August 28, 2011
I recently returned to Itchy City on business after a four year absence, and found that the Anchor had been vastly improved. The praire hipster vibe is still noticeable, but it no longer translates into poor service or judgemental attitudes. The barstaff who waited on me both times I visited, was friendly and helpful. Their beer knowledge had gaps, but they were obviously trying to learn as much as they could. The selection was limited by what was available in mid-Kansas, so the Belgian list was tight, but the regional offering had grown much larger in the four intervening years between visits. Food was limited to pubgrub, but it was thoroughly satisfying. The only off-note was that I witnessed a bartender selling bottles of Orval, Delerium Tremens, and Chimay to three visiting servicemen without offering glasses. One trooper returned and requested a glass, and he was given a shaker pint....yikes! The great news is that the owner is establishing a cellaring process, in which she pulled a lot of bottle conditioned beers off the sales inventory to be aged. I noticed a local store had various vintages of Samichlaus and Anchor Our Special (Christmas) Ale bottles for sale. I couldn’t help but notice that the most recent review for the Anchor was last October, so I felt compelled to give it some love. If you find yourself in WCT, give the Anchor a try.

October 3, 2010
Interesting place. In a nice place of town. Nice little bar filled with wannabe hipsters.Had the turkey reuben wh.ich was pretty good. Nice tap list for the the area, but it is weird they have all the taps are in a back room or something. Only place in the town if your looking for a good beer IMO.

October 31, 2007
Cool downtown hangout-a real bar with good ambiance. I sat at the bar and the service was prompt. Good tap and bottle selection, including Ommegeddon on tap-sweet. The reuben was wonderful. I’ll take this place in again next time I’m in Wichita.

August 1, 2006
A bit of an unusual place to have in such a conservative area, but oh well. Next to Hell Bomb Tattoo Parlor, which is also a nice name for a rock band (Hell Bomb, that is.). Service at a table was terrible; the place was at about half-capacity and I saw 5 waitresses on duty. It took 15 minutes to get a Coors Lite bottle, and another five for the Free States on tap that we ordered. 20 minutes for 4 beers. Not good. I went back and bellied up to the bar, where I received much better service. Great selection, but using the same style glass for every beer isn’t good. Oh well.

March 20, 2006 [ Updated June 17, 2008 ]
Went here with a friend on St. Patrick’s Day 2006. The best selection of beer I have seen in Wichita. Almost all bottled, but they carry a few taps. Quality beer, but my Unibroue was served with a shaker glass! If you are going to have good beer, why not have good glasses? A nice clean atmosphere that seemed pretty hip (for Wichita anyway). I would visit again.

April 25, 2005 [ Updated February 21, 2007 ]
I now have no reason to ever go to Old Chicago again. They have all the good beer that Old Chicago, plus a little bit more good beer, and none of the crap. This place is exceptional in that they really try not to have any crap macros. They do have some Bud Light, but that’s really about the only macro. Draft beers are served only just a touch cooler than I’d like, but then a place that doesn’t serve ice cold in a frozen mug is a big step up from Old Chicago. Another huge plus: full espresso bar! The bar is located in Old Town, right next to a piercing place and a tattoo parlor, so the crowd here can tend towards that youngish hipster scene, pseudo-goth/punk. But its also somewhat artsy and there’s some aging hipsters too. In the middle of a warm afternoon, the place is calm, open and airy, a great place to drink a few good beers. No rarities but enough of a selection to please. Update: they do serve food here, and the fish n chips rocks! Its some of the best I’ve had!