News Archive

In Memory of John "Hambie" Hamilton

Hambie took his last call on April 8, 2010 at the age of 78. He had completed over 108 tours and was and still is the current WBT leader in Nebraska.

This was a feat that he was very proud of.

Now Hambie is starting a new tour with no restrictions and the bar is always open. Cheers to you my friend! I will miss you but never forget you!

Click here to read more about Hambie.

Please check out my BLOG to leave stories or comments in tribute to Hambie.

Hambie's 100^th Tour Celebration...Pub Crawl to Omaha OCs

We are organizing a pub crawl to celebrate Hambie completing 100 world beer tours. He actually completed it on July 5^th, but we are just getting around to a pub crawl. We will be having the pub crawl on this Saturday, August 1^st. The itinerary is as follows:

Saturday, August 1^st

Oakview visit- 12 PM-1 PM
Travel between Oakview and Eagle Run- 1-1:15
Eagle Run visit- 1:15-2:15
Travel between Eagle Run and Cass- 2:15-2:30
Cass visit- 2:30-3:30
Travel between Cass and Downtown- 3:30-3:45
Downtown Omaha visit- 3:45-4:45
Travel between Downtown and Oakview- 4:45-5:00

Each Old Chicago would provide some munchies. All participants would be required to find their own ride. People may show up for any or all of the trip. All participants will pay for their own beverages. I am trying to get complimentary non-alcoholic beverages for DD’s, but don’t know for sure yet.

Participants would have the option of purchasing a commemorative T-shirt (design and cost being finalized by Ross).

As you can see, there is no bus, and transportation is up to each individual or group of individuals to figure out. It is also only in Omaha, so nothing in Lincoln or Papillion. If anyone is interested, please let me know, and if you want a T-shirt, give me your size. Cost is TBD, but I am guessing around $10 each. Also, if you did want to go, let me know if you would like to hit all OC’s, or just pick a couple to hit.

Click here to learn more about Hambie.

WBT 101

I remember when I first started going to Old Chicago, I was really impressed by that long row of tappers behind the bar. I was already a fan of a few imported beers like Becks, St. Pauli Girl, Moosehead, Guinness and Grolsch. But here was an opportunity to drink over 110 different beers from all around the world! I got started and have really enjoyed the journey that the World Beer Tour offers.

I took to the WBT like a duck to water. But I know my experience differs from some. I’m aware that there are many people who have their one favorite domestic beer and basically have to ‘choke down’ virtually anything else. Others (gasp) don’t like beer at all! I hope this blog will give those folks a few tips on how to successfully navigate their first tour.

Beer, like many of the fine things in life, is an acquired taste. Most beers have some level of bitterness in their flavor (depending on the amount of hops used in the brewing process), which I believe is what turns many people off. For a novice, I would recommend starting with less bitter beers until you have developed an appreciation for beer. There are a number of beers that have a relatively smooth finish. This is particularly common in American lagers and more so in light beers like Bud Light, Coors Light, and Miller Lite. A few of the domestic craft beers are also very smooth and drinkable – Blue Moon and Boulevard Wheat come to mind. A few beers are brewed with fruit flavoring or honey and verge on being sweet. So if you see beers with ‘honey’, ‘berry’, ‘cherry’ or the like in their title, chances are it will be a sweeter beer.

Another tip – when you are at Old Chicago, you can always ask for a small sample of any tap beer before you order it, to make sure you like it well enough to drink an entire glass or mug.

Even many seasoned beer drinkers don’t enjoy as many as 110 different beers. So how to finish the WBT??? For one, take advantage of ‘rotator’ beers. These are on-tap beers which the store is trying to rotate out to make room for new beers. Rotator beers are typically posted on black boards in the store and have unique numbers which can be used over and over again in the same WBT. So if you are fortunate enough to find a rotator you like, you can drink it to your hearts content and record up to four of them each day!

One final tip to help you get to the magical 110 beers – take advantage of ‘mini-tours’. Old Chicago holds several mini-tour promotions during the year. In 2009 we have already seen a ‘St. Patrick’s Day’ mini-tour and one for ‘Cinco de Mayo’. I would also expect promotions for a ‘Summer tour’, ‘Oktoberfest tour’ and a ‘ Holiday tour’. The beers you drink in a mini-tour have unique numbers. In other words, if you drink a Guinness during the St. Patrick’s Day mini-tour, it will have a different number than a Guinness you might have enjoyed earlier in your tour. Additionally, for the duration of the mini-tour, you can drink those same few beers over and over again and still record them toward your main World Beer Tour. So if you are a big fan of Mexican beers, make sure to visit Old Chicago often during the Cinco de Mayo tour and you’ll finish the WBT before you know it.

Hope you have found this helpful. Good luck with your tour and cheers!

Thanks to Todd Hoppe (Lincoln, NE - Haymarket), seasoned WBT member, for providing this valuable insight.

Colorado Mini-Tour Information

Join any of the Colorado Old Chicago restaurants as they kick off the Colorado Beer Tour on Wednesday, May 27th from 6-8pm! The tour features six New Belgium Brewing beers, including a very limited release, Biere de Mars. Try all six beers and get your own "HERE FOR THE BEER" Colorado Mini Tour t-shirt for bragging rights throughout the summer. Plus, enter to win one of ten Fat Tire cruiser-style bikes! Tour runs May 27th - June 14th at all Colorado Old Chicago locations. Ask your tour guide (server) for details!"

St. Patrick's Day Mini-Tour - 2009

February 25th - March 17th - Oakview Store

Guiness Irish Stout

Killian's Irish Red Lager

Harp Lager

Smithwick's Irish Ale

Murphy's Irish Stout

Blarney Stone

Black Smith

Store Choice (Boulevard Irish Ale)

Jameson Irish Whiskey

Mark

Mark & Ryan

Cassie

Pat Hamell's 50th Tour Celebration - 1/24/2009

Click here to see all the great photos

32 Tours Completed on New Year's Day - 2009!

The Haymarket Store in Lincoln, Nebraska celebrated New Year's Day the "Old Chicago way." Pat Hamell coordinated with 31 other World Beer Tour members to complete tours at the same time in celebration of him completing his 50th tour! The total tours combined among all the WBT members was 252!

Holiday Mini-Tour Kick-Off Party (2008)

Oakview (Omaha, NE) is having a mini-tour contest. A drawing will occur on January 7th to determine the winners. To be eligible, you must complete two holiday mini-tours. Each additional tour is another chance to win.

Top three prizes include:

One free World Beer Tour (110 beers for free!!!) WINNER: Todd Ratigan
One Signature Bike WINNER: Pat Hamell
Two $50 Trade Card WINNER: ??

Congratulations to all the winners!

Go to Old Chicago's website to view all the mini-tour beers at other locations.

DJ Howie & Santa (Ryan) Kara & Kristin

Joe, Santa (Ryan), Mark

Mike amongst his Old Chicago friends

Gary's 50th Tour Celebration...Meet the 247 Club (2008)

In celebration of Gary Hammack (Omaha, NE - Oakveiw) completing 50 tours, Mike arranged a party van for 10 World Beer Tour Members to hit all of the Omaha area OC's. The 247 Club was born that afternoon. What is the 247 Club? It was the combined total amount of tours completed by all 10 members taking part in the celebration. That amounts to a hell of a lot of beer...27,170 to be exact (and counting)! Click here to take a trip down memory lane to view the photos of that day.

Gary became the 48th WBT member to join the Super Hall of Foam (50 tours or more)! Way to go Gary!

Congratulations...The Biggest Loser Is...(2008)

Mark Krueger

Omaha (Oakview) Nebraska

He got a grand total of only 15 points in the

Old Chicago "Beat the Leader" Football Contest.

He challenges you to try and beat that with a lower score.

And yes, he tried picking the winning teams and points!

You need to pick the winner of all 16 teams and assign them a point value from 1 to 16.

All winning teams' points are added up to get the grand total.

Meet John "Hambie" Hamilton...Nebraska's World Beer Tour Leader

Hambie started coming to Old Chicago (downtown Omaha) in 2001. He was looking for a place where he could try many different beers. When the Oakview location opened, he started frequenting that location because it was close to where he worked. He has established himself at both locations as a regular. As a matter of fact, the Downtown location has a reserved spot at the bar just for Hambie.

During the holiday season, Hambie acts as Old Chicago's local Santa Claus. He usually comes in with a small bag of gifts for the staff who have made a positive impact on his life.

In the summer of 2005 the Downtown location sponsored a local mini-tour known as the, "Hambie Tour", in honor of him reaching 50 tours. The Oakview and Downtown locations got together and coordinated a bus tour on the final day of the Hambie Tour. The bus hit up all four Omaha locations in salute to Hambie. Many regulars from both locations came out on the bus to show their support, admiration and of course to drink a lot of beer.

Hambie may be his childhood nickname, but I like to call him "The Governor" because he leads the WBT in Nebraska. As of today, he has reached over 90 tours!

If you happen to meet "The Governor" and would like to buy him a beer, Mexican beers are his favorite...specifically Pacifico!

Mike & Hambie

Mike Meets Robert "Zog" Mahoney, Iowa's World Beer Tour Leader

On November 7, 2008 I met up with Bob Mahoney at the Bettendorf, Iowa location. Beware if he offers to buy you a drink called the Laser Beam. It's a potent combination of Rumple Minze, Jack Daniels, and Grand Marnier. The Bettendorf store purchased a special bar stool which has a plaque indicating it is reserved for Robert "Zog" Mahoney in celebration of his 100th tour.

Why Old Chicago?

He lived in the neighborhood and thought the staff and people were friendly. He joined the WBT and has been going there for about 12 years.

Favorite Hobbies

Beer Tour, playing NTN Trivia, and playing chess. His favorite NTN Trivia game is Showdown.

Favorite Beer

Any dark beer. He thinks beer such as Coors Light, Bud Light, Miller Lite are too watered down and doesn't understand why people drink them.

Favorite Mini-Tour

Oktoberfest

Favorite OC Food

The Thai Pie Calzone

Motto

"If a bar has a bouncer, I avoid that bar."

Bob & Mike

Mike Meets JD Dick...All-Time World Beer Tour Leader

Where Mike met JD Dick: While visiting Colorado stores, Mike and Carrie were ending their evening at the Colorado Blvd. Store. Bartender told us this was JD Dick's home store and told us when he frequents the store. We came back to the store two days later and met the legendary JD Dick.

Who is JD Dick? Not only the all-time World Beer Tour Leader (279 tours completed when Mike met him) but he is also a retired Navy veteran.

How he discovered Old Chicago: Being a huge Washington Redskins fan, he was looking for a place to watch the games when he came across Old Chicago. They signed him up for the beer tour and he was hooked ever since.

NTN Trivia: JD Dick plays two boards at one time to keep both hands occupied...more trivia...less beer. Look for USNRET if you are looking for a some trivia competition with him.

Home Store: JD Dick changes his home store after the completion of every tour.

JD Dick provided us with a lot of interesting stories and history about Old Chicago. He even surprised us by showing up at the Tamarac Store after learning about our next store visit. He notified the staff that we were on our way. We walked in and received a very warm Old Chicago welcome. JD Dick is well known by the staff and customers of the Old Chicago's in the Denver area.

Click here to see additional photos with JD Dick.

Flood in Coralville, Iowa (2008)