Barley's & Hop's Bottle Shop

Bar, Eatery, Beer-to-go

5217 Library Road
Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, 15102
United States

// CLOSED //
PLACE STATS
Average:
4.18
Reviews:
23
Ratings:
23
pDev:
10.77%
View: Place Reviews
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Photo of DrDemento456
Reviewed by DrDemento456 from Pennsylvania

3.36/5  rDev -19.6%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3
I can't believe I made the trek out to this beer store. Not only was the selection far from limited (I think I found like 3 beers I couldn't get anywhere else) but over half the inventory was gone!

Ow and don't even look at the Website for beer availability they never seem to update the site since they opened!

The place was overly small but not crowded and had a good vibe but the prices pretty much killed it for me. Ok so you get 1 dollar off most beers but the lowest one found was almost 4 dollars which is barley worth it. Paid almost 12 dollars for 4 beers is unacceptable especially when it's American craft. Worst part is I can get mixed six packs FROM A BAR for 15 around my neck of the woods.

I feel extra bad for those who are used to these prices and had sticker shock when looking at the bomber section. 16 dollars for Gemini or 15 dollars for the new Magic Hat Imperial pills is terribly overpriced. Didn't even look the the Belgiums but most seem to be 3-4 dollars more than anywhere else. WTF?

Not planning on making this trek again especially considering how crazy backed up the traffic was even though it was miles from downtown pittsburgh.

Would much rather visit the house of 1,000 beers or Beer Nutz.
May 19, 2012
Photo of tss
Reviewed by tss

4.28/5  rDev +2.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4
This place is great. Worth every penny I spent on a few beers, dinner, and a 6 pack to go. The selection is incredible. There are coolers lining an entire wall on one side. The other side is filled with shelves of take home beer. It was great. Tim (the owner) is very smart about his beer knowledge. He can answer any question you have. It isn't a big place, but it was filled with hundreds of beer. The waitress was very sweet as well and easy on the eyes. I ordered a meat and cheese platter for an appetizer and a bratwurst platter for dinner. It was unexpectantly delicious. The meats and cheese were high quality. Tim picks them out himself he said. At times, he hosts beer and cheese tastings. I will have to attend one in the future. The place was clean and well organized. The beer is arranged by country so it is easy to find something if you know what you are looking for from Germany, Belgium, etc. If you don't know what you are looking for, the staff is well educated. It is worth the trip.
Apr 24, 2012
Photo of Stigs
Reviewed by Stigs from Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev -4.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 3
I remember being thrilled out of my mind when I first heard about this place a couple years ago, being that it is out in my direction of the city. While being a budding BA at the time, I loved

Rather unassuming from the outside, located in a strip mall right next to a pet store (I'll get back to this). The inside is fairly small, maybe a dozen or so tables and couch/lounge area in the back. The place is always fairly clean, though the bathrooms are a bit awkward (big room with no stalls, toilet placed right by the door).

Service has always been very good, all the bartenders are quite knowledgable about beer selections and offer helpful insight.

The beer selection is one of the best in the area. A long row of many 8-10 coolers on the left and many shevles on the right...usually they are pretty stocked but there have been a few times I've gone in and everything was almost 40% empty. Everything is organzied by country, and usually in alphabetical order though the shelves are kind of random. They have had a few bottles there I havent seen elsewhere.
There is also maybe a dozen beers on tap, all of which are micros, though prices are a tad high ($6 for a 12oz pull of Pumking to recall).

Prices are a bit on the high side, some of the markups are unbelievable. $1-$2 off per bottle to takeout eases some of the wallet crunch but keeps this place from being somewhere I regularly go.

In the summer, they have a couple tables outside which is great because we can bring and leash our dog up as we sit outside and have a few drinks.

I've only eaten a handful of times, but the menu isnt very diverse and nothing was very impressive (the cheese + meat platter was very subpar). We have attended most if not all of the special beer and cheese pairing events and they are pulled off very well (I can partially attribute getting my girlfriend into craft beer because of one of these events).

Overall, solid place for a change of pace and when I'm in the mood for something different, though the wallet isnt always happy with me upon leaving.
Mar 29, 2010
Photo of biglite351
Reviewed by biglite351 from Pennsylvania

3.83/5  rDev -8.4%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 3
I went to this location for the first time yesterday. Overall it is rather small, but in a good way. There are a few tables and a few couches and such. It does not have a "restaurant" feel to it, which is a good thing. Some of the tables at the front have large barrels as the "legs". This was actually difficult to get around. When people were sitting down a lot of knees were cracking off of the barrels.

There was only one waitress/bartender there as Wednesday night are apparently usually rather slow for them. The regular size crowd PLUS our group ended up making it a rather hectic evening for her. However, she never got annoyed and never left us stranded. She hussled her butt off. There was another employee there (manager/owner?) who was rather helpful in selecting brews for a few of us that were getting botttles to go. Both staff get the thumbs up.

The food was tasty but on the small side for the price. The bottle selection was quite nice for the area. The prices... mmm... the prices were unnecessarily high. You do get $1 off per bottle when you get them to go, but it was still a bit pricey. Maybe once they get more business their prices will come down a bit. Quantity sales over per bottle profit margin kind of thing.

Overall it is worth a look. It is worth giving it a try for yourself, but the bottle prices might hurt the chances of too many return visits.
Mar 25, 2010
Photo of cpetrone84
Reviewed by cpetrone84 from Pennsylvania

4.5/5  rDev +7.7%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4
Barley's is by far the coolest spot in the south hills. They always have sports going on the tv's. They run karaoke nights, live music nights, all sorts of cool things. Tim really knows his beer and is a great guy to talk to. Ang is also extremely knowledgable and the sweetest girl ever.

I used to go here every day; but after buying a house and making brewery trips across the country i've been broke and haven't been able to get there nearly enough. They run around 10 taps and don't keep anything crapy on draft! They always have Tremens, it seems.

They typically have a solid selection of micros and imports. They typically don't have anything too rare; but they do a good job keeping the shelves stocked with plenty of good beer.

The prices tend to be slightly high to drink in. They give $1 off all to go micros and 1.50 off all belgians to go. Best place in the south hills to get quality beer as it is much cheeper than Brasserie in Peters.
Jan 17, 2010
Photo of Kolsch
Reviewed by Kolsch from Pennsylvania

3.86/5  rDev -7.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5
Wife and I checked this place out while waiting for a table at Pasta Too down the road.

Atmosphere: located in strip mall near Cluster F*** crossroads of 88, not hard to find. Upon entering; Cold coolers on left and warm bottles on shelves to the right. Everything arranged by Country. Some tables and loungy chairs scattered about. Kinda like sitting in a coffee shop that has good craft beer.

Quality/Selection: 12 tap system on L-shaped small bar that maybe seats 8-10 at a time. Since we did not have much time before our table was ready, Wife and I split a DF 120min served in goblet. Overall bottle selection was not bad, but I can get anything they have closer to home.

Service: was good and I did need some help finding something.

Value: Thought the pricing was a bit high on some selections but this is Bethel Park afterall.

Overall: Not a bad stop if in the area, but would not make a special trip.
Jan 10, 2010
Photo of mgbickel
Reviewed by mgbickel from Pennsylvania

4.16/5  rDev -0.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5
The atmosphere is pretty sweet...as others described...coffee shop like. A few high top tables...a small L shaped bar and even a few couches. Lots of TVs, even a little stage area set up for open mic night!

They have beer lining both sides of the establishment. Coolers run down the left while shelves line the right (seating in the middle). I noticed that not all of the cooler beers were on the shelves and vice versa.

Nice selection...local, popular domestic craft and imports are all well represented.

didn't eat while I was there, but the menu is pretty limited...German influence...looked tasty!
Dec 30, 2009
Photo of Dodo2step
Reviewed by Dodo2step from Pennsylvania

4.08/5  rDev -2.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 5 | food: 3.5
A- its a small place once you get inside. You really feel like you are in a coffee shop type of place except with lots of beer. Bottles sitting out on the right and on the left is a cooler. SAme beers on each side. one side warm and the other side they are cold, obviously.

Q-overall, the quality was alright.

S- service was a lil lackadaisical but that could be attributed to the number of people who wanted beer advice while perusing. They only had two people working as wait staff, but they only had 15 seats available.

S- huge beer selection of over 1000 beers at any given time. They had some rare ones as well and it was nice. A great micro place if you like just micros. I was highly impressed because they had the dogfishhead 120 min ipa on tap!!! yes on tap.

F- small selection of food--just wraps,subs, salads and some appetizers. nothing much but it was decent.
Dec 29, 2009
Photo of jampics2
Reviewed by jampics2 from Ohio

3.09/5  rDev -26.1%
vibe: 3 | quality: 2 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4
Stopped here on a trip to Pittsburgh. Drove a bit out of my way to stop at what appeared to be the best store in the area, but I had to rate because it really wasn't worth the trip...

Atmosphere is OK. Long room in a strip mall, bar in the back, coolers lining one side and shelves on the other.

Service was alright - they were unpacking stuff and asked me if I needed help. Nice lady rang me up.

Selection was promising. Nice representation of what Pittsburgh gets, and, as a Clevelander, some goodies I can't get at home.

HOWEVER, They have some serious freshness issues with hoppy American brews. Got some Terrapin, Blue Point, and Duck Rabbit. Each of which tasted like cardboard. Bummer, seriously - why can't stores take the expired product off the shelves???

Price was higher than should have been. A six pack of 4x Terrapin, 1x Blue Point, and 1x Duck Rabbit was about $15.

Belgian selection looked good and wouldn't suffer from the same issues, but, after a visit to D's, I would not visit this place again.
Jun 01, 2009
Photo of asabreed
Reviewed by asabreed from New York

4/5  rDev -4.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4
Let me first say that I am from Pennsylvania originally, now live in Richmond, will soon either be living in Oklahoma or New York, and currently just went up to Bethel Park with my fiance to do some wedding stuff.

After seeing this in BA Magazine, I had to see what all the fuss was about, especially after seeing the cool picture of the rack to the right of the store, when you walk in, with all the bottle set up.

As soon as you enter, there's the cooler side on the left, and the warm side on the right. Immediately I noticed that a ton of space was being wasted in the coolers. I'm not sure if this is done on purpose so people have some place to put their hands, or if they get a lot in and rotation always happens, or if folks are just lazy, or what the deal is. But it didn't look very appealing with a good amount of the space being empty.

The warm rack on the right side of the store has pretty much the same selection as the coolers, which is nice if you're taking stuff home. And you get at least $1 off each bottle if you're taking it home, which is also a bonus.

But yes, the prices are kind of expensive. I think they'd be able to lower them if Pennsylvania wasn't such a pain in the ass and had beer available in grocery stores and gas stations, but alas.

One of m major complaints is the selection of beers like Peroni, Negra Modelo, etc. that are easily obtainable for a decent price case-wise, with higher prices for single bottles. And then I started to realize the bar aspect, where if you pull a Negra Modelo from the cooler and prefer to drink it there, it's just like the bartender snagging it from behind the bar and giving it to you. So am I basically paying the extra cash to be my own bartender? The dynamic is kind of odd to me I suppose.

I work in one of the best beer and wine stores in Richmond currently, and considering that or not, their selection's pretty good. I even walked out with a few things I can't get in Richmond or had never seen before: Nogne O Barley Wine, Founders Centennial IPA, Founders Red Rye and Church Brew Works Thunderhop IPA. All for $20 total, which wasn't bad.

The vibe is OK, though when my future father in law went in on Friday night to have a beer (he had the Yuengling Bock and I had the Longtrail Ale), I noticed a lot of gelled-hair college boys in there trying to impress their dates by seemingly showing them what good beer is, which I thought was pretty funny.

Overall, though, a pretty cool place. And again, considering the laws in Pennsylvania that folks who live there currently have to deal with, grabbing a six-pack of good stuff from around probably $20-$30 -- though you wouldn't want to do it every day -- is a good thing if you got it.
Mar 30, 2009
Photo of sonicdescent
Reviewed by sonicdescent from Pennsylvania

4.43/5  rDev +6%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 3.5
Atmosphere was easily the best I have been to. Craft=class written all over the place. This is one of the few places I have been to built around craft beer and that niche, and it is wonderful.

Quality was great, well lit, well organized, well stocked. My only deduction was for not having prices labeled.

Service was friendly but not too overzealous, just right. I couldn't ask for any better here.

Selection is..ok. I understand all of the places in the area run through the same distributor so it's tough to get anything crazy but they only had about half of the selection of some of the others. That said, I have been looking for a St. Bernardus Prior for a while and finally found it here.

Value is reasonable for the area, pretty much on par.
Jan 21, 2009
Photo of CigarsGolf
Reviewed by CigarsGolf from Pennsylvania

4.83/5  rDev +15.6%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5
A-Since its unlike a bar, think Starbucks but beer instead of coffee, its a friendly place to drink. The round tables and counter make it easy for conversations to occur with other beer drinkers. The opportunity to meet others with an interest in good beers and have a conversation is great. Even though I enjoy good cigars being non-smoking is actually a plus here, it seems to add to the atmosphere.
Q-Beer quality is excellent, while I don't eat there often the cajun brat is great.
Ser-The owners and staff are all quite knowledgeable in beers. Masterbeer geek Tim keeps everyone educated and the different selections.
Sel-Up until the difficulty in obtaining some of the English brews I would have rated this 5.0. I miss the Summer Lightning and some of the others. Of course the plus side is I've had to sample other beers new to me.
F-While I normally don't eat there what I've had has been sxcellent. As I stated above the cajun brat is probally the best brat I've ever had. The menu is limited to brats and some salads and wraps.
V-I think they are more than reasonable for what you get. In fact I find myself less and less having a beer other places when the its the run of the mill beers like Coors & Bud for the same price I could be enjoying a good to great beer.
Dec 07, 2008
Photo of langmick
Reviewed by langmick from Michigan

4.25/5  rDev +1.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 5 | selection: 4 | food: 4
Went there after a round of November golf this past weekend before the Steeler game. Server was very friendly, attentive and it didn't hurt that she was quite pretty.

Had a great tasting Hop Wallop and weisswurst, definitely hit the spot, my brewer friend agreed that it's a good place to have a beer.

The selection was interesting, had some unique brews that I hadn't seen anywhere else. I wish they had a better selection on the draft, and I don't agree with putting out the Dogfish IPA, it seems that it's ubiquitous, and that burnt/grainy flavor in an IPA is just awful. Michigan Brewing has that same nasty taste.

It's in my old stomping grounds of South Park/Bethel, and it's nice to have a place closeby that has good beers for refreshment after mountain biking in the Park.
Nov 11, 2008
Photo of clayrock81
Reviewed by clayrock81 from Florida

3.93/5  rDev -6%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5
I grew up in Bethel Park but hadn't been back since leaving in about 5.5 years. I can't believe a place like this opened up.
Went on a Thursday after dinner, so didn't try the food, but they were having a free sampling of Tommyknocker's Cocoa Porter and Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout (by my former 11th grade history teacher; that's just plain crazy). Being a native Pittsburgher and huge Pens and Steelers fan the Pgh sports team vibe (they have specials when the Pens play) was really cool.
The selection, for Bethel Park, was great, although there wasn't a huge amount of beer quantity wise or that much in the "hidden gems" department (although I bought a bomber of Caniston's bitter which I can't find anywere in VA). After browsing for about a minute on a real busy night, I was offered assistance and a six-pack holder, so I gotta give the service a good grade.
Another cool thing is that there are bottles in the cooler you can buy and have them open and drink there - I have never been in a place where you can buy a beer, drink it, broswe other beers to buy (both in cooler and on dry shelves) and watch a hockey game while eating a sandwich. If there were pinball machines it would be my own personal heaven (I'm happily married, so no cracks about strippers or anything). Great concept.
I will complain about the lack of price tags on the beer; I understand as a business decision that if people aren't paying attention to the $ and then have it rung up, they are far less likely to put a bottle back then to reject it when seeing the price before having it rung up. However, the opposite can also be true and having a limited amount of cash I scimped on a few bottles since I wasn't sure how much I was spending.
Also, I bought 3 beers, the Caniston bomber, Lancaster Milk Stout and Celis White and it came to $12 (w/o price tags I have no idea what each bottle cost). Unless the bomber usually goes for $7 or $8, I must've gotten ripped off. Just my opinion on the high prices. Other than that, this is a good place one must check out once if they are outside of Pittsburgh in Bethel Park.
Oct 31, 2008
Photo of treyrab
Reviewed by treyrab from California

4.28/5  rDev +2.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5
Located right off of Library Road in Bethel Park, PA. I couldn't find this place for the longest time, as I was coming from Mt. Lebanon. From Connor Road, take a right on Library Road, and it is a good 5 miles down the road on the left, located in a mid-sized shopping center.

A: The atmosphere is only decent when you walk in. There are about 10 round tables in the rectangular shaped beer store/restaurant. I have only been there in the afternoons where it is not crowded, but there are occasional diners enjoying brews and a quick lunch. The place is pretty clean as well. The beer selection is split into two. The left side of the room is all coolers of beer, and the right side of the room is all the beer not in coolers.

Q: The quality of everything seems pretty good. The bar seems very small, that is the only downfall. It seems like you are not even meant to really sit at the bar actually. I think you are supposed to just sit at the tables and not the bar. But the quality of the beers though are top notch, not complaints there.

S: Everytime I have been there I have been greeted by a friendly hostess. I was surprised that they knew there beer so well. I went to buy a Peche Mortel and the hostess warned me that it was strong. I almost laughed at that one, but she knew what she was talking about.

Selection: The selection is very, very good. Tons of Weyerbacher, St. Bernardus including Tripel and Wit, Great Divide, Peche Mortel, Southampton, Bell's, and a large selection of Belgians and Germans. The selection is about just as good as it gets for a brew store. The fact that the beer is split with only half in coolers is something that I really like.

Overall, this is a great beer store that I plan on going to in the future. I have only been there a few times, so I cannot state of whether they get a lot of new stuff, but I would assume they would with the 300-400 brews in the store. Not the place to go for real "rare" stuff, but plenty of good beers for sure.
Aug 20, 2008
Photo of Stinkypuss
Reviewed by Stinkypuss from Pennsylvania

3.98/5  rDev -4.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | food: 3.5
A. A nice pub. Theyve done well by adding the multi-tap system.

Q. Alot of good brews to choose from, always something nice waiting for me there.

S. Not bad but at times leaves something to be desired. Everyone there is really nice though and I've never had any problems.

S. Selection varies, from very good to adequate, depends what time of the week you go.

F. Food is typical german fare. Not bad stuff and I've eaten there a good many times.

Value: Can't beat it, they have some of the best prices around. I'm there a good amount. Also Kudos for the Mug Club. What a great idea.

EDIT: This is a few years later, but oh my are the prices rediculous now.
Aug 01, 2008
Photo of IronCitySteve
Reviewed by IronCitySteve from Pennsylvania

4.47/5  rDev +6.9%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5
Made my first visit to Barley and Hops yesterday. It was a little different then what I envisioned, but thats not to say it was bad, because it was really nice.

They have refrigerators on the left when you walk in and shelves on the right with warm beers. There is also a relatively small bar with about 8 or so beers (I didn't count, just going by memory) on tap. In the middle of the floor are several tables. They had chess boards on them, not sure if this was standard or just something that was going on for the evening. There is a back section beyond the bar, which I did not visit, so I cannot offer any opinion.

The selection was wide ranging and very ample. I perused the selections at least 4 times before making my choices. There were no bottle carriers out by the refrigerators, but the bartender was able to supply some to me.

The service was great, the bartender, she was knowledgable and really friendly.

I did not eat there, but would go and try their food at some point. It appears they have a 'Mug Club' as I saw a patron with a book, but did not see anything advertising it.

When buying beer, I am not usually concerned about the price tag, but it would have been nice to have an idea of how much certain beers were before getting rung up at the register. That is my only 'complaint' (which really isn't a complaint more of a suggestion). The prices were reasonable and consistent with other bottle shops.

They did have free copies of the beer advocate magazine as well, but already go mine in the mail.

Definitely a great place to visit, great friendly service, really good selection. I will definitely return.
Jul 10, 2008
Photo of johannasclimacus
Reviewed by johannasclimacus from Pennsylvania

4.44/5  rDev +6.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5
I agree with some other reviewers who mentioned that this is more of a bottle shop than a restaurant. I stumbled upon this place online and went seeking a mixed six pack, so I didn't bother to try the food.

I ended up with a six pack of some fairly common offerings. I'm still a novice so I can't comment on the availability of hard to find offerings. I got something from Penn, two from Bell's, one Brooklyn, a Speakeasy, and one Rogue... I was nervous about the price because no beers seemed to be marked, but it came to a little over 15 dollars, which I think is pretty solid in PA. It's better than the pricing of similar beers at D's or Fatheads.

The service was good, in my taste. The bartender was helpful without being in your face. When I asked for an empty six-pack carton and also asked about the prices, she informed me that most of the (US micro) beers are between 3-4 dollars, and that you get a dollar off each beer with a six pack, and 1.50 off for Belgians.

After I had been browsing for some time with only one or two beers in my carton, she asked if I was looking for anything in particular. I wanted Bell's Oberon Ale, which she helped me look for (they were reorganizing some shelves), but they were out. She checked with the owner and informed me when the next shipment would be in.

The selection could have been better, but I think it had to do with when I went (Saturday afternoon). The shipment was coming on Wednesday, and they were out of a lot of staple offerings from places like Troegs and Victory.

I will definitely go back when they have more beer to make more six packs. I would recommend this place to those who live nearby who are looking to get some variety. I wouldn't go out of my way to try it, but it's worth checking out if you live close enough.

EDIT: I went back today, and the stock was much fuller, and the service is excellent. The bartended who talked to me last time remembered me, and that I was asking for Bell's Oberon Ale and let me know that it was in stock as soon as I entered.
Jun 16, 2008
Photo of JamesS
Reviewed by JamesS from Indiana

3.76/5  rDev -10%
vibe: 2.5 | quality: 3 | service: 4 | selection: 5
Looked more like a beer store than a restaurant/beer shop. Seems like they're more interested in selling the pick-your-own sixers than their food. They do have some small tables where you can sit and eat or drink, though.

Service was good, the girl behind the counter was fairly knowledgable and very polite.

Great beer selection, though! I spent about 30 minutes in there and could've spent three times that amount, but I wanted to get home. Brought home a great selection of Scottish and domestic craft brews. They had a nice selection of seasonals, too.

It is a bit pricey. Each beer has its own price, instead of so much for a six pack. Some of them were quite high and I didn't find out until check-out, as no bottle had a price tag. Still worth it, but be ready to drop some cash if you want a nice selection. You do get a small discount for buying at least a six-pac, though.

It won't be my first place to try and find some good singles, but I'll probably go back.
Nov 13, 2007
Photo of jefferson
Reviewed by jefferson from North Carolina

4.58/5  rDev +9.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5
Stopped in while I was in Wheeling looking for some beers I couldn't get down south. Kind of strange that it was in a strip mall, but whatever, I was there for the beer, and there was a lot of it. Huge selection of beer in coolers on the left, and on shelves to the right. Bar straight back with 3? selections on draft, 1 being tremens... I had 2. The first tremens was poured by a semi-hoTT blonde who would have handed me a nice 50/50 mix of beer and foam if the manager/owner? didnt stop her and politely ask her to top it off. Thanks.

Felt more like a retail shop than a bar with tables setup in between the coolers and the shelves, but it served my purpose. I walked out with a mixed sixer of weyerbacher, stone and dogfish, and 4 bombers. There was a discount of $3 off for a 6 pack and $1 bombers to go (good for me), this offset some of the slight priciness (nothing outrageous for the selection). Some variation of beer in coolers as opposed to the shelves. Worth the trip.
Jul 30, 2007
Photo of YinzNeedSomeIron
Reviewed by YinzNeedSomeIron from Pennsylvania

4.94/5  rDev +18.2%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5
Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy. Thank God for this place. I walked into this place when I turned 21 and almost had a panic attack trying to pick 6 beers out of 800 to try.

The staff can recommend 20 different beers to you if you give them the name of one that you like, and they can find them all for you in a matter of seconds. There is an entire wall of coolers and an entire other wall of shelved bottles, so you can spend a lot of time shopping in there. They haven't had much on tap any of the times I've been there, but when they have, I've seen Arrogant Bastard, Delirium Tremens and a few other quality micros. They also seem to have whatever beers are being tasted at the Thursday tastings on tap pretty frequently.

The only grievances I can say I have with this place are that it is just too small for the crowd it regularly gets, but that's what happens when the place is so great, and that a fair amount of the beers aren't tagged with their prices in the coolers. It would also be nice if there were a few tables outside, but the dutiful South Park Shops security guards won't let you linger out there. It's a sin not to have a beer with your cigarette!

It's a wonderful place. Anyone in the area who likes beer in the slightest should check it out. The first time is overwhelming
Jul 04, 2007
Photo of Teacher
Reviewed by Teacher from Pennsylvania

5/5  rDev +19.6%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 5
800 different beers!- this place has to have the largest beer selection in SW PA! The "seasoned" beer pro to the beer "newby" will find something to please the palate. . . Great atmosphere (very relaxed and warm), great staff, and great food! Tastings every Thurs. and a beer travelers club! - Man I wished a lived closer. . . Tim and Ray, the owners, are great; they will talk beer or just the weather. If you are looking for the rare, exotic, or a specific style/brand of beer and live in the greater Pittsburgh area Barley's and Hops is the place! The brats are awsome, I swear these guys are bring'n them in from Germany!
Feb 14, 2007
Photo of jcdiflorio
Reviewed by jcdiflorio from West Virginia

4.14/5  rDev -1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5
Stopped in Saturday for the grand opening,they had K-rock broadcasting from inside,spun their wheel and won a K-rock tee shirt. a good way to start my visit, their was also a sampling in back 4 different beers 1 each from Rouge,Flying Dog,Serria Nevada and Atwater.

The place was located at the far end of the South Park Shops,it was a bit smaller than I would have imagined for advertising 800 different beers which I would agree with.First off,I love going to bottle shops that have the beers displayed for the public to check out,not tucked away behind the bar,with a outdated list to look at. All the beers here were out in the open which I really like.
There was 11 coolers full of beer, to the left as you walk in, all out in the open to check out. The first 5 coolers were all American Micro's there was nice signs above all the coolers with the type beer they contain,I really liked this.
3 coolers had German and Belgian beers.1 cooler had beers from the United Kingdom. 2 coolers had all the other imports from lots of different countries. 1 cooler had a bit of everthing and pre packaged beers from the breweries.

The other side of the shop had a wall of shelves with most of the beers that were in the cooler displayed. The shelves had a lot of bigger bottles on the bottom rows that weren't in the coolers. Most of the beers in the coolers were 12oz.,but there was a decent amount of larger bottles in there too.
One complaint I had was that only half the beers were priced (a small tag on the shelf) maybe since the store just opened they didn't have time to mark all the prices,I hated to keep asking how much everything costs,i hope they get all the beers priced.

The place looked very nice and clean and tempting.Neon beer signs over the coolers, there was 8 tables they were barrells with tops on them and 4 chairs to a table. There was 2 tv's in the back with some leather sofas and recliners to sit on and drink your beer.
Just one beer on tap it was Delerium Tremis,they gave me a nice big sample to try, they said they are plannung to get more taps in the future. You could sit and eat and have a beer there if you wanted.

Didn't not get to eat there is was too crowed with the grand opening going on.
The menu was a lunch menu with salads,wraps advertising "The Best Wurst in Town" didn't get to find out this time. I seen a meat and cheese platter it was $7.95 it looked very good with large chunks of meat and cheese good sized. $5.00 to $8.50 was the price range on the food.

I bought 2 mixed Micro 6 packs to go. The micro selection was about the kind of beers you would find a most bottle shops in the area' nothing really different. Most of the micro's were about $3 bucks on the average. The imports and Belgians were about average for the area,good prices overall.
There was a $3.00 discount on micro six packs and $4.00 on imports.
I got 2 mixed Micro sixers to go at about $25.00 about average i'd say

I say give this place a visit,almost the selection of D's not as many Belgians and Imports,almost as many micros. Let me know what you think of this place. Cheers, John
Feb 04, 2007
Barley's & Hop's Bottle Shop in Bethel Park, PA
Place rating: 4.18 out of 5 with 23 ratings