World of Beer

Bar, Eatery, Beer-to-go

1601 Sherman Ave
Evanston, Illinois, 60201-5038
United States

// CLOSED //
PLACE STATS
Average:
4.13
Reviews:
9
Ratings:
25
pDev:
10.41%
View: Place Reviews
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Rated: 4.35 by Archfiend from Illinois

Oct 04, 2020
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Reviewed by sb17 from Pennsylvania

4.63/5  rDev +12.1%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | food: 4.5
I love WOB! I never felt the need to stop in, but then I heard they had BINGO on Monday's and now I'm hooked... Good enough to go 1x a week for about four months now. Selection is constantly changing, every server or bartender I've had has been able to make awesome recommendations for brews I would have never tried otherwise. Bar food is good, too - high recommend the fish tacos :-).
May 04, 2018
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Reviewed by dogbert617 from Illinois

3.81/5  rDev -7.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 2.25 | selection: 4.5 | food: 3.75
I agree with the earlier review, that said this is more a quantity over quality beer bar. That said, it isn't bad for what it is, and for a chain beer bar I LIKE it better than Yard House, which says something good about WoB. Once in a while they'll have a band playing in the back part of the bar near the bathrooms, but not always. Their food menu items are fine if I need something to eat, but honestly the wide selection of beers is the biggest draw of this place by far. Often I opt to eat at another place in downtown Evanston first(Furious Spoon, Flat Top Grill, Celtic Knot, etc.), then come here for a beer.

Anyway while their beer prices aren't the cheapest, I really like how this particular WoB regularly updates their on tap and bottled/canned beers on Beermenus. They have beer tapping events here, which are decent. I'd say the biggest downfall about WoB, is the customer service from the employees. Either you'll have a decent employee serving you, or one where they'll often forget to come by and properly ask you if you want another beer. Sadly, it more often falls to the latter here where the service wasn't as good as I hoped.

While they aren't in the class of say Hopleaf, I'd say they're a good beer bar for sure. And the many TVs above the bar are nice, for those various times in the evening when I want to catch up on sports scores that I missed tracking earlier in the day.
Nov 20, 2017
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Reviewed by Hopheadjeffery from Illinois

4.2/5  rDev +1.7%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 5 | food: 4
I decided to check this place out for a Half Acre tap take over. This place is big. Several tables and a huge bar. Tons of taps, cans and bottles. There is something for everyone on the menu. I had a pretzel with beer cheese. It was big and tasty. I'll go back if I'm in the area.
Apr 29, 2017
 
Rated: 4.25 by Davit from California

Apr 10, 2016
 
Rated: 3.66 by BeerOps from Illinois

Oct 28, 2015
 
Rated: 4.29 by HLD1970 from Illinois

Jul 14, 2015
 
Rated: 3.9 by Soloveitchik from New York

Apr 17, 2015
 
Rated: 4.09 by LennyBound from Illinois

Jan 04, 2015
 
Rated: 4.32 by AlexBananas from Illinois

Dec 21, 2014
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Reviewed by pagriley from Illinois

3.48/5  rDev -15.7%
vibe: 2.5 | quality: 3.75 | service: 3.75 | selection: 4.25 | food: 1
Highly Meh... They do have a good selection of beers and often crack some interesting kegs, but overall I have always been underwhelmed. Often the pours seem a bit short, and they are super expensive for some of the more interesting beers - an 8ish ounce snifter of Victory at Sea for about $9 is a bit steep for me.

Not bad per se, but the fact they don't do any edible food (I mean they do some snacks but I would rather eat beer coasters) makes it a low choice on the Evanston totem pole
Nov 06, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by MikeThumel from Illinois

Sep 20, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by ronin926 from Illinois

Sep 19, 2014
 
Rated: 5 by andyroo0810 from Illinois

Aug 14, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by kneary13 from Massachusetts

Jul 28, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by blue-dream from Virgin Islands (U.S.)

Jun 16, 2014
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Reviewed by Sweffin from Wisconsin

4.37/5  rDev +5.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.75
It's not the cheapest, but has a great selection and has enabled me to try lots of hard to find stuff ranging from BCBCS to Abacus to Zombie Dust. There's always good stuff to be had. Also, if you're a loyalty member, having 25% off bottles on Tuesdays is really nice, and you also get free stuff (ie glasses) almost every time there's a tap takeover. The senior staff is super knowledgeable and very friendly. With the exception of Hopleaf, I always find other bars coming short in comparison (at least as far as beer goes).
May 13, 2014
Photo of BRami127
Reviewed by BRami127 from Illinois

3/5  rDev -27.4%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3 | service: 2.25 | selection: 3.75 | food: 2.5
Quantity over quality. This place is good if you want to try beers from around the world (and they do have a "rewards program" (although some of their milestones are a bit farfetched)). But keep in mind with some of those foreign beers, they don't travel well. So that Czech pilsner you may be trying may not tastes so "fresh" as you'd like it. And depending on who's working, you may not get the best of customer service either. Some of the staff will be friendly with you while other wish they could go home already. As for food, it's pretty basic. Sorry, no burgers or fries on their menus. Although, they DO allow you to bring your own food and have menus from the local restaurants that deliver to the bar. Bottom line, they (like some chains) are about quantity over quality, hit or miss on the service, and bring your own food.
Mar 28, 2014
 
Rated: 4.5 by bjlange from Illinois

Feb 27, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by JIMTRK16 from Illinois

Feb 26, 2014
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Reviewed by 3BeersIn3Days from Illinois

3.8/5  rDev -8%
vibe: 3.25 | quality: 4 | service: 3.75 | selection: 4.25 | food: 2.75
A: Large, clean, and refreshingly empty on a snow Saturday at lunchtime. Nothing spectacular, though bottles were displayed attractively and prominently in coolers on the walls behind the bar. Probably the best selection for a chain that I've been to. Pleasant surprise when I saw that the doors to the men's and women's were decorated entirely with art from Unibroue's Maudite and Ephemere, respectively.

Q (of the Beers): No shortage of excellent beers here, which is why we came. Not disappointed at all.

S: Very polite and patient waitresses who, though not especially knowledgeable about beer, were very accommodating (especially since we had our 2-year old with us).

S: Very large selection of bottles and cans (500+) and 40 some taps.

F: What we got was fine, but their selection is extremely limited.

V: Decent prices for beers in Chicago (unless you're a a university student).
Feb 02, 2014
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Reviewed by Burferd from Illinois

4.05/5  rDev -1.9%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 3.5
OK, it's a chain concept but you have to give 'em credit for offering an amazing array of bottled beer. It really is a world of beer options at this joint! The bottled beers in the coolers behind the bar make for an impressive sight. I prefer taps and they also have plenty of those. Around 50 or so ...nice!

The excellent draft selection is constantly rotating to the point that the printed beer menu can't keep up with what's current. So be sure and ask the barkeep what's new in the draft category. Friendly staff always happy to pour a taste before you buy. Plus they sell the half size glass - 6 oz. I think. Kudos for offering the small glass pour. And you can buy as few as one. No need to invest in a flight but they do offer the "paddle of four" if you want to go that route. I don't know why more craft beer bars won't offer the smaller portion size.

Reasonable food, plenty of sports on the big screens (not that big though if that's your thing) and even live music on the weekends. All in all a good spot to explore a world of beer.
Nov 08, 2013
 
Rated: 4.25 by TheRealPour from Illinois

Oct 30, 2013
 
Rated: 5 by larryarms847 from Illinois

Oct 13, 2013
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Reviewed by cnbrown313 from Illinois

4.04/5  rDev -2.2%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.25
A friend of mine lives in Evanston and recently started getting into craft beer and invited me to come check this place out.

A - There is a long bar that goes around the whole place with numerous taps (I'm going to guess maybe 40 taps at least). Behind the bar there are probably 8-10 coolers with beers stacked from floor to ceiling. There was also some local band playing in the back as well and several TVs within viewing range.

Q - The selection was very large and diverse. Ranging from your most popular Belgian trappist beers to the newest American double IPA. There wasn't anything super rare or unique on the menu, but they had just about every beer widely distributed in the area. I even bought a limited Three Floyds beer that just happened to be out (In the Name of Suffering).

S - Service was knowledgeable and attentive. They served each beer in the proper glass and at a nice temperature.

F - There is food available, but I don't recommend that you order it. All bars in Evanston have to serve food in order to get a liquor license, otherwise they wouldn't. Instead, order delivery into the bar (they allow you to do this). I ordered from Cheesie's (gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches) and it was amazing.

V - The beers were a little on the pricey side... nothing terrible though. I would stick to draft beer and even flights (there are plenty of good ones available). Ordering bottles is not your best value, but it may be fun to try 1.
Jun 25, 2013
World of Beer in Evanston, IL
Place rating: 4.13 out of 5 with 25 ratings