World of Beer Chelsea has 550 brews

Just in time for Oktoberfest celebrations, the national chain World of Beer has opened its first NYC outpost, in Chelsea. Local microbreweries are well represented among the 550 rotating taps and bottles.

Eight certified cicerones – the beer version of a wine sommelier – are on staff to help you decide on the right one for you.  Or, order a beer flight for four samples. For me it’s an easy choice – hefeweizen, preferably on tap, because beer always tastes better from the tap.

World of Beer Chelsea is at 316 Eighth Avenue, at 25th Street. The huge beer hall and restaurant opens at 11am daily, and the tavern menu is available through late night, which is 1am weeknights and 2am on weekends.  It’s a typical brewpub menu with sandwiches, burgers and such, and beer-friendly snacks like German soft pretzels.

And because it’s New York City, the food capital of the world, there are some NYC-specific items, including Atlantic Salmon, pork shanks and Mediterranean hummus.  World of Beer Chelsea menu.

Here’s the list of NYC and Tri-State microbreweries you can find here, provided to NYC on the Cheap by a restaurant spokesperson, because we asked:

From Brooklyn –

• Brooklyn Brewery, Sixpoint Brewery and KelSo Brewery

From Bronx –

• The Bronx Brewery and Gun Hill Brewing Co.

From Queens –

• SingleCut Beersmiths (Astoria)

From Long Island –

• Blue Point Brewing Company (Patchogue), Barrier Brewing Co. (Oceanside) and Great South Bay Brewery (Bay Shore)

From the Hudson Valley –

• Captain Lawrence Brewing Company (Elmsford), Peekskill Brewery (Peekskill), Andean Brewing Company (Blauvelt)

WOB Chelsea is the franchise’s fourth tavern in New York State. They’ve opened 14 taverns this year and plans to open another dozen by the end of the year. Since its first location in Tampa, Fla., in 2007, it’s grown to 71 locations in 19 states across the U.S. , and plan to open 30 more in the next few years.

The people behind World of Beer come from other national chains, including Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba’s Italian Grill and P.F. Chang’s China Bistro.

Beer is big business these days, especially microbrews, also called craft beers. According to the Brewers Association, craft beer is a $19.6 billion market.

What’s your favorite beer?  Mine is hefeweizen.