar in town.

World of Beer coming to Sarasota-Manatee

After my wife and I saw the "Coming Soon: World of Beer" sign in the empty storefront on Tourist Center Drive off University Parkway near Interstate 75 in Manatee County across from Moe's and Jersey Mike's (next to Keva Juice), I e-mailed World of Beer.

Matt LaFon wrote back:

"Thank you for inquiring about the new location in Sarasota for World of Beer. You can expect it to open in August-September. It will be both bar and retail, very similar to the WOB in Westchase. We look forward to meeting you and please help us spread the word!"

Here's a map of its approximate location.

Update: In a later e-mail Matt wrote that it will be nonsmoking. Yay! It will also have a large patio.