Well, I stopped by the new World of Beer (101 Clematis St., 561-833-3325) in West Palm the other day, and though the space itself is not as large as you might expect, a more accurate name for it might be An Infinite Universe of Suds from Here to Jupiter and Beyond.
With some 500 different bottles and 40 beers on tap, there hasn't been so much good stuff jammed into such a small space since Dolly Parton wedged her girls into a cast-iron brassiere.
Given its tall ceilings and outdoor patio that opens to the inside, the room feels bigger than it is. There's a long, L-shaped bar at the back, a row of booths, some high tables and a large communal table in the center of the room. Above the fake brick-backed bar is a tiny stage, where acts like Robbie Hazen, Panic Disorder and the Justin Enco Band perform.
Behind the bar the bottled beers are arranged by country, with
appropriate glasses for each style (snifters for Belgian ales, pint
glasses for American ales and IPAs, etc.).
Beertender Kristin
Mills said every employee goes through a five-day "beer school,"
learning about different styles, ingredients, processes, glasses, even
anecdotes about a particular beer, like how India Pale Ale was created
when English brewers added more hops to theirs suds to keep them from
spoiling on the journey from the chilly UK to subtropical India.
One
of the best ways to sample what WoB is all about is to sip your way
through a flight of four different beers, drawn from the more than three
dozen of the constantly changing brews on tap.
Some of the
definitely not your father's Budweiser suds worth checking out: the
robust Paulaner Salvator Doppel Bock, with a thick, almost viscous
texture and heavy malty, caramel-y notes; Belgium's aptly named Delirium
Tremens, a slightly sweet and fruity beer with lots of carbonation and
8.5-percent alcohol; and, just for something completely different,
Stone's Smoked Porter, which shows a bigger head than Giada De
Laurentiis and tastes like eating chocolate and drinking coffee while
standing over a smoldering barbecue pit.
BTW, if you want
something to eat, WoB doesn't have a kitchen, but you can order from
nearby Gratify, Pistache, Luigi's, Duffy's and Pizza Girls and get your
grub delivered door to door. It's World of Beer's world, and you're just
drinking in it.
Follow Clean Plate Charlie on Facebook and on Twitter: @CleanPlateBPB.
