It's hard to believe, but we haven't been to Peoria Hofbrau since last November! I need to get some points on my World Beer Tour card and we're overdue for an MBIP Contributing Writers Lunch, so I thought we'd combine the two today. Let's make tracks to the Hofbrau!
Here we are at one of my favorite places in town, the Peoria Hofbrau!
Nice to see the Wooden soldiers are still standing guard over this place!
Let's go in and let this week's tour begin!
It's MBIP pal, Contributing Writer and Wheelman, Scott Turley! Okay, we can officially let this party begin!
Here's Peoria Hofbrau owner, Andy standing underneath the World Beer Tour sign! Always great to see Andy and it turns out that my friend Lisa who you all met and I reconnected with the other week used to work here at the Hofbrau. I told Andy that Lisa said to say hi and that she sends her regards and Andy immediately cracked a huge smile and said that Lisa was more than an employee here and that she was like one of the family. Andy said to say hi to Lisa, so hi to Lisa from Andy!
And here's Andy pouring the first beer of this week's tour! We're getting that much closer to our gold plaque on the wall in here! I'm hoping to finish this tour before the year is over, so stay tuned!
It's Vanessa, the pretty daytime bartender along with Reid who had just started working here the last time we visited. Glad to see he's still here and wonderful to see Vanessa again! She always picks the best beers for me!
And while we're on the subject of familiar faces, there's Spuds MacKenzie standing at attention behind the bar!
They've got a dozen taps of ever-changing beers in here, along with a huge selection of imported and domestic bottled beers.
This sign looms over the beer taps and one of these times I need to learn what it means!
This is my favorite corner in the Hofbrau!
I love all the knick-knacks and bric-a-brac on the shelves in here. You could while a way an entire day just looking at all of the wonderful items on display in here.
Here's the listing for the newest drafts that have arrived.
And here's all the golden plaques on the wall from people that have completed the tour. I can't wait for the MBIP plaque to be added to the wall. We'll have a big celebration when that happens!
This is one of the most impressive things I've ever seen in my life, it's the Bob Whitaker Hall of Fame corner. Bob has completed over 100 beer tours in here and all of these plaques are his!
And look who just walked in the door, the man himself, Bob Whitaker! Bob told me he's currently on his 130th beer tour! No one will ever beat his record and he's truly a beer drinking champion! He's also a great artist and you can see his artwork at Kenny's Westside Pub and One World Cafe. He was recently the Artist of the Month at One World Cafe. Always a pleasure to see Bob!
It turns out that the other two MBIP Contributors that are coming for lunch are running a little late, so Scott and I are going to place our orders.
I got the chicken noodle and it tasted even more fantastic than it looks!
For my entree I got the nachos. Lisa told me this was one of her favorite items on the menu in here, so I told her I'd order it and dedicate it to her! Cheers and all the best to you, Lisa!
The nachos are so good in here! The cheese is rich and the meat is spicy and robust, thanks for the suggestion, Lisa!
Alright, MBIP Contributing Writer and pal, Chip Joyce just joined us at the table. Chip almost forgot about the lunch today because he had been sick at the beginning of the week and he said he's all messed up on what day it is. I suggested he have a liquid lunch to feel better and as you can see, he passed on that idea!
And last, but certainly not least, Bob Gordon showed up. Bob owns Acme Comics and he had a ham and cheese sandwich for lunch. Scott got the chili dogs and I forgot to take a picture of them because I was too busy eating those delicious nachos!
After lunch, Scott and Chip had to hit the road, so Bob and I made our way to the bar. Along the way we ran into Henrietta, the pretty night shift bartender, who's on the other side of the bar for once with her friend, Jay. Great to see both of them!
Mark was hoisting a beer at the end of the bar and we sat down next to him and had a nice chat with him!
Cheers from Bob and I! Thanks to everybody at the Hofbrau for another wonderful afternoon in one of Peoria's finest bars and restaurants! We'll see you all tomorrow...and hey, let's be careful out there!
Names of beers: Introvert, IPA, Helles Yeah - Leinenkugels, New Belgium Blue Paddle, Dirty Blonde Chocolate Ale, Dogfish Head and Hacker-Pschorr Weisse.
Total number of points for The World Beer Tour (100 points needed to complete the World Tour): 56.
Related Posts: Peoria Hofbrau World Beer Tour—Week Five, week four, week three, week two and week one.