World Of Beer - Sarasota

urwithdave

Florida

4/5  rDev -4.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$

I've been here several times now. A nice draft selection and a INSANE amount of bottles. They have a lot of nice brews. The service is great and they seem to be pretty informed on their beer. They don't serve food, but you can order a pizza from Casa De Pizza next door and they will bring it to you. I wish they would score more Cigar City, but I've been told that they plan on carrying it more often. Some of the prices are a little over the top , but some are underpriced. If you know your brews you won't have a problem. They have some big screens and they have live music late night.

05-17-2010 05:31:11 | More by urwithdave

Kieran84

4.84/5  rDev +15.2%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | $$

I love this place. My friends and I go every Wednesday night for trivia and have a good time sitting around, watching sports on the TVs outside, and drinking. The servers are always friendly and can help if you're new to drinking beer/alcohol like I am (I'm diabetic, alcohol affects my blood sugar levels). They let you bring in or order food to be delivered there from food places around, which is nice considering that there is no food on their menu. WOB has at least 150 beers, about a dozen selections of wine, and a handful of cigars. Smoking is allowed outside, which bothered my wife's asthma, but people rarely do it, so it's become a non-issue. Inside is nice, a bit tight when it's busy; the outside where we usually go and drink. There are several tables and stools there with five TVs outside set to sports.

Overall, it's great there and I really only go to a couple other bars in town that my friends and I like because of the fun times we have there (Coleman's Tavern, Cock and Bull, Shakespeare's). Good prices, great atmosphere, and excellent service makes it one of the best in Sarasota if you're looking for a good time.

09-14-2012 05:59:50 | More by Kieran84

PorterLambic

Florida

3.75/5  rDev -10.7%
vibe: 2 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Update- first Saturday of college football season. It is painfully loud in here! I came in on the motorcycle and after 10 minutes decided to put in my ear plugs. They were already in! Its that loud.

Parked in a newish strip mall in the yuppie section of town, this place is easy to overlook. Surrounded by restaurants and a Home Depot, its really easy to drive by, and I have repeatedly. But with the Cock & Bull in town, what's the rush to visit?
OK, they open at 3 pm M-F, noon on Sat. & Sun. That's a point in their favor.
Decor is brick walls and black vinyl seating inside with a textured concrete floor. Comfy stools and benches. Nice long bar with all the product easily visible behind clean glass cooler doors. 40 taps bisect the 8 cooler doors. Exterior is metal tables and tall chairs under cover with seating for about 60 just outside.
The vibe is a balance between cool craft beer bar and sports bar. 11 37" Samsung flat screens with nothing but various sports displayed. A smattering of beer signage and empty, signed bombers with professionally done notices of upcoming live music completes it. Too loud music playing detracts from the vibe.
The beer: approximately 300 different selections organized by country first then by brewery within. Belgian, Russian, German, Dutch, American, English, Polish, Czech. Fully half the bottles are US or UK, the rest are mostly European. No real surprises though I was please to see all three Aecht Schlenkerlas and all three Trappiste Rocheforts available.
Staff seemed knowledgeable and friendly but didn't really engage with the customers except to take orders or answer
direct questions.
Overall, a decent experience but a bit too standoff-ish for my preferences.

02-14-2012 20:43:21 | More by PorterLambic

WVRadar

West Virginia

4.94/5  rDev +17.6%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | $$$

Located in a strip mall, easy access from major highways. Long bar with adequate seating, tables along rear wall. Coolers are stocked with an impressive selection of bottles organized by country of origin. I counted forty beers on tap, and the bartender informed me that they had 561 bottled beers. Staff was friendly and knowledgeable. Very well organized: they have two beer menus, one listing the drafts on tap with a short description and the other with all of their bottled beers, listed alphabetically. Prices are clearly marked on both menus. A little bit pricey ($4 - $20 per bottle), but a great place to try different beers.

03-24-2011 10:56:35 | More by WVRadar

belgianAndy

Maryland

4.58/5  rDev +9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | $$

Like other reviewers I was very worried about getting decent beer in Florida as a part-time resident. Fortunately, things in the beer department are looking up in the Sarasota/Bradenton area.

Just up the road from the local Total Wine & More is the World of Beer. I am old enough to remember the original World Of Beer which was a chain of places that boasted a huge selection of world beer - in those days (70's, 80's) great beer in the US was generally imported. The new incarnation of World of Beer (no connection to the original as far as I can tell) benefits from the resurgence of craft beer brewing in the US. The bottle selection is huge, the draft selection is huge. Both offer beer from the US and across the world, including decent Beligian - my personal weakness.

So now some specifics:
Atmos: can be very busy, but service is still good. No smoking inside (state law), but plenty in the patio - can be smoky in the relatively enclosed outside area. This place is basically WAY too small overall. Bunch of TVs for a sports bar feel.
Food: Eh, well actually no food at all! BUT they do have a relationship with a great pizza/pasta joint in the same strip mall - they will deliver inside the bar!

Overall - I love the place. Wish it had food, wish it were bigger, wish there was less smoke: but I will be a loyal customer to this place for sure.

01-10-2011 00:41:43 | More by belgianAndy

nopucophop

New York

4.14/5  rDev -1.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$

This was a great stop on a day of beer touring in Sarasota. The have a huge selection of bottle and draft beer.Some example of draft was Laguinitas Lil Sumpin wild,Bells Two hearted, Great Divide Tripel, St Abt 12, and many more. They also sell beer to go. The bartenderess was very knowledgeable about beer. They don't serve food but will order it for you from the place down the way and allow you to eat it there. They have a huge overhead door that when open gives you the feel of sitting outside. This place is one of the best spots to drink in Sarasota.

10-14-2010 14:02:10 | More by nopucophop

DmanGTR

New York

3.94/5  rDev -6.2%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

This was a relatively nice surprise coming from a NY-er who is used to massive tap and bottle selections expecting a beer desert in Florida.

Walked into a half-full bar/pub type of setting, not too dark, not too bright. Some faux leather booths and bar tables with some chairs off to the sides and the deep maple looking bar stretches about 30 feet down. 35-40 taps, all craft beers including Victory, Cigar City, Holy Mackerel, St. Bernardus, Grimbergen, Sea Dog, etc. There are 4 fridge/cooler doors and I estimate at least 250 different domestic/import craft beers, including Trappistes Rochefort, Terrapin, Unibroue, Ayinger, the list goes on. Needless to say, the selection was impressive. Most beers on tap are $5, although some are $6 or 7.

The beers I had on tap were pretty fresh. I questioned one of the bartenderess's ability to pour a proper beer, but another bartender seems to know his glassware and pouring techniques. Some of them require a little coaxing to come over to take your order but others are quite attentive. Works for me.

Certain nights is concert night, where they have a dude come in on his acoustic guitar way up above the bar on a balcony playing for everyone. Pretty chill and relaxed. Although it does get a bit loud sometimes. I'm also not a TV/sports person so the 10 or so flatscreens they have in there don't score points in my book.

They don't serve food there, but there's a pizza place next door that delivers right into the bar. That place sucks by the way, don't order food from them.

07-22-2010 17:14:19 | More by DmanGTR

aubuc1

Florida

3.86/5  rDev -8.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | $$

I have now been about a dozen times, and am very glad that they opened this bar. I had some service problems the first few times I went, but that is to be expected. They have hired the tall guy who worked at the Cock and Bull until recently, and he knows a lot about beer. The selection is very good but not great for a craft enthusiast. I do love the no smoking policy. I would almost stay at home than go to smoky bar, so this is a huge selling point for everyone that I would go with. Very nicely appointed facility, but can get too loud when bands are playing, and from the speakers not the instruments. There are definitely a lot of people that this place is opening their eyes to craft beer, but whatever it takes to get craft beer moving forward...

04-14-2010 18:01:24 | More by aubuc1

gunnerman

Florida

3.93/5  rDev -6.4%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | $$

Stopped by this place by chance seeing it was across the street from Total Wine Sarasota. This place had a nice vibe walking in, great beer swag on the walls a true craft destination. They had a band playing outside and one ready to start playing on the inside second level. The overall taps could of been a bit better for what is coming into FL these days. They did have a few gems in the place HopSlam, Ruination, Double Simcoe to name a few. Staff was very friendly and pretty beer savvy. Overall a nice destination and one I will frequent when I am in the area.

04-11-2010 15:06:22 | More by gunnerman

Shaw

Florida

4.2/5  rDev 0%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $

I've been here four or five times since they opened a few months back.

It's a great place, primarily because it's smoke-free indoors. I can't emphasize how awesome it is to have a place to go drink a beer where I don't have to choke on smoke and take a shower when I get home.

That being said, it can get quite loud there, especially if a band is playing and it's crowded. I'm not interested in losing my hearing, so I try to avoid those times.

They have a very nice beer selection, with a wide variety of bottles and 30 taps. They've had kegs from Tampa brewery Cigar City now and again, but they sell out fast.

World of Beer doesn't have some of the really interesting one-off brews that the Cock & Bull Pub in Sarasota gets, though.

The service is good. The bartenders and cocktail waitresses are friendly and prompt. I haven't really tested their beer knowledge, but I have seen them making suggestions to other patrons.

They have frequently had specials going on when I've visited, where I've received $1 off drafts, a complimentary beer shot, a free glass or a keychain.

In short, this is a great nonsmoking beer bar.

01-09-2010 20:54:51 | More by Shaw