Liquor Barn

Store

3420 Fern Valley Rd
Louisville, Kentucky, 40213-3530
United States

(502) 968-1666 | map
liquorbarn.com
PLACE STATS
Average:
3.67
Reviews:
10
Ratings:
13
pDev:
13.08%
View: Place Reviews
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Ratings by oracle:
Photo of oracle
Reviewed by oracle from Indiana

3.7/5  rDev +0.8%
This particular liquor barn happens to be the one fairly close to where I work. I usually end up going there about once a week or more. They have the usual industrial stuff and a pretty darn good selection of micros and imports. They almost always have Stone, Rogue, Bells, Bear Republic, and host of other american Micros. On the import side, Belguim is probably the best represented country followed by English (although many of those are in Pub Cans, which I generally don't care for).

They also got a 4 tap system for filling growler in the store last year. Growlers can be purchased on site or you can bring in your own. Prices for growler refills is VERY cheap ($5.99/half gallon).

About the only way this store fails to live up to my very high expectations is trying to get them to special order stuff or bring in new brands. The brands they carry tends to be very static and not change over time.
Dec 09, 2004
More User Ratings:
Photo of nickfl
Reviewed by nickfl from Florida

3.86/5  rDev +5.2%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.75 | service: 3.75 | selection: 4.25
This was a convenient stop off of the interstate when driving through Louisville on the way home from a trip elsewhere. It is a pretty standard, local chain booze barn store. The selection seemed like a bit of a bust at first as it was just very standard six packs of regional craft and a small single bottle section, but once I delved into the singles section it was actually pretty good and I managed to walk away with some good stuff. Obviously not the best selection in the area, I have seen better at other Liquor barn locations in the past, but if you are just driving through it may be worth a stop for regionally available goodies that you can't get at home.
Jun 27, 2016
 
Rated: 4 by threedaggers from Kentucky

Dec 03, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by TheSevenDuffs from Canada (ON)

Oct 04, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by TurdFurgison from Ohio

Sep 20, 2014
Photo of dren74
Reviewed by dren74 from Kentucky

3.14/5  rDev -14.4%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3 | service: 2.75 | selection: 3.75
Good store, wish beer was more organized... Would love to see all the Imperial stouts in one place....Got to say one of the largest local selections of beer\
Lots of Bourbons as well. Good selection of beer in cooler . I really liked the seasonal beer section....
Jul 13, 2013
Photo of jhp40219
Reviewed by jhp40219 from Kentucky

3.85/5  rDev +4.9%
Just so you know a little background on me with this store. I grew up and still live a little over 5 minutes away from this Liquor Barn location. I sometimes refer to it as my 2nd home. I am 36 years old now, and have been going here since before I was even 21, (don't tell anybody), back when it was called Liquor Outlet. I know where pretty much every single thing is in this store and rarely have to look if I know exactly what I am getting. And sadly I could have probably paid off my house with the money I have spent here. Or at least paid off my student loans. That being said, let's get to the review.

This place bills itself as "The ultimate party source", and I would pretty much agree with that. At least as far as Louisville is concerned. there is no bigger place to buy your libations. Every type of liquor you can imagine is here, and in great supply. From the dirt cheap to the top of the line in beer, wine, and liquor. It is basically an alcohol department store. They also stock some party supplies, homebrew supplies, and some food items, (they have a nice variety of cheeses, as well as a great supply of different hot sauces). But let's talk about the beer...

Massive amounts of beer stocked! All of your majors are in great quantities, (6-packs, 12-packs, and kegs). But what draws me in time and time again, (and consumes too much of my money), is their craft beer selection. Two giant isles of imports, and one giant isle of USA microbrews. Hundreds of different breweries are represented. And they generally have several different styles of beer for sell from each brewery. On average I spend a half-hour to 45 minutes looking over their collection and trying to decide what to buy. And don't miss their pint glass selection on the other side of the import isles. They also have a giant walk-in beer cooler, but everything in there is also on display on the shelves outside. Plus the cooler doesn't have anywhere near the selection that are on the shelves.

Prices are pretty much average for this area. If you are getting a 6-pack of US microbrews, they run on average from about $6.50 for stuff like Leinenkugel's up to around $10.99 for stuff like Bell's. Maybe a bit more for the more rare stuff. 22oz. bombers usually run around $3.99 to $8.99. Imports tend to be a bit pricier.

Now the negatives:

First off don't bother asking anyone there specific questions regarding beer. They don't know. They'll be able to show you where something is, but I have yet to meet anyone there who knows the first thing about the beer they stock.

Second, check the dates on your bottles! They don't rotate stock here apparently because I have ended up with expired and skunky beer on way more than a few occasions. If your brew of choice does not have a date on it, just check to see how much dust is built up on the bottles. They apparently don't dust their products off either, so it's a good indicator of how long it has been sitting on the shelf.

Third, there are only four beers on tap at any given time. And they are generally larger microbreweries' flagship fare at that, (Goose Island's Honker Ale, Great Lakes' Burning River, etc.). Not that this is bad beer, just not a great selection.

Fourth, no mix-and-match on 6-packs. Actually they have signs out telling you not to do so. They do offer some singles in the beer cooler and on a couple small shelves flanking the beer isles, but it is usually stuff that is out of date that they are trying to unload.

If you're going to hit a Liquor Barn location in Louisville, I would suggest the one on Hurstbourne Lane or the new one on Shelbyville Rd. Their craft microbrew and import selection at both of those locations is a bit bigger, they have way more beers on tap, (rare stuff too), and both of those have an expansive cigar selection too. But it really isn't worth a bunch of extra miles to get to either of those locations if this one is closer.

Actually if you're visiting Louisville or Southern Indiana, I would recommend the Louisville Beer Store in downtown Louisville, or Keg Liquors in Clarksville, Indiana, (just a few minutes over the bridge from Louisville) for your craft brew buying experience.
May 24, 2010
Photo of BgThang
Reviewed by BgThang from Texas

3.3/5  rDev -10.1%
went here after looking on beerfly.
They have some of the following
new holland, arcadia, magic hat, goose island, great lakes, bell's, bluegrass, heavy seas, trappiest roch 8, rodenbach red, stone 12th anniv, dogfish wws and olde school barleywine, schafly, harpoon, and several more.
Nothing special from any of these brewies just regular offerings.
for anyone interested the store hours open till 10 on weekdays and midnight on weekends

iI did get a sixer of hopslam 17.49 which is sorta steep but at least i got some :)
Jan 21, 2009
Photo of chOAKbarrell
Reviewed by chOAKbarrell from Maryland

2.85/5  rDev -22.3%
Inside Liquor Barn, one long isle of strictly craft beer awaits you. Just one isle, but it is a long isle, and well stocked. Selections seem to be divided up by country of origin, which pretty much seperates the right side of the isle into American beers, and the left side into imports. Being a visitor to Kentucky, there are many beers that I cant buy in Maryland. I picked up sixers of Berghoff, Goose Island, and Bell's. My girlfriend got a Tommyknocker variety 12 pack. Many other selections are available, none of which I will name-drop, but they run the gamut from famous & readily available to more local and micro.

I also noticed as I was leaving that there is a section near the registers in which you can fill a growler. I've heard of this before, but this is the first time I've seen it in a liquor store, and to me, that is pretty much the coolest thing ever. They had four taps, two of which were selections from local Louisville brewpubs. There is also a beer glassware section, which is a fantastic feature for a liquor store to have.

My complaint with Liquor Barn is that they don't seem to rotate or check their stock. I ended up with many outdated, oxidized beers, which is partially my fault for not checking bottle dates, but they really shouldnt have been there in the first place. There's bottles collecting dust, bottles from last year, etc. I sent an email to the store about this and the only reply I got was a lame "I'll pass the message along."
Aug 10, 2006
Photo of drunkensailor
Reviewed by drunkensailor from Kentucky

3/5  rDev -18.3%
This is the one closest to my home. It's your standard party mart kind ofplace with a wide variety of alchohols. The beer selection is pretty good, and they actually have a few things at this location that they don't carry at others. They have a 4 tap growler system in place that is very appealing, and they keep changing out the taps for variety. The employees are obviously not beer people, and in fact when I ask them about beer the most common response is "I only drink liquor." The one time i actully got to talk to the "Beer Guy" it was obvious his knowledge level wasn' t too high, but he was at least enthusiastic. Definately a good selection, with a few harder to finds, but don't expect them to help you any.
Jul 09, 2005
Photo of clvand0
Reviewed by clvand0 from Kentucky

4.7/5  rDev +28.1%
Went to this Liquor Barn recently and was impressed. Although it was very nice, I think the two in Lexington are just a tad better. But because it is quite similar, here is my review of the Lexington version.

This is my main stop for all of my beers - whether easy or hard to find. They have had 95% of beers that I've gone looking for. There are two locations here in Lexington and I've found that if one of them doesn't have something I'm looking for, I just go to the one on the other side of town and I can find it there. The prices are very good - better than anywhere else I've looked. They even carry hard to find beers such as Rochefort 8 & 10 as well as Westvleteren, all types of Rogue, Stone, Sam Smith, Young's, etc. You name it and they have it. It's probably not cold - most likely on the open air shelf, but they'll have it - and the prices will be better than most places. Another good thing is that if a beer doesn't scan or scans, but the price is unknown, it is rang up $1.15. I got a six pack of Rochefort there once for around $8.00 when it should have cost around $8 per bottle. Also, you can get ANY beer you want as a single - just take it out of the six/12 pack - no questions asked.
Aug 07, 2003
Photo of Brent
Reviewed by Brent from Kentucky

3.55/5  rDev -3.3%
I usually make it a point to drop by this Liquor Barn outlet when I'm in Louisville. There is a nice selection of U.S. micros, but the choices tend to be fairly static, with new breweries not often entering the lineup. A good, but fairly predictable, selection of imports. On the upside, they allow pulling a single out of a six-pack.
Aug 03, 2003
Photo of SheepNutz
Reviewed by SheepNutz from Kentucky

4/5  rDev +9%
The liquor barn in Louisville that I went to (there are 2 other Liquor Barns in Louisville that I didn't visit) is a little bit smaller than the Liquor Barn in Lexington, but it still has a fairly nice selection. They have many micros and imports to choose from, and you can take single bottles out of any six pack that you like, which is nice. They don't have as many belgians as the one in Lexington though. The staff was pretty friendly in helping me out. They also have a bit of glassware, some are imports and micros, but most are macros. They also have a growler program with 4 different seasonal tap selections to choose from. The pricing is nice too. I found DFH 90 min IPA 750mL bottles for $5 each! If you are ever in Louisville, be sure to check out one or all of the three Liquor Barn locations.
Jun 27, 2003
Liquor Barn in Louisville, KY
Place rating: 3.67 out of 5 with 13 ratings