Letter's Hops & Vines

Store

701 Paul W Bryant Dr
Tuscaloosa, Alabama, 35401-1214
United States

// CLOSED //
PLACE STATS
Average:
3.74
Reviews:
8
Ratings:
8
pDev:
14.17%
View: Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews.
Photo of STKPICR0720
Reviewed by STKPICR0720 from Alabama

2.85/5  rDev -23.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3 | service: 2.5 | selection: 2.5
I live in Tuscaloosa and have been to The Corner Store plenty of times. I do not expect the older lady during the day to specialize in Belgian brews or be able to tell me how hoppy a brew is or what a growler is. The Corner Store does not specialize in just beer and wine. They have it all beer, wine, soda's, chips and candy. The Corner Store is a conveinant store that offers just that. I have noticed that the selection at The Corner Store is growing though.

That being said Letter's is a great place that is over priced and run's a 45% margin if I had to guess on thier beer maybe 40%. Their inventory lacks for being a SPECIALTY store IMO. One example is a Trappiste Rochefort 8 at The Corner Store is $5.99 and at Letters I believe it is $7.99 a 40-45% mark-up. Letter's is and okay place and could be better for my money though I choose The Corner Store.
May 11, 2011
Photo of wgoodej1
Reviewed by wgoodej1 from Alabama

4.11/5  rDev +9.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 5
Letter's Hops & Vines for all those that have rated this isn't that highly priced. I guarantee!!!, you cannot find a beer in the bar for a cheaper price than at Letters. If anyone thinks that Letters has a markup between 85% to 100% is completely wrong. If you do think that I would suggest that you learn a little bit more about economics and pricing in retail stores. Letter's is a great store for beer diversification. I would just like to add one more comment.. if anyone thinks you can get better service at the Corner Store rather than at Letter's you are DEAD wrong. There is a old lady who works at the Corner Store and she doesn't know anything about Craft Beer. So before you post about Craft Beer please try to know what your talking about.
May 09, 2011
Photo of Tearik
Reviewed by Tearik from Alabama

3.04/5  rDev -18.7%
vibe: 2 | quality: 3.5 | service: 2 | selection: 4
Went into Letters for the first time today, and will not be returning.

Upon entering the store you are "greeted" with an unenthusiastic "hey.." and you'd think you were asking for handouts by asking questions.

Their selection, while wide, is largely spread out and un organized. About 85% of their selection is sold as singles and extremely overpriced.

Their prices are easily 130% + of the price you can find for these beers elsewhere in town and in some cases more expensive than going to get the beer on tap at a bar. And thats just for the beers you can find elsewhere in town. There is no telling the markup for beers that you cannot find in Tuscaloosa.

Their wines, while we're talking about prices, are worse than the beer. 85% of the wine they sale can be found elsewhere for less than half the price.

They advertise over 300 craft beers, and this is their one pro. However, you can find most of the beers sold here just down the road at the Corner Store and for a good deal cheaper and in a far friendlier environ.
Apr 22, 2011
Photo of Reaper16
Reviewed by Reaper16 from Alabama

3.59/5  rDev -4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 3.5
Letters is the closest beer store to my house; a pleasant twelve minute walk from my front porch and past Bryant-Denney Stadium. So I come in quite a bit. The were one of the first places to embrace craft beer in Tuscaloosa after the Hops were Freed, and it shows in their selection. They've got a nice selection of Belgian offerings (including multiple offerings from De Dolle), and craft beers from Japan and Italy. Tons of American offerings too.

Their biggest draw is that the sell single bottles of everything that comes into the store. There are plenty of empty six-pack boxes to make a mixed-six-pack, but the pricing is done by individual bottles and not a fixed price. Thier beer byuer told me that he wants Letters to have the most diverse selection of single bottles in the state. All of this is in addition to the cold room of six-packs and four-packs that you'd normally expect. I'll often come in and buy a 4-pack of Boulevard Tank 7, as well as a few single bottles (a Lepziger Gose, Cigar City Jai Alai IPA and a Rochefort 8, say).

The one drawback to the service and selection at Letters is their kinda' ridiculously high prices. Everything costs about $1-$2 more than it should. Honestly, I spend LESS money there per month than I would if the prices were lower because I know I'm getting screwed out of some dollars every time I make a purchase. It's a deterrent. Unfortunately, the only other bottle shop of repute in Tuscaloosa is Spirits, which is an 18 minute drive away from my house (versus a two-minute drive to Letters).

Letters is quite nice for small purchases, but I'd wish that their prices would come back down to Earth.
Apr 15, 2011
Photo of ztaylor1
Reviewed by ztaylor1 from Alabama

3.55/5  rDev -5.1%
This was an awesome little surprise, being a block away from Bryant-Denny Stadium. Its an awesome place to stop before or after games. The selection was pretty good, as good as anything you can find in Alabama. They have quite the selection of Belgians as well as glassware, too. However, they lacked in knowledge about the beers. There's normally just one guy at the register and he doesn't know too much about any craft. The other negative thing about this shop is the prices. A six pack of Two-Hearted should not be $13. All that said I'll be back to visit next game.
Nov 27, 2010
Photo of rdbarr80
Reviewed by rdbarr80 from Alabama

4.35/5  rDev +16.3%
My first trip to Letters was only a month ago. Being a fairly new beer advocate I was very impressed with their selection. The prices are slightly higher on some beer, but there is no one in town that can beat their selection. The staff seems friendly and fairly knowledgeable. In fairness to another review not all of their staff is versed in beer ling. I asked if they had any quads my first time in and was met with a blank stare.

Actually spoke to the manager today and found a fellow enthusiast. We talked beer and he opened a bottle in the store to let me sample a beer that he had not personally tried. (He sampled most of the bottle). Located on U of A campus this is not your average college beer store. I am definitely a return customer.
Nov 19, 2009
Photo of mklinger
Reviewed by mklinger from North Carolina

4.2/5  rDev +12.3%
Great selection at Letters. As a previous reviewer said, it's about as good as any place in Alabama. Lots and lots of Belgians, good but less exceptional selection of American craft beers.

I do want to note my two caveats about this place that keep me from being less than totally enthusiastic: 1) Their staff is only so-so on having good beer knowledge. I've never had any confidence that facts they tell me about beer is correct & sometimes, I've known it to be wrong. 2) There prices can be pretty steep. A 4 pack of Yeti is about $2 more here than Spirits across town. There's nothing about regular Yeti or Hercules DIPA that should be $15+ for a 4 pack. On the other hand, if you shop around carefully you can find a few deal. Last time I was in I got some Orval and Westmalle Tripel for around $3.20 per bottle. However, these kind of great deals are kind of few & far between. I still go there because their selection is so good, but if I know what I want, I'll always go to Spirits first because the prices are so much better.
Sep 28, 2009
Photo of maleman
Reviewed by maleman from Mississippi

4.2/5  rDev +12.3%
some t-towners might scoff when they see Letters listed thinking it's a place to buy a sorority gift for your girlfriend. But, one only needs to amble over to their cooler and take a look at the huge variety of HG beer they offer. It might not be the largest volume, but the sheer choice in quality brews is as good as anywhere in Alabama. Letters has taken advantage of the recent Free the Hops legislation and is offering Tuscaloosa the opportunity to sample some really good brew. They had all the Chimay's, Duvel's, Westmalle's, and the SA Imperials. I will be stopping in on every ballgame weekend! RTR!

Respect Beer!
Sep 15, 2009
Letter's Hops & Vines in Tuscaloosa, AL
Place rating: 3.74 out of 5 with 8 ratings