CJ's Kegs, Cases, and More

Store

145 Market St
Potsdam, New York, 13676-1228
United States

(315) 265-0226 | map
PLACE STATS
Average:
3.01
Reviews:
7
Ratings:
14
pDev:
31.56%
View: Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by SebD:
Photo of SebD
Rated by SebD from Canada (ON)

3/5  rDev -0.3%

Nov 21, 2014
More User Ratings:
Photo of doyleydo
Reviewed by doyleydo from New York

5/5  rDev +66.1%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5
We are in the MIDDLE OF NOWHERE! come on people. These guys are just fine. Every year I have a keg party and they have been MORE than accomodating. If you have a problem with them I'm guessing you're from a town with a LARGE selection of beer stores. They are nice people, do their best and have a good selection. This ain't Boston, baby. Get over it. And enjoy your decent beer store in a wonderful place. P-dam!
Sep 18, 2015
Photo of chippo33
Rated by chippo33 from Vermont

1/5  rDev -66.8%
vibe: 1 | quality: 1 | service: 1 | selection: 1
rude, expired beer, horrible selection
Jun 12, 2015
 
Rated: 2.98 by TBonez477 from Vermont

May 15, 2015
Photo of Jeff_ODell
Rated by Jeff_ODell from New York

3.75/5  rDev +24.6%
vibe: 2 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4
Good beer selection, a little pricey but worth it.
Apr 07, 2015
 
Rated: 4.3 by Cooker_stp from New York

Dec 19, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by DennisDullea from New York

Feb 07, 2014
 
Rated: 3.25 by zaparzynski from New York

Jan 24, 2014
Photo of DagenhamDavis
Reviewed by DagenhamDavis from New York

3.24/5  rDev +7.6%
vibe: 2.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 2.75 | selection: 3.75
I'd first like to note that CJ's is rather unique for the area, being that it's the only designated beer store around Potsdam. The local IGA also has a decent selection of craft, but I think Cj's has them beat in their bigger name selections and especially their Euro imports. Lots of British and Irish beers, beyond your typical Smithwick's and Boddington's. (They've got those as well.) The craft selection is also nice, with a good variety of abbey beers and other such Euro curiosities. They are a little lacking in American craft, (check the IGA) but certainly have the staples- many Sierra varieties, Dogfish, Sam Adams, and Stone to name a few. They also have a decently stocked cooler, mostly with macros in various sizes and containers.

That being said, the place is a little small and isn't exactly selection city, plus it smells like a redemption center. (It is also a redemption center.) The prices are also rather high, but I think that's because they expect to sell a lot of single bottles. I can't really comment on the service as I've never asked for help. For American Craft, try the IGA, but for anything else or something different, Cj's is a good bet. It's a bittersweet oasis in the desert that is Northern NY beer shopping.
Jul 31, 2013
Photo of Knight
Reviewed by Knight

2.38/5  rDev -20.9%
vibe: 2 | quality: 2 | service: 3 | selection: 2.5 | food: 2
CJ's is located in a dollar store strip mall on Market St that isn't readily visible from the road because the strip mall itself doesn't face the street for some reason. CJ's doubles as a bottle/can redemption center, so you'll have to accept that the place smells awful and the employees are very, very busy counting and sorting bottles and cans. It's really no big deal to get their attention and ask for help, just don't expect someone to walk the aisles with you to help unless you ask.

The selection seems small at first because it's basically only two or three aisles in a place the size of a convenience store, but they have most of the current Southern Tier beers and the typical Arrogant Bastards and of course all the Sam Adams offered seasonally right now. They also have some things that were a lot more obscure than I would have imagined (Wells Banana Bread, Session, Franziskaner, etc). The selection isn't bad at all.

However the prices as a generalization are a bit higher than elsewhere, which I suspect is because they expect customers to break literally any six pack on the shelves. Even a cardboard 4-pack of Boddington's on the shelf was ripped open and had two cans missing because someone didn't want all four. Each individual bottle in each six pack has its own individual price tag on it.

So, yeah... if you're expecting a clean, modern, well-lit store with attentive and knowledgeable staff, this isn't it. On the other hand, if you're looking to mix and match six different beers to try something different, you could do a lot worse than CJ's.
Feb 02, 2013
Photo of Swedes21
Reviewed by Swedes21 from Canada (ON)

2.85/5  rDev -5.3%
Was at Big M's and decided it would be worth the trip over to CJ's to find some key beers too.
Little bit different of a place, not as clean or bright as one would expect.
They got a beer return in the rear, so there is a smell of old beer and skunky beer a bit.

Gotta be careful when selecting beers here, some bottles are really outdated and you can get caught buying some older beer.
With careful selection, got about a 6 pack of beers. Could have got a few key more, but the price was a bit heavy.

Worth the stop in, just be ready for what u r getting into.
Feb 19, 2011
Photo of spinrsx
Reviewed by spinrsx from Canada (ON)

2.65/5  rDev -12%
I went over the Big M in Potsdam and while I was there I figured I should check this place out too since it's only a few blocks away. I had a little trouble tracking the place down as it is set far back from the road. It is a small beer and snack food store that has a large bottle return area near the back. There is a assortment of the usual BMC beers, but also a 25 foot 3 tier rack of craft beer. They didn't have a whole lot, but they did have some beers that the Big M didn't. About half of their craft beers consisted of bombers and there was some decent finds. They let you split up the 6 packs, but the prices were higher than Big M. I also found some bottles that were out of date, so watch out for that. I did find some recently bottled beer as well - I just grabbed from the back of the shelves. If you're coming to the area, it's worth a look.. but the Big M is better.
Jan 31, 2011
Photo of ryantaussig
Reviewed by ryantaussig from New York

2.15/5  rDev -28.6%
CJ's is more of a stop for frat parties than for someone in search of good beers. The selection is limited to more popular beers and their craft selection is quite small. That isn't to say that they do not carry some good standbys, but when I search a place for a good beer, I'm almost always looking for something I haven't had before or something specific. At CJ's this method doesn't work.

The service is also awful. It might be that the large store is managed by only one person at a time, but such an issue should be easily solved. Be prepared to wait for help for a long time. I once stood in line for ten minutes while the only person on staff had a conversation on the phone.

Overall, not the place you want to go. I'd suggest trying just about anyplace else in Potsdam.
Sep 26, 2010
Photo of drewd0g
Reviewed by drewd0g from New York

2.15/5  rDev -28.6%
CJ's Kegs, Cases, and More is a disappointment for those looking for a good beer stop in Potsdam, NY. I'll begin with the aspect of the business that bothers me the most, Poor customer service. Several times when going in there, you'll notice that there is nobody behind the counter, thus making you wait to check out, or worse yet, wait to have a question answered. The people they have working in the beer section are rude and have a tendency to harass there customers over things like multiple forms of I.D.

The beer - For a place whose only business is beer you would expect a lot of different beers, or at least offer some competitive pricing. But the fact is there selection is weakdecents usually only half full, covered in dust, and improperly labeled. There prices are something to cringe at. A personal story - They have La Fin Du Monde in 750ml bottles which I am a big fan, and Maudite, which I'm an even bigger fan, in 12oz bottles. So upon asking the lady at the counter if she could order some of the 750's for me (shouldn't be hard since they already have other beers from the same brewery in that size) she had very little response for me, and still they do not carry the much desirable 750ml bottle of Maudite. A colleague of mine also made an inquiry , He noticed that they carried Chimay rouge, and grand reserve. In both 750ml and 12oz, He inquired about purchasing 1 Whole case of the Chimay Grand Reserve (12x750ml). After some persuasion they complied but stated that they would order it but he would have to pay for each bottle individually, no deal could be given, furthermore it took close to a month for the order to come in, and upon its arrival and the opening of the box it was made evident that the bottles were not 750ml but it was in fact a case of 12oz bottles. At a case a beer that costs upwards of $130, you should most certainly get the size you ordered. They also carry an aisle of Macro brews, once again, at prices that can easily be beaten by local supermarkets. The staff has very little knowledge when it comes to styles of beer as well.

Final thoughts - For the price that you pay for beer at this place you could get a much better value somewhere else. Big M in Potsdam has a rack of craft beers at the front of their store which contains many of the same, and many more than what you can get at CJ's for a noticeably better price. CJ's needs to reorder, re-staff, re-price and clean there store. Personally I will continue to give my business to their competitors until they change their bad business practices. This store is a perfect example of a bad beer store. So if you're in the Potsdam area, or you're going to college at SUNY Potsdam or Clarkson, Try the local supermarket's if you're looking for craft beer, you'll be surprised what you can find.
Oct 29, 2009
CJ's Kegs, Cases, and More in Potsdam, NY
Place rating: 3.01 out of 5 with 14 ratings