Blue Max Liquors

Blue Max LiquorsBlue Max Liquors
Blue Max LiquorsBlue Max Liquors
Store

14640 10th Ave S
Burnsville, Minnesota, 55337-4603
United States

(952) 432-3350 | map
PLACE STATS
Average:
4.48
Reviews:
96
Ratings:
114
pDev:
8.26%
View: Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by KAF:
Photo of KAF
Rated by KAF from Iowa

4.5/5  rDev +0.4%

Nov 09, 2014
More User Ratings:
Photo of nruhlig
Reviewed by nruhlig from Minnesota

4.75/5  rDev +6%
vibe: 4.75 | quality: 4.75 | service: 4.75 | selection: 4.75
Stopped by for the secret stache event on 3/16/2019. Staff was great, store was clean, and selection was awesome. Will be stopping again when in the area.
Mar 22, 2019
Photo of NickSMpls
Reviewed by NickSMpls from Washington

4.28/5  rDev -4.5%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.75
We have been patrons of Blue Max for 30 years, right after moving back to MN from a miserable year living in Dallas. Good beer stock, but check the dates on imports and the more obscure brews Help is friendly, but you need to ask for Jim for the best info on beer.
Nov 21, 2016
 
Rated: 4.78 by MPLS-Beer-Hound from Minnesota

Jul 29, 2016
 
Rated: 4.35 by Dms844 from Minnesota

Jun 21, 2016
 
Rated: 4.5 by MonkeyPilates from Minnesota

Sep 13, 2015
 
Rated: 4.28 by djhowell from Wisconsin

Apr 30, 2015
 
Rated: 4.22 by Taybeh from Minnesota

Apr 06, 2015
 
Rated: 4.54 by XmnwildX12 from Minnesota

Feb 23, 2015
Photo of pat61
Reviewed by pat61 from Minnesota

4.64/5  rDev +3.6%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5
They have probably the best selection in Minnesota and the staff are friendly enough but they have some beers that are a few years old that should not be - especially some of their Belgians.
Jan 19, 2015
 
Rated: 4.75 by Mulnexus from Minnesota

Oct 27, 2014
 
Rated: 4.88 by BeerSnobRobinson from Minnesota

Oct 03, 2014
Photo of Sludgeman
Reviewed by Sludgeman from District of Columbia

4.26/5  rDev -4.9%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4.5
Blue Max Liquors Minneapolis MN

Visited on during a business trip on a Tuesday around noon. Well worth the time I spent before I had to jump on a plane for home. If you are out by the airport you are probably only fifteen minutes away. Easy to get to you of South 35E.

Vibe – Clean and well lit, but a typical liquor store vibe. Signs tout themselves as best beer selection in Minneapolis. Most beers in coolers. Signs indicating countries. 3.75

Quality – Most beer in coolers. Did not find out dated beer. 4

Service – I was asked twice for if I needed help. Everyone was friendly giving me the time I needed to look around. 4

Selection – Excellent selection. Local breweries well represented. A tremendous variety of foreign brews. I was particularly impressed with their selection of English beers. They had all four varieties of the J.W. Lees Harvest Ale (regular and three barrel aged varieties) in at least four different vintages. Purchased some Surly Furious and Pentagram, Fulton War & Peace and Jolly Pumpkin Bam Noire 4.5

Food – N/A

Price – $$$ - average to slightly above on the pricing.
Jul 22, 2014
 
Rated: 5 by BobFluhrer from Minnesota

Jul 10, 2014
 
Rated: 5 by ajs4bd from Missouri

Jul 01, 2014
 
 
Rated: 4 by greenspointexas from Texas

Apr 30, 2014
 
Rated: 4.5 by SlightlyGrey from Minnesota

Apr 28, 2014
 
Rated: 4.75 by DaveMiller from Minnesota

Apr 27, 2014
 
Rated: 4.5 by MNBeer1017 from Minnesota

Dec 06, 2013
 
Rated: 4.5 by MNMike from Minnesota

Dec 03, 2013
 
Rated: 5 by TubbyDullard from Minnesota

Nov 12, 2013
Photo of MNBeerGeek
Reviewed by MNBeerGeek from Minnesota

3.84/5  rDev -14.3%
vibe: 3.25 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.75
I was seriously pumped to finally hit up Blue Max. I'd read about it for a long time, but it's a solid 30 minute drive for me (with great beer stores very close to my place). I had the day off and made the hike. Perhaps I was just on the hunt for other things, but I was a bit disappointed. Don't get me wrong, their selection is fabulous and I love that it is all in coolers. However, it is not much above some of the other beer stores around the Twin Cities these days. For certain things you would certainly be pleased: some less distributed imports, New Holland, Epic, etc.

I was definitely disappointed by the stock (or lack thereof) of MN beer. Very little for bombers. Regardless, I do not mean this to be negative in tone. Nice folks working, impressive selection, and reasonable prices. Just not worth the hike from Minneapolis, in my opinion.

Still walked out with a decent haul.
Aug 02, 2013
Photo of JamesShoemaker
Reviewed by JamesShoemaker from Michigan

4.49/5  rDev +0.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.25 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5
Blue Max is another "must" destination in the Twin Cities, along with Zipp's and Four Firkins. Located between Burnsville and Apple Valley, it's a bit of a hike from Minneapolis, but it's definitely worth it.

The store is unimpressive looking in an unimpressive location, but things are laid out very carefully. All of their imports are refrigerated and the aisles are spacious, which is good because the store is ALWAYS busy. The selection is pretty good, particularly if you're looking for hard-to-find European imports, but don't expect a slam dunk from the domestic section. They have a lot of Minnesota locals of course, but only a smattering of everything else. High volume of Epic and New Holland Lips of Faith series, but nothing to really write home about.

The service, however, is phenomenal. The time before last that I was there, Abrasive had just come out, but they informed me that they were sold out. Well, as luck would have it, someone called and cancelled their hold on three four packs, so an employee came and hand delivered them to my cart. I asked someone if they had anything special in the back, and he brought out a bottle of Big John for me. The last time I was in there, I bought four different vintages of Celebration and, when I remarked on how cool it was that they had so many different years, they explained to me that their beer distributor auctions vintages like that from time to time. Very informative, very polite.

I like stopping in every time I go to the cities just to chat with the employees and pick up whatever Surly staple may be in season. A good store and a decent value.
May 25, 2013
Photo of emerge077
Reviewed by emerge077 from Illinois

4.29/5  rDev -4.2%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5
Best thing about Blue Max was the very competitive prices on Surly cans across the board. This was the place I was told to stock up, and wasn't disappointed.

The beer selection winds around the first aisle, around the corner and opposite the coolers in the back. First up were a few Belgian coolers, where there were a few traditional lambics but not many. Noticed Hanssens Exp. Raspberry here, but no Gueuze or Kriek for example. Staff was helpful in directing me to a numbered cooler where the Surly was (#10 I think). Current seasonals like Overrated and Bitter Brewer (which Heritage hadn't received yet). A dozen Jolly Pumpkin varieties, which was impressive. Noticed a sale shelf with discounted winter seasonals and obscure imports.

I overheard the staff recommending wild/sour ales, and pointed them to the JP's. Two beer guys were on the floor, helping customers, stocking, and manning the registers. Good service, friendly guys that made themselves available. Lots of senior citizens in here on a saturday afternoon, and I noticed a guy helping a lady to her car with a purchase.

Overall a great store, lots of obscure imports and fresh MN seasonals. A recommended destination.
May 20, 2013
Photo of MN_Beerticker
Reviewed by MN_Beerticker from Minnesota

5/5  rDev +11.6%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5
Having grown up in Burnsville, I never really knew this place existed until I made the leap into craft beer and logged into Beer Advocate. It always sort of blended in the scenery just off of Cty Rd 42. I read the reviews and set off to shop the store myself. Let just say I was amazed at the selection BlueMax has to offer! It is quite obvious they take great pride in their selection and the care taken to shelve, stock and price items.

I appreciate that a huge majority of the stock is kept in coolers making it consumption ready. I was also taken aback by the sign when you enter reading over 300 different single malt scotches available! It is definitely a store you want to go to with a shopping cart because you will find more than you can carry.
Oct 08, 2012
Photo of JosephThompson
Reviewed by JosephThompson from New Jersey

3.6/5  rDev -19.6%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.5
On my travels, this place didn't stand out all that much. It's a typically liquor store, in fact a little smaller then I expected. Beer is off to the right when you enter with the majority of the selections located in coolers.

There was some activity in the store but I wasn't bothered too much which is nice so you can actually do some shopping. If people are in love with J.W. Lees then I would suggest only shopping at Blue Max. The collection and vintages on these labels was very impressive.

For me, I was able to scoop some Pannepeut 2007 for a reasonable $8/bottle. That was it. As stated earlier, the rest of the stock was pretty standard stuff so no special stop necessary if it's out of your way.
Sep 16, 2012
Photo of Chadmanmn
Reviewed by Chadmanmn

4.88/5  rDev +8.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5
A close friend of mine is a specialty beer sales rep who sells to Blue Max. She has a portfolio of over 500 beers. It's her favorite account because they are so knowledgeable and treat her well.

I was going to end my post with that paragraph, but I need to add words, so I'll mention that it's been interesting to learn about the specialty beer industry from my friend.

Her company can never get as much product as they would like to because it's generally small scale batches that are fought over by not only the distributors like her company, but also the reps within the distributorships! There is a lot of bartering going on in the background to supply Blue Max with the excellent selection that they have. This is a credit to Blue Max, and to customers like the members of this website who make the market happen.

Blue Max is a great store, and I highly recommend them.
Jun 30, 2012
Photo of Steasy66
Reviewed by Steasy66 from Minnesota

4.88/5  rDev +8.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5
Best beer shop I have ever been to. The selection is great, I was able to pick up a '06-'11 Sierra Nevada Celebration vertical as well as Aventinus 04'-06'. The prices are also about 10% lower than most of the craft friendly stores I have been to. The staff was great, willing to break up a 6er of something I wanted to try a single of. If you are into JW Lees they had more varieties in stock than I knew existed. Its a bit of a drive for me but I will be back for sure. abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
Mar 03, 2012
Photo of JoRado
Reviewed by JoRado from Minnesota

4.14/5  rDev -7.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5
I only found out about this place because once a week I work down in Burnsville and I decided to stop in and check it out one day.

Man was I surprised! I had no idea they had such an excellent craft beer selection. There is I think one guy that is in charge of buying all the beer and he does a good job.

I do wish they used Facebook as a social media tool to let me know when they get stuff in, but apparently they use twitter a little more to update customers. Unfortunately I'm not a twitter user, but they have gotten better with the facebook account.

Staff is friendly just not too knowledgeable on the beer excluding two or three people (I know who to ask questions now if I ever am looking for something special).

Overall great place and I usually always stop in once a week whenever I am working down in Burnsville.
Feb 15, 2012
Photo of yamar68
Reviewed by yamar68 from Minnesota

4.81/5  rDev +7.4%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5
Went to Blue Max for the first time today and it surpassed all expectations. Definitely worth the drive for me.

a - Not really much to say for atmosphere, freakin' packed wall to wall with good beer so that puts it above average I guess.

q - Tons of quality stuff. It seemed like one cooler was totally dedicated to unearthed cellar gems. Anchor Christmas going back to '06 for 2 bucks a bottle and Avery Sixteen to name a few. Sweet!

sr - It was pretty empty when I was there so I'm not sure that my experience was demonstrative of an average day at Blue Max. But there was an older guy there that was extremely helpful and friendly.

sl - Unparalleled.

I would highly, highly recommend this place to anyone who has even the vaguest appreciation for anything beer or beer related.
Feb 08, 2012
Photo of AllenJasper
Reviewed by AllenJasper from Minnesota

4.31/5  rDev -3.8%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 5
On the front door, it says Minnesota's greatest beer selection... or something like that. I haven't been to every liquor store in MN, but this trumps all that I've been to.

Atmosphere: Blue Max doesn't look like much from the outside, and it really isn't, they've just crammed a ton into a little place. So, not a lot of aisle space, but a lot of beer. They know what matters most.

Service: staff seems to be rather knowledgeable, not overly friendly, I've been there 4-5 times and they don't exactly know me yet. Big deal.

Okay, my take on the south metro is this, If you want an extraordinarily good price, go to Big Top (Eagan) or Sid's Discount (Bloomington).
If you want a extraordinarily vast selection of beers, go to Blue Max.
Jan 31, 2012
Photo of gdhawley
Reviewed by gdhawley from Minnesota

4.88/5  rDev +8.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5
I recently started following their twiiter account, and knew they had just gotten Great Lakes Black Out Stout and Odell Bourbon Barrel Stout - so I rushed over right after work...and couldn't find either one.

So I asked someone who was stocking shevles, and not only was he super friendly, he went IN BACK and found what I wanted.

They had a limit of 1 each, and I was very pleased that they didn't jack up the price!!!!

While I was there, I also picked up some Alaskan Winter and Rush River Winter.

Awesome beer store!!!
Nov 18, 2011
Photo of jsprain1
Reviewed by jsprain1 from Minnesota

4.18/5  rDev -6.7%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 5
A- It sure doesn't look like much from the outside. That's ok, I don't buy beer for the storefront. The inside is ok, but it's generally cluttered, and although it's nice that beer is organized by locale, it's kinda all over the store, with some beers on top of coolers and it's almost a requirement to ask for assistance.
Q- Beers that should be coolered are, those that don't need to be aren't. No freshness problems.
Ser- Well, they don't really have too many guys roaming around and when you do find one, you have to ask them for help, they don't typically ask you. Friendly guys though.
Sel- Tremendous selection, particularly of imports. Tremendous number of Belgians and other European beers.
Price was pretty good, bombers a little higher than some other places in area, but six packs and singles seemed reasonably priced.
Aug 21, 2011
Photo of biglobo8971
Reviewed by biglobo8971 from Minnesota

4.44/5  rDev -0.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 5
very unassuming stor front, it's what inside that makes this store. Incredibly huge selection that is divided from the region/country that they are from. Anything that is available, will probably be on the shelfs, if not, just ask.
the servie depends on who you get, most of the male employess know what they are talking about and can direct you properly. The females you might as well not even ask. So pick your help accordingly. If you are in the Twin Cities, defintely make it a destination. It is well worth the trip.
Jul 03, 2011
Photo of Goblinmunkey7
Reviewed by Goblinmunkey7 from Massachusetts

4.58/5  rDev +2.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5
Atmosphere: A relatively unassuming store front. This place would be easy to miss if you weren't looking for it. The interior is dark-paneled, but the lighting makes up for it. Neat rows of liquor, wine and beer, all properly and clearly labeled, make navigating the store a breeze.

Quality: Everything on the shelves is as fresh as can be (where desired). Everything is clearly labeled by country of origin, making everything easier to navigate as well.

Service: I've visited this place twice and both times I've been asked within 2 minutes if I need help with anything. When asked for help, the staff is extremely knowledgeable about both what they have in the store and what might be of interest given vague preferences (I said "sours" and was given a bottle of Struiselensis and Pig Nun as suggestions). The only reason this doesn't get a 5 is the service really depends on who helps you. All of the employees know what they have, but they don't all know how to match an inquiring mind.

Selection: For a rather small shop, Blue max has everything you could want and then some. I've been in some of the best stores in New England, some of which are 3-4x the size of this store, that didn't clean up on the international section like these guys do. The entire Mikkeller Single Hop series is refrigerated and ready to go. For a New Englander, it has anything you could want from a midwest store. Bell's, Surly, Boulevard, New Belgium, etc. are all in the cold cases. It's a treasure trove.

Value: I shopped a couple local stores, and Blue Max comes out even with the rest of them. A sixer of Two-Hearted was a respectable $10. It's not hard to walk in and drop a couple hundred dollars.

Overall: If you're within 30 minutes of this place it is an absolute must. The staff is friendly and always willing to help. The price and selection are amazing. Well-worth the stop whenever I'm in the area.
Jun 30, 2011
Photo of IshDish
Reviewed by IshDish from Minnesota

4.14/5  rDev -7.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5
Prior to getting into craft beer, I had known about Blue Max Liqours due to their great selection of single malt Scotch. Little did I know, Blue Max Liqours has been doing an excellent job of providing us beer geeks with a wide selection of domestic crafts, and one of the largest international offerings I have come by. Throughout the year you can find verticals of Bigfoot, Old Stock, J.W. Lees, etc, and they seem to always have the hidden gems that aren’t so popular / well known with the BA crowd. With easy access, logical layout, friendly staff, and very good pricing, there is a lot to like about Blue Max Liquors.
May 23, 2011
Photo of bradner
Reviewed by bradner from Illinois

4.78/5  rDev +6.7%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 5
Stopped in here while traveling earlier this year after a number of recommendations from BAs. It definitely lived up to the hype. Almost all of the beer was in coolers. Lots of Minnesota locals including limited offerings. They also had almost all of the NB Lips of Faith Series and limited Odell releases.

At the time I was there (late February) they had verticals back several years of Anchor Christmas Ale and Sierra Nevada Celebration. They also had other vintages of beers that would be impossible to find now.

The staff was very helpful. When I went up to the counter looking for a Surly limited release that wasn't on display one of the employees went into the back and grabbed a bottle for me.
May 15, 2011
Photo of UMNbeerhunter
Reviewed by UMNbeerhunter from Minnesota

4.28/5  rDev -4.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 5
What can I say. Blue Max is the place that I go to if I haven't been able to find a beer that should be on the shelves in the Twin Cites area. I am not talking your supper hyped beer like BCBCS because so many beer geeks know this place that it fly's off the shelf. I am talking your lesser known gems that go below the radar but are still great. The Tyranena Brewers Reserve Series comes to mind as well as lots of Fantome beers. Huge selection probably the best in the area. Service is good as there is always someone walking around asking if you need any help and most of the time they really know their beer. Overall this is somewhat of a beer heaven for me. A must see if your in town.
May 04, 2011
Photo of zeledonia
Reviewed by zeledonia from Washington

4.8/5  rDev +7.1%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5
Great store; first visit, and I will for sure be back. It's open and well-lit, very friendly. Like many Minnesota liquor stores, it's in a strip-mall along a medium-sized highway.

The selection in this place is almost mind-blowing. I've been to most of the best-known beer stores around the Twin Cities, and their selection just doesn't even compare to this. Verticals of many beers (10+ years of JW Lees Harvest Ale!), many many things I haven't seen anywhere else, and an international section that completely overwhelmed me. And the big surprise, for a place with such variety, most beers are ~10% cheaper than they are at other places I've been. Fantastic.

Staff is super helpful, although there weren't any real beer specialists there when I was there. Almost everything is in coolers.

Two small downsides:
First, they have so much beer that it's kinda scattered around the store, which can make things hard to find. They have one big back wall full of coolers, one side of two other aisles also with coolers, and then there are boxes stacked up and things on a few neighboring shelves. Fortunately the international section has country labels on the coolers.
Second, they don't sell most six-pack beers as singles. Think I've gotten spoiled by Zipp's and the Ale Jail, where they'll pretty much break up any six-pack to sell singles.

To sum it up, I really just need to come back to the selection. They said they had some 1200 different beers, but I think it's more than that. So many things I've never seen or even heard of before, especially imports. I will for sure be back, and next time I'll make a list so I can familiarize myself with some of that tremendous variety
Apr 08, 2011
Blue Max Liquors in Burnsville, MN
Place rating: 4.48 out of 5 with 114 ratings