Quality Liquors

Store

5 Gedney St
Salem, Massachusetts, 01970-3305
United States

(978) 744-4220 | map
PLACE STATS
Average:
3.87
Reviews:
8
Ratings:
14
pDev:
17.83%
View: Place Reviews
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Photo of KensWorld
Reviewed by KensWorld from Florida

3.84/5  rDev -0.8%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 4.25 | service: 3.25 | selection: 4
Nice selection, but why do they have hundreds of top quality beer bottles on shelves in the storefront windows just getting baked by the sun. So many faded by Sun labels. A very sad resting place for once world class beers. I’ve seen my shape of shelf turds but these beers are mostly top rated yet ruined by time.
Jun 06, 2023
Photo of cmurphy7
Reviewed by cmurphy7 from Massachusetts

4.04/5  rDev +4.4%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 4 | service: 3.75 | selection: 4.5
really great selection of craft brews, especially the locals (i.e. Night Shift, Bent Water, etc.). they are also really good about posting on facebook/twitter when they get in new brews and when. Sip of Sunshine has been coming in more regularly, so stay close to their postings and score some Lawson's goodness!
Jul 03, 2017
 
Rated: 4.11 by byronic from Canada (ON)

Aug 07, 2016
Photo of mynie
Reviewed by mynie from Maryland

4.01/5  rDev +3.6%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4.25
Probably the best beer store in town, and certainly the best in the downtown area (Bunghole Liquors has an hilarious name and a great location, but their selection is narrow and very stale).

It's an old school liquor store in an old school building. The can exchange is right by the checkout counter, so it smells a bit. The floors are a little dingy, too. Not a nice place to bring kids.

The selection is pretty darn good, however. They have all the usual suspects from northern MA, and they get in a good number of rare and one-offs. There's also probably the best Belgian selection I've seen on the north shore.

So... I dunno. I got nothing. This place is absolutely not worth traveling for. But if you're in the area, doing a Salem tour or whatever, it is far and away your best option for take home beer.
Apr 16, 2016
 
Rated: 4.26 by NHhomebrewguy from New Hampshire

Jul 28, 2015
Photo of chefdave37
Reviewed by chefdave37 from Massachusetts

4.2/5  rDev +8.5%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4
The staff was freindly and helpful with a good beer knowledge. There is a large number of 22oz. bottles although some look like they have sat for awhile and are collecting dust. They post on facebook and twitter when new things come in.
Apr 11, 2015
 
Rated: 4 by emottram from Massachusetts

Nov 30, 2014
 
Rated: 4.5 by SuperHop18 from Massachusetts

Jul 22, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by REVZEB from Illinois

May 23, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by jmmy3 from Massachusetts

Oct 11, 2013
Photo of VictorWisc
Reviewed by VictorWisc from Massachusetts

4.11/5  rDev +6.2%
vibe: 3.25 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.75
An interesting little store with rather substantial beer collection. I say "collection" rather than "selection" because turnover is a concern, which is why "quality" is not higher. For sheer shelf space, this store has a ton. However, very few bottles make it into the cooler and even those that are not old appear dusty and forgotten. Still, I've seen some things disappear there fast. The prices seem to be slightly lower then even local competition, which is pretty good for MA. For some beers, I found them cheaper at QL than anywhere else in the state (although some by a mere 20-25 cents). But hidden state taxes, arcane distribution regulations, local cost of living and geographic location drive prices up on everything but locals. The actual selection is quite nice, but finding anything is hard because the store is packed and disorganized. Staff is helpful and friendly--when you can find them--but not always knowledgeable about beer. Never tried to get them to order anything, so don't know if/how they would do it. But just talking to some guys, it seems they simply can't decide if they want to get into beer or hard liquor. They know even less about wine. We can keep saying "it's work in progress", but for how long? Note--beer prices are relatively low, but not liquor.
PS: Forgot to add--pretty good on local brews (Ipswich, in particular), but not on imports.
Jul 22, 2013
Photo of JordanPhraczek
Reviewed by JordanPhraczek from Massachusetts

4.52/5  rDev +16.8%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.75 | selection: 5
Quality Liquors is passionate about beer. They will answer any question you have about any beer and they won't try to dust off their older bottles of beer and pretend it just came in. If you want fresh beer there is no better place on the North Shore. Literally they tweet/facebook all their new arrivals as they come.

Atmosphere - This is the one part that may weird some people out but actually adds to the charm of the store...there is a constant stream of disenfranchised people running around the store at all times of day, and they are next to a homeless shelter, but that shouldn't stop you.

Service - If you don't see a beer you want, ask to order it and they will try everything humanly possible to get it, and chances are they want to try it themselves. Liquor stores like this give great breweries like Notch their starts because they are willing to try new things.

Selection - They have a whole wall of room temp craft beer, a half wall of cold craft beer, another half wall full of various 6 packs. The room temp wall is a library.

Value - The best part about quality is compared to some of the higher end craft beer places in MA they really can't be beat. I challenge you to find cheaper beer/wine/liquor in any brand anywhere in Massachusetts unless you're buying Natural Ice in Lynn.
May 18, 2013
Photo of nootch23
Reviewed by nootch23 from Massachusetts

3/5  rDev -22.5%
vibe: 3.25 | quality: 3.75 | service: 2 | selection: 3
The great thing about Quality is that they always manage to get in a shipment of special or limited releases whenever they come in. If you take a walk down the first aisle you will come across some aged beauties. Last year I came across an '09 World Wide Stout which I celebrated when I got home with it. They love the local brews so they are always in abundance there and usually host tastings there with the local breweries. These guys have a lot of information and know what they're talking about however they rarely come out from behind the register to help customers or offer recommendations. A lot times they can come off to be a little snobbish and arrogant when talking about beer.

The store setup is a little strange. They have bottles up at the front of the store next to the entrance but have the 6 packs on the opposite side of the store in the corner. Can be a little confusing if you have never been there before. The freshness of the bombers on the shelves can be a little questionable because they are usually covered in dust so who knows how long they've been there. It's wise to check the bottled date if it's on the label just to be sure.

I enjoy coming into this store on occasion, more so with special releases. It's not the greatest store around but it does the job.
Mar 21, 2013
Photo of Nuggethops
Reviewed by Nuggethops from New Hampshire

1.8/5  rDev -53.5%
vibe: 3 | quality: 1 | service: 1 | selection: 3
There is an average selection of craft beer available here, however the freshness of stock is definitely a concern. I was informed that they had fresh Sculpin only to find dust covered bottles on the shelf that certainly did not appear to be fresh, and considering the Centennial IPA was 9 months old when I visited I did not have a lot of faith in the rest of the stock. Another concern I had with the freshness/quality of the beer is that all of the bombers and 750's are located on a rack in the front of the store which is up against a large floor to ceiling window. As a result, exposure to sunlight is definitely a concern for me especially considering that most of the bottles on the shelf appear to have been sitting there for awhile due to the film of dust covering the majority of bottles. As if the freshness and quality control issues aren't enough the prices are easily a dollar or two higher per bottle/6 pack then other stores in the area.

I found the staff to be less then knowledgeable and somewhat condescending. I will not be making any further visits to quality liquors that is for sure.
Mar 16, 2012
Quality Liquors in Salem, MA
Place rating: 3.87 out of 5 with 14 ratings