REVIEW – MegaBeer retailer World of Beer opened a new location at The Landing in Renton, WA. See their web page for all the details. 50 Taps. 500 labels. Yum.

So What Exactly IS World of Beer?

It is a pub that does not serve its own food. It sells a lot of craft beers, mostly from the west coast. It is a gathering place for the after-work Boeing crowd from the looks of things. In the evening, they feature live music – but no dance floor per se. You can boogie at your table if you are so inclined. Meet market? Not that I could tell on the couple of visits I have made there. Most of the folks there came with someone or with a group and seemed to not interact with anyone not at their table.

It is not a bottle shop. If you were hoping that those 500 bottled beers were arranged like Beer Junction, or All Things Wine, hope again. The brews are safely tucked away from customers in coolers behind the bar – quite a beautiful bar too, by the way – and are more for display than actual browsing/selection. They have a beer menu that lists what is in the coolers, and the prices.

Oh. Prices. Umm. Bring lots of $$ if you are planning to sample a few. A Fremont IPA that you can get at a bottle shop for $3.99 will set you back $10.50 here. Not all the prices are marked up as much. There are several in the $4-5 range. Quilter’s Irish Death from Iron Horse Brewing is another one more than double what you might expect. Caveat Emptor, as the say. Know before you go. Pints of those 50 brews on tap also vary widely in price, and average around $5.50. They have some clubs you can join that offer rewards after a certain number of purchases.

There is nothing like it at the Landing. It will be a great place to go before or after a movie for a great beer. WOB has partenered with several nearby eateries who will deliver your order right to your table at WOB; Jimmy John’s, Five Guys Burgers, Gyro House and Fresh Way Pizza.

Other Renton pubs with a wide variety of craft beers include the Dog and Pony and The Whistle Stop. Both of those places have a full kitchen and make some very nice eats in addition to a decent rotation of quality craft beers.

The WA State legislature has rolled a budget out of committees that does not include an increase in the excise taxes paid by small brewers in the state – and will keep its promise to let the tax on bigger brewers expire on July 1, 2013.

They were contemplating budget proposals that included huge excise tax increases on WA craft beer, and extending the “temporary” tax passed a couple years back. Several blogs and brewery tweets called for those loyal to the concept of craft beer to contact their representatives and explain to them why this is a disastrous move for the industry. WA craft brewers went to Olympia to testify against these proposals. These efforts apparently had a major impact judging from the results.

You can read about this at the following  sites:

• Washington Brewers Guild
• Washington Beer Blog
• Puget Sound Business Journal
• Let the Beer Tax Expire (as promised)
• American Homebrewers Association
• Brewers Association
• Who Will Pay the Proposed Craft Beer Tax
• Also check out some of WBB’s archived posts – really well done!