Gilbert’s World of Beer morphs into HopWerks, but future still in limbo

Last month, Mouth by Southwest broke the news Scottsdale-based Square One Concepts was buying the World of Beer franchises in Tempe and Tucson and converting them into its Wasted Grain concept.

Earlier: Cold Beers & Cheeseburgers coming to Gilbert, World of Beers to be Wasted Grains

At the time, I reported Square One also was trying to acquire the only other WOB in Arizona – located at San Tan Village in Gilbert – but that deal was held up by negotiations with the outdoor shopping center.

In the meantime, I noted, WOB Gilbert likely would operate for a short time under a temporary name, since the franchisee had separated from the Florida-based WOB chain and no longer could use the name.

Well, that change takes place this week with the venue rechristening itself HopWerks. The craft beer bar remains open 11 a.m.-midnight Sunday-Thursday and 11 a.m.-2 a.m. Friday and Saturday.

Changes will be rolled out over the next few weeks. The old WOB signage will be replaced Wednesday. New branded glassware will replace the WOB glasses.

The bar retains all 60 of its taps and continues to sell bottles, but manager Dustin Roberts says there’s a new focus on offering a greater variety of beers from acclaimed craft breweries like Founders and Firestone Walker.

WOB’s typical bar-food menu – pretzels, hummus, calamari, sliders, etc. – remains for at least the rest of this week, but new menu concepts are being discussed. The goal, Roberts says, is to introduce a new menu next week.

WOB’s happy hour – $4 select drafts from 3-7 p.m. – also remains in effect, at least for now.

Look for an official relaunch party for HopWerks in a couple of weeks, according to Roberts.