World of Beer in West Palm Beach is an Infinite Universe of Beer

​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.

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