The audacity of them to charge tax and not explicitly disclose it. Really - you've never been to a bar whose draft prices were exclusive of tax?

humuloneranger wrote:But the thing that put me over the edge when I got my tab was this: draft prices do not include tax, and nowhere on the menu is this spelled out. Suddenly that $6 pint of Metropolitan Iron Works is closer to $7. I can't recall ever going to a bar that pulled this.

Hopleaf changed their draft prices to not including tax a year or so ago and now tax is added to the draft list price. It's disclosed on the menu, but plenty of bars add tax to the draft list price.

Hopped Up wrote:Hopleaf changed their draft prices to not including tax a year or so ago and now tax is added to the draft list price. It's disclosed on the menu, but plenty of bars add tax to the draft list price.

Thanks, I hadn't noticed that. I suppose it tends to be better hidden when there's food on the bill.

humuloneranger wrote:Evanston could really use another quality beer destination.

Smylie Bros. is scheduled to open in the fall - a brewpub, in the old Oak Street Market space (on Oak Street, across from the post office). Sounds like a pretty ambitious brewing schedule.

milz50 wrote: The audacity of them to charge tax and not explicitly disclose it. Really - you've never been to a bar whose draft prices were exclusive of tax?

Maybe this is an Evanston regulation. On the occasions when I have attended a music concert at SPACE, I had time for one or two beers afterward in Union Pizzeria, and its price is exclusive of tax.
In Chicago, Villains Bar @ 649 S. Clark St. does not include taxes on its beer prices. (But I have not been there in 1¼ years.)

pudgym29 wrote:

milz50 wrote: The audacity of them to charge tax and not explicitly disclose it. Really - you've never been to a bar whose draft prices were exclusive of tax?

Maybe this is an Evanston regulation. On the occasions when I have attended a music concert at SPACE, I had time for one or two beers afterward in Union Pizzeria, and its price is exclusive of tax.
In Chicago, Villains Bar @ 649 S. Clark St. does not include taxes on its beer prices. (But I have not been there in 1¼ years.)

It has nothing to do with Evanston...the cocktails at Ward Eight are inclusive of tax. I consider both scenarios common enough that it is surprising to me that a beer expert had never experienced both.

I've only been to the Naperville location, but based on the typical beer selection to be found out here, I have a hard time working up much indignation at a place that offers a diverse range of good beers, however plastic and corporate the concept is. 10 years ago if WOB opened up in most neighborhoods it would be the best beer bar around. I consider the fact that this is nowhere even near to being the truth today is a good thing, not a bad thing.

pudgym29 wrote:

milz50 wrote: The audacity of them to charge tax and not explicitly disclose it. Really - you've never been to a bar whose draft prices were exclusive of tax?

Maybe this is an Evanston regulation. On the occasions when I have attended a music concert at SPACE, I had time for one or two beers afterward in Union Pizzeria, and its price is exclusive of tax.
In Chicago, Villains Bar @ 649 S. Clark St. does not include taxes on its beer prices. (But I have not been there in 1¼ years.)

Another reason that Villains doesn't charge tax is because they don't sell anything since they've been closed for quite a while now. There are persistent rumors that Villains will be resurrected - one rumor has it in a location very close to the original and another has it in an entirely different neighborhood.

I went to the Goose Island tap takeover at WOB on Wednesday night and generally had a pretty good time tasting some great beer. I had a flight of their Golden Goddess (a Koelsch brewed with an Intelligentsia tea), the regular Bourbon County stout, and this year's two Bourbon County Stout variants.

Although the beer was good, there were a couple disappointments. First, they scheduled this event at the same time as their weekly trivia night. It was a little hard to enjoy these incredible beers when people were screaming Beyonce lyrics all around me. I think they could have scheduled this on a better night.

In addition, I would have liked for them to feature the Goose Island representatives more prominently. There was a table of these guys sitting there, but I never heard them get up to say anything. I would have liked a little Q&A session or something. Maybe I didn't stay late enough for this (left around 10:30), but I was just surprised.

Overall, I sort of got the impression that the Goose Island tap takeover was playing second fiddle to their trivia night. In my opinion, that says quite a bit about the type of establishment WOB is trying to be.

To place credit where credit is due: WOB is dipping into the hyperlocal, with Lake Effect Brewing's beer. I may stop in for this and try a flight, as I've never sampled the wares of this brewery (located at 4727 W Montrose, Chicago 60601). Anyone here tried Lake Effect? Yea or nay on the beer?
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https://www.facebook.com/events/5943339 ... a11f78a0ea

Today (3/7/2013) at 3:00pm until March 8 at 1:00am.

Join us this THURSDAY for a LOCAL FLAVOR TAP TAKEOVER, our first in a series of events that will celebrate our local breweries!

We will be featuring the following drafts by Chicago's own LAKE EFFECT BREWING COMPANY ......

- KUHLER SEE
- LAKE EFFECT SNOW
- MALTY MEDLEY
- FRESH COAST PALE ALE
- and one MYSTERY beer that will be announced the day of the event!

The World of Beer is spinning into downtown Chicago. The craft-beer restaurant chain is expanding beyond its two suburban locations in Naperville and Evanston into the city, where it plans five more, said Evanston investor Ted Mavrakis, who owns the franchise rights for the chain in Illinois.

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/realesta ... wn-chicago