In the early 2000s, Joel Light moved to Wichita from Seattle to take a job as an executive at Boeing. He was fine with the move, but he’d become spoiled with his access to quality microbrews in the Pacific Northwest. In Wichita, he could find only Bud Light and Miller Light.
Then, driving home from work one night, he noticed the original Old Chicago on East Kellogg and its claim that it carried 110 different beers.
“I thought, ‘Well, heck. I’ll just go there,’” he remembers. “And they did have a lot of good, different beers.”
Though Old Chicago did not carry Light’s favorite West coast beers — Pyramid and Widmer Brothers — he found plenty of other unique beers he liked, and Old Chicago became his place.
More than 20 years later, Old Chicago is still Light’s place. And he’s their guy. On Saturday, the Old Chicago in Old Town Square , 300 N. Mead, will honor Light and his latest microbrew milestone — completing his 180th “World Beer Tour” — at a celebration that starts at 3 p.m.
According to Old Chicago, Light has ordered almost 20,000 beers since his first visit in 2001. To complete just a single World Beer Tour, a customer must drink 110 different beers. Finishing so many is a pretty unusual feat, said Old Chicago spokesperson Chandler Ray.
It’s earned Light not only his own little party on Saturday, which the public is welcome to attend, but also tickets to see the Wichita Wind Surge.
Light said he’s a fan of microbrews, and his Old Chicago habit started as a way for him to try different craft beers and get some alone time after work.
Light, who switched to the Old Chicago Old Town years ago because it was more his style, was described in a news release from the bar as a “beloved regular” and a “rock star.”
But Light says he’s no Norm from “Cheers.”
“They don’t exclude anyone,” he said of the “super friendly” bartenders at the restaurant. “It’s just a great environment, in my opinion. If you want to be left alone, which I do, they leave you alone. If you want to be part of a family, you can as well. I’m more of a, ‘Just leave me alone and let me drink my beer and look at my emails.’”
Light, who left Boeing years ago and now uses his PhD working as an online instructor, says that many weeks, he stops in for a beer every day. Sometimes, he’s out of town and misses lots of days. He drinks responsibly, though, and he drinks because he loves the art of beer making. Since he first developed his hobby, many local craft breweries have popped up, and he loves them, too — especially Hopping Gnome , Nortons and Wichita Brewing Company .
As for his favorite type of beer? That’s simple.
“Cold and now,” he said. “Those are my favorite two.”
Flashback Friday: Wichita has somehow survived a decade without this legendary restaurant
Old Town liquor store will serve drive-through, walk-up customers who need ‘pregame’ help
Albero Cafe owner is working on a new restaurant for Central and Hillside
Most Popular
Comments / 0