World of Beer: Tampa Beer Bar
Last week for work I was on the road for a few days which sometimes offers me a chance to try new beers, breweries, or bars. While in Tampa, co-workers took me out for a few beers at a local bar called World of Beer. I had not heard of the place, but the name alone was enough to warrant a visit! What can I say...I am a sucker for even just the potential of a large beer selection. When we first arrived in the parking lot, I have to admit that I was a little pessimistic since World of Beer is tucked into a shopping center. In my past experience, bars in strip malls have not been my favorites. As we got closer to the front door, I realized that my concerns were totally unfounded. The first thing you see as you walk in is an entire wall of cooler doors filled with singles. Several doors of American crafts, a door of British imports, a door of German imports, two or three doors of Belgians, etc. My time searching out beer in Florida is extremely limited, but I have to think that this collection represents probably everything available in the state or at least 90 plus percent. But it only gets better...as you move back into the bar, you hit a wall of 30 taps. Score!
It was a Wednesday night so the crowd was not too large, but we hardly had the place to ourselves. 
Definitely a relaxed vibe with all people of all ages including someone celebrating their 21st birthday. The service was friendly, prompt, and helpful in selecting beers to try. On a number of occasions I witnessed bartenders walking over to the cooler doors with several patrons to help them select their next beer. If I lived in the area, I could see this becoming one of my favorite bars. As you can see in the picture to the right, there are even a number of TVs for catching important games, but the focus is not purely on sports. Beer is the main attraction here!
I did not take any notes on the beers I tried, but one beer stood out as worth mentioning. Even then, the beer was good but it was the way in which the beer was served that I noticed most. My pint of Sea Dog Blue Paw Wheat Ale (Maine) was served with a small handful of tiny blueberries swimming in the glass. A nice visual addition to a beer with a great blueberry aroma and subtle flavor. According to their website, Maine wild blueberries are added to the beer during the brewing process. The beer is a nice golden color so I am curious how they got all of the flavor and aroma without any of the blue coloring my hombrewed blueberry beers have displayed. Also...the beer isn't the Belgian style wheat that most breweries are creating these days. It was very clean and I suspect a very neutral yeast was used in combination with a relatively low amount of wheat. All guesses on my part, though.
For a full list of the beers available at World of Beer, check out the following links:
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