The Blind Pig Brewery in Champaign offers an extremely wide range of beers. Photo by Tom Root (Tom Root, Buzz photographer)

It might not be the first thing you notice about The Blind Pig, winner of CU’s best beer selection, but one aspect of this place that contributes to its laid-back ambience is awfully important.

“There isn’t a single television in this entire bar,” says bartender Sarah Couch, “and that definitely contributes to a conversational atmosphere.”

By virtue of being in downtown Champaign, The Blind Pig doesn’t have to focus on cheap deals with dime-a-dozen domestic beers. Instead, the selection of beer at this bar should be categorized with the Dewey Decimal System; it takes two whole sides of a menu to outline all the bottled and draft beers available. And don’t worry if you don’t know your beers like you know the alphabet; the bartenders are awfully helpful in narrowing your tastes down to a few specific brews.

“We have a very diverse clientele with all sorts of different tastes,” quips Couch.

So expand your tastes, and head downtown for some high-quality beer with a classy atmosphere.