Since today is #NationalBeerDay, let's take a little trip down memory lane and talk about a liquid that's central to the Olympic's existence: beer. For the first ~30 years of the Olympic Tavern's existence, we only had three beers on tap: Blatz, Blatz, and Blatz. When the shift changes happened at Ingersoll, World Tool, and the other local machine shops in the 50s and 60s, the bar would fill up so quickly that the crew couldn't pour beer fast enough, so we'd keep at least three kegs on tap. Unfortunately, they eventually discontinued Blatz on tap — we still keep PBR on tap as a cheap beer option. Approaching the early 2000s, people started asking for new beers, so we increased our lineup to include more import and craft options like Newcastle, Warsteiner Dunkel, Hacker Pschorr, and some of the first ever kegs of Blue Moon, Goose Island, Lagunitas, and Sierra Nevada. Then about a decade ago, we remodeled the bar room and went up to our current 30+ tap system, and we are proud to pour the freshest, widest variety of styles that you'll find in the Rockford area. We've worked hard to develop great relationships with local breweries, and because of that, you'll frequently find kegs on tap at Olympic that you just won't find elsewhere. Lastly, we hope you'll notice that on our blackboard (and also at the top of every beer menu), we print the date of our last draft line cleaning. Without regular draft maintenance, your beer will pour with too much foam, bacteria will build up in the lines and you'll end up with a pint that tastes "off," so our lines are professionally cleaned every two weeks by T & G's Draught Service. Take a look at our blackboard (or our website) for the current lineup. And if you're enjoying a pint at another bar — ask when their last line cleaning was! 😀😎