The Local Tourist Takes A Tour of First Draft (649 S. Clark)

A lot has been made about the race between First Draft (649 S. Clark) and Villain's (730 S. Clark) to see which bar would open first.  Clearly it's not a race, but it does sound like there will be two solid drinking establishments opening up soon on South Clark.

Over the past couple of weeks we've posted about Villain's and new information trickling out about their build-out.  Today we read a good post on The Local Tourist about First Draft:

Inside First Draft (via The Local Tourist)

As the Chicago beer scene continues to explode, so does the list of places we can go to enjoy a good beer. The hottest neighborhood right now for the brewing industry is the South Loop. At least three new breweries are moving into the neighborhood and along with a number of bars designed specifically for hop heads, beer geeks and people who work in the Loop.  

On the cusp of opening is First Daft on Clark Street. Run by a group of South Loop locals, First Draft will be a mixture of neighborhood sports bar and draught beer sanctuary. Owner Tommy Bystol has worked in the neighborhood’s bar and nightlife scene for nearly a decade and is building First Draft as an upscale bar with an emphasis on unique and flavorful beer.  

The new bar will have 64 draft lines covering 20 plus styles of beer, 25 flat screen TVs, and a custom-built dual temperature cooler to kegs at the perfect temperature. To ensure every drink is as fresh as possible, the most of the beer will be drawn out of sixth barrels – aka five gallon torpedo kegs. This allows Bystol to order fresh beer when it’s needed instead of watching a half barrel slowly age.

Glad to hear The Local Tourist sees the Sloop as one of the hottest neighborhoods for the brewing industry.  Nice to read positive comments about the burgeoning brew establishments in the hood.