Submitted by Todd Hoppe - May, 2009

I remember when I first started going to Old Chicago, I was really impressed by that long row of tappers behind the bar. I was already a fan of a few imported beers like Becks, St. Pauli Girl, Moosehead, Guinness and Grolsch. But here was an opportunity to drink over 110 different beers from all around the world!  I got started and have really enjoyed the journey that the World Beer Tour offers.

I took to the WBT like a duck to water. But I know my experience differs from some. I’m aware that there are many people who have their one favorite domestic beer and basically have to ‘choke down’ virtually anything else. Others (gasp) don’t like beer at all! I hope this blog will give those folks a few tips on how to successfully navigate their first tour.

Beer, like many of the fine things in life, is an acquired taste. Most beers have some level of bitterness in their flavor (depending on the amount of hops used in the brewing process), which I believe is what turns many people off. For a novice, I would recommend starting with less bitter beers until you have developed an appreciation for beer. There are a number of beers that have a relatively smooth finish. This is particularly common in American lagers and more so in light beers like Bud Light, Coors Light, and Miller Lite. A few of the domestic craft beers are also very smooth and drinkable – Blue Moon and Boulevard Wheat come to mind. A few beers are brewed with fruit flavoring or honey and verge on being sweet. So if you see beers with ‘honey’, ‘berry’, ‘cherry’ or the like in their title, chances are it will be a sweeter beer.

Another tip – when you are at Old Chicago, you can always ask for a small sample of any tap beer before you order it, to make sure you like it well enough to drink an entire glass or mug.

Even many seasoned beer drinkers don’t enjoy as many as 110 different beers. So how to finish the WBT??? For one, take advantage of ‘rotator’ beers. These are on-tap beers which the store is trying to rotate out to make room for new beers. Rotator beers are typically posted on black boards in the store and have unique numbers which can be used over and over again in the same WBT. So if you are fortunate enough to find a rotator you like, you can drink it to your hearts content and record up to four of them each day!

One final tip to help you get to the magical 110 beers – take advantage of ‘mini-tours’. Old Chicago holds several mini-tour promotions during the year. In 2009 we have already seen a ‘St. Patrick’s Day’ mini-tour and one for ‘Cinco de Mayo’. I would also expect promotions for a ‘Summer tour’, ‘Oktoberfest tour’ and a ‘ Holiday tour’.  The beers you drink in a mini-tour have unique numbers. In other words, if you drink a Guinness during the St. Patrick’s Day mini-tour, it will have a different number than a Guinness you might have enjoyed earlier in your tour. Additionally, for the duration of the mini-tour, you can drink those same few beers over and over again and still record them toward your main World Beer Tour. So if you are a big fan of Mexican beers, make sure to visit Old Chicago often during the Cinco de Mayo tour and you’ll finish the WBT before you know it.

Hope you have found this helpful. Good luck with your tour and cheers!