Payless Liquors

Payless LiquorsPayless Liquors
Payless LiquorsPayless Liquors
Store

9520 Uptown Dr
Ste G
Indianapolis, Indiana, 46256-1086
United States

(317) 570-9851 | map
payless-liquors.com
PLACE STATS
Average:
4.19
Reviews:
18
Ratings:
28
pDev:
9.55%
View: Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by cwcolby74:
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Reviewed by cwcolby74 from Indiana

4.74/5  rDev +13.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5
This is my go-to shop. If I want to buy beer, I go here first, everywhere else second.

The beer manager is among the most knowledgable (and opinionated, as he will readily admit) I have ever met. He seems to genuinely care about the quality and selection of the bottles he carries. Other store employees have mentioned to me before that the place was a huge mess before he started, and he turned it around. He's constantly telling me about fights he gets in with the distributor because he wants something that he isn't getting.

The store has a huge variety of local/regional beers - FFF, Goose Island, Bell's, Founders, etc. But they get a lot of stuff more off the beaten track that's pretty hard to find, especially all in one store. They also have Belgians and other cool imported stuff, usually at a better price than Kahn's.

Just the beer cooler by itself spans the back wall and is probably 50 feet in length. There's also a nearby "pod" of cases and six-packs. And there's a set of shelves maybe 15 feet wide of just bombers/singles. The store just recently started allowing customers to break apart a six-pack and by one bottle as a single. So the selection is virtually endless.

The staff is courteous and helpful. I think a group of them hangs out and samples beer together, so they're steadily building a knowledge base with which to guide customers.

I like this store a lot and come by when I can. It's not much to look at, but the place is so crammed full of beer, wine and booze you can hardly notice. I'd highly recommend this store to anyone who is looking for selection and quality above everything else.
Mar 18, 2011
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.93 by TargaFlorio from Indiana

Jan 11, 2019
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Reviewed by jkblr from Indiana

4.11/5  rDev -1.9%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5
I have stopped in at this location on a few trips and thought I would add a review. The vibe is a liquor store. Big and lots of cold craft in coolers. Someone has always asked me if they can help as I always look for quite some time at the extensive selection. It's in Indiana so check dates. The idea of discounting or making an effort to clear old stock doesn't exist here. That said, this is the best store I've seen in Indiana to pick up vintage barrel aged beers, barleywines etc. They buy big quantities at one time and prices are a little high, but the big beer selection here is always good. I've never inquired, but it appears you can pull a single out of any pack on the floor. Only the beers in the coolers are to be left alone. Recommended stop especially if you are into high ABV celler ready or previously aged stuff.
Nov 10, 2018
 
Rated: 3.97 by InspectorBob from New Jersey

May 31, 2016
 
Rated: 3.79 by Bones10 from Illinois

Feb 19, 2016
 
Rated: 3.86 by lilsmizzul1225 from Indiana

Jul 08, 2015
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Rated by Benjhilmer from California

5/5  rDev +19.3%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5
Amazing selection. First time I've seen 18th street stuff for sale in Indy. Picked up some ZD on 5/19/15.
May 20, 2015
 
Rated: 3.53 by neckbracesub from Indiana

Mar 30, 2015
 
Rated: 4.61 by Jstonerock24 from Ohio

Mar 17, 2015
 
Rated: 4.75 by indy351 from Indiana

Jul 18, 2014
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Reviewed by PBRmeasap1980 from Indiana

4.35/5  rDev +3.8%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 4.75 | service: 3.75 | selection: 4.75
Great selection and prices are ok. This location usually has a good amount of each beer as it is released, so it makes it easy to get some new 3 Floyds or Evil Twin that comes out. I just stopped in and noticed they are starting to carry Jester King (none of the fruit ones yet). Unfortunately, the staff isn't that welcoming. They ask you if you found everyting, but don't offer much additional.
Jul 14, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by shirtless_mike from Indiana

Dec 01, 2013
 
Rated: 4 by MSandahl23 from Indiana

Nov 12, 2013
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Reviewed by AleWatcher from Illinois

3.89/5  rDev -7.2%
vibe: 2 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4
This store has maximized their product per square foot ratio... The aisles are quite literally 22 inches wide. I had to be most careful walking to the beer section that I hardly noticed what the store even looked like.

The beer was back and to the right-- in the business we call that the JFK.

Pretty good selection, though not nearly as good as Kahn's. The beer guy was very friendly-- we chatted for about 5 minutes about sours and he managed to locate some 3F Oude Gueuze in the back for me. I was most pleased I had stopped.

This appears to be the best shop on the northern edge of Indy, and certainly worth a stop if you're passing through.
Jan 20, 2012
Photo of tsauce2
Reviewed by tsauce2 from Indiana

3.55/5  rDev -15.3%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 2.5 | selection: 3.5
A: Very nice atmosphere. Tall ceilings give a very open feeling, but floor is a bit crowded and hard to manuever.

Q: Everything I have purchased is of excellent quality.

S: Unless the beer manager is there, this place is very much a DIY operation. When the beer manager is there, service is awesome. The beer manager is very knowledgable & informed and will talk with you.

S: Excellent selection of sixers and bombers. They usually have things only one or two other places around town have. Coolers around the back wall store craft beer chilled.

F: This location offers bagged snacks.

V: A little bit more expensive than other places, but still well priced. They do offer a marked down section of items that they are trying to move, and there are some nice things in there periodically.
Dec 15, 2011
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Reviewed by ferrari29 from Illinois

4.36/5  rDev +4.1%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5
Saw the giant glowing sign from the street and knew immediately that I had to stop in. Clean, smells like a liquor store and has a great, easy to find layout. The selection of the beers were top-notch. The shelves and fridges contained a great blend of local craft and global beers from the around the world. Its no Binny's in terms of options, but its selection definitely beats many of the liquor establishments in the area. Macros are also available; not that anyone cares! In all honesty, though, this place is really setup as a liquor shop. Wines and spirits are its main selling piece. It should be noted that I found a really big, probably the biggest, selection of 3Floyds beers. I definitely doesn't find that in the Chicago area. Stop by if your in the area, you wont be disappointed.
Aug 12, 2011
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Reviewed by titosupertramp from Tennessee

4.64/5  rDev +10.7%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5
First off, this is one of the nicest liquor stores in terms of appearance that I've visited. It's a big store with nice displays and filled to the brim with goodies.

The service was very good as their beer guy(Joe, I think) was more than happy to chat about beer and make recomendations. He steared me in the direction of a few beers that I may have otherwise overlooked.

The selection is phenomenal and very well displayed. They have roughly 10 cooler doors, give or take a few, and three rows of warm beer on shelves. You can expect to see Two Brothers, Dark Horse, Brew Dog, Bells, Founders, Upland, Goose Island, New Holland, Three Floyds, Hoppin' Frog, Boulevard, Great Divide and too many Belgian beers to mention. Also, they do singles here with is huge!

All of their prices seemed in line or maybe on the cheap side. I visited another store in a different part of the state and they seemed to be a dollar or two higher than Payless Liquors on most everything. I guess they live up to their name.

This is a great store that I would highly recommend if you're in the area.
Jun 27, 2011
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Reviewed by mdvatab from Indiana

4.3/5  rDev +2.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5
Dropped by on 4/15 to check out their selection, and was pleasantly surprised.

Atmosphere: The store is relatively large, which enticed me to go in initially. The high vaulted ceiling and well-spaced aisles give the store a spacious feel. The beer coolers run along the back (west) wall of the store, and the warm beer shelving runs diagonally (northwest) along the back right of the store. There's an island of warm beer built up on the floor between the shelving unit and the coolers. In general, the store comes across as one that's serious about beer--not just a wine/liquor store that also does beer.

Quality: The quality of brands is pretty decent. My favorite part was the warm beer aisle, which had five or six tiers of shelves. When one scans the shelves, which contain single bottle limited-release, and hard-to-find year-round craft and import brands, it's hard not to find something you're gonna like. My only concern/criticism was something I noticed immediately while approaching the beer aisle. I was in the store early (around 9:00 am), and the sun was beaming through the large windows above the entrance. The sun's rays were shining directly on all the beer bottles standing on the top shelf. From the outside of the store, it looks like there might be some tinting in the glass, but I would be concerned about the toll that UV rays might have on the top shelf beers over time.

Service: The man at the front register was very friendly, and said he was their "wine guy", while another fellow is their beer manager. (The beer manager, however, was not there that morning.). I complimented them on their selection, which I thought was on the level of Kahn's-- another Indy favorite.

Selection: The selection, again, was very good. Many legendary seasonal and limited-release craft and import brands I've read about on BA. The shelves held mostly single 11.2 oz, 12 oz, 22oz/650ml, & 750 ml bottles. The had a "island" built up in the middle of the floor between the shelves and the beer coolers, which was composed of various popular sixers. The coolers held a range of sixers, and also a variety of craft/import single-serves.

All-in-all, I would recommend this place, and plan to be back often!
Apr 17, 2011
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Reviewed by WhiteRiverSuds from Indiana

4.51/5  rDev +7.6%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5
I stopped by this Payless 4 years ago after we moved here. I was not impressed. The place was a mess and had a bunch of dusty old bottles that were ready for the drain. After picking up some KBS at said store, I noticed some big improvements.
Right off the bat I see lots of new stock & better product turnover. The store is a bit dark (good for the beer) but clean. The huge coolers have been taken over by craft beer! And what's this? A store employee walking over to help & talk beer with me...LOVE IT! The beer guy (JOE) is very helpful. I assume he's a big reason why this store is a great craft beer store now. He's quite honest and forward about anything he's tasted.
The selection is quite large. Anything that's available in Indiana. I can't emphasize enough the large craft coolers. There are plenty of goodies in the back coolers as well...just ask! If you're comparing stock and cost with other quality stores (Crown & Kahn's), this shop is very attractive.
Mar 26, 2011
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Reviewed by brew3crew from Ohio

4.65/5  rDev +11%
Coming from Kahn's to here is almost like night and day! This place is awesome!

Q-I almost second guessed coming here, but none the less, it was my beeercation, so we went. The quality of brews was amazing. Everything I could imagine was here. Bell's Founders, DFH, Bruery and more! Had lots of other wines and liquor as well

S-Very nice counter people that made great recommendations and pointed out things I missed. great conversationalist.

S-One of the best selections of beer I have seen, outside of My local shops. Everything I wanted was here. i just wish I could have spent more money here and not at Kahn's...
Feb 04, 2011
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Reviewed by claaark13 from Indiana

4.55/5  rDev +8.6%
Q: Nice outside, nice and tidy inside. Within the range of the nicest Beer/Wine/Liquor stores that I've been to.

Svc: There is a beer guy there who knows what he's talking about. The rest of the staff aren't too helpful as far as beer goes, but they aren't rude or anything. There is also an issue with pricing, but I'll explain below.

S: Pretty good selection. I've found vintages here that I can't find anywhere else, period. They keep stock of the Indiana beers, the better German beers and most Belgian beers that you can think of. On the North side of Indy, probably the best overall selection around. They have a pretty good relationship with the distributors too, so if you're looking for something you could call and have them try to order it. Its not the best selection in Indianapolis, but if you are in town and looking around, I'd suggest looking here because you may find a treasure on their shelves.

V: Man, I hate to say this about a store that I think does a good job, but here we go: Overpriced. A lot of their beers are on the highest-end of the pricing that I've seen. There are a few things that I've found for a good price. For instance, they used to have the Chimay gift sets for just under $20, which is reasonable. But the 6pk and singles seem to be regularly a little high on the pricing for more popular beers. $3.99 for a bottle of Weihenstephaner is just too much as well. I know that a lot more stores are going to this pricing in the area, but I'm not going to pay that much and will go out of my way not to, period. Maybe their wine/liquor is where they sell products at a lower margin and they make up for it with their micro's, but I'm just looking into the beer. I should note that ALL Payless stores are like this, some a little worse than others. So, it may not be their fault. I guess this store does have a discount rack, which is cool.

Overall, definitely worth stopping by if you are within 30 minutes. This makes the list of stores to check out if you are trying to find some stuff around the Indy area, and it's easy to get to from the highways.
Oct 19, 2010
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Reviewed by aasher from Indiana

3.83/5  rDev -8.6%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 2 | selection: 5
They feature a wide variety of craft bombers that take up metal shelving of at least sixty feet. Opposite of all the bombers is an island of craft six packs that has new beers on both sides. They carry every notable craft brewery that comes to mind. They also have the majority of the Indiana breweries as well, surprising for such a large chain store. They also feature a wide array of craft singles, namely bombers, as well as numerous windows worth of craft six packs cold. The selection at this location is top notch. The employees that work there aren't the most knowledgable, and are really kind of snobby, in the world but overall this location is a must stop and they are sure to have something you haven't seen before.

Edit: Their main beer guy, Joe, is a very knowledgeable guy and puts the other guys who work there to shame. He's always willing to let you know what he's tried and what's worth trying.
Jun 03, 2010
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Reviewed by brundo4 from Illinois

3.85/5  rDev -8.1%
This is a pretty good store. Just heard about it recently and by what they're able to keep on the shelves you can tell that many beer geeks still haven't heard of it. They have a long row of bombers that faces a longer row of coolers with an enormous bank of sixers and cases all piled up in the middle. They have a funny selection of some vintage goodies, odd germans and belgians, and super, top echelon american craft. Also, some pretty peculiar mini-kegs and things. Worth a trip for sure, and not as hard to find as it might seem.
Mar 12, 2010
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Reviewed by manahansf from Indiana

4.35/5  rDev +3.8%
I stumbled upon this place when I began my BJCP classes. Huge store with the works but in the back right corner of the store there is a beer heaven! Most of it is warm, but a good selection is cold. They stock most of the in-state brews as well as tons of imports and everything inbetween. Prices are good but still average. Being such a big store they are able to purchase many hard to find brews. I picked up an '08 Old Crustacean there after looking all over for one! It was really an eye opener when I made it to the back and its worth a visit to open your own eyes.
Mar 09, 2010
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Reviewed by lightindarkness from Florida

4/5  rDev -4.5%
I was referred to this large liquor store for their great wine selection, but found their beer selection to be impressive as well. Some great choices of six packs, arranged generally without prices, but the real reason to go is the remarkable selection of harder-to-find bottles. Everyone I've spoken with at the store is friendly, but your best bet for answering questions or requesting beers is to go when the beer department manager is working. Prices were pretty reasonable, and varied from beer to beer on overall value. Fairly consistent with a lot of other stores, only with a much better selection than most.
Dec 24, 2007
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Reviewed by danielocean03 from Indiana

3.7/5  rDev -11.7%
Checked out this store on a tip from a coworker who commented on their suprisingly good selection. Very large store located off of 96th Street, just North of the Home Depot. This Payless location is mainly catering to hard liquor and wine, but offer a quite impressive selection of many area craft brews. Three Floyds, Bell's, and Stone are all well represented, along with a decent selection of Belgian ales as well. Well organized for the most part, the first four or five cooler cases at the far left hand corner of the store are nothing but microbrews, and then they also have their own aisleway filled with larger bottles. Service was on the weak side, was never asked if I needed anything, or paid any attention aside from checking out and paying for the beer I bought. Not rude or anything unacceptable, maybe I just expected better with the high quality store and great selection. Prices are right in line with the area, I paid about $17 for a bomber of Alpha Klaus and a bomber of Black Sun Stout from FFF's. Worth stopping in and seeing if you're in the area and need some good beer and don't feel like making the drive out to Kahn's.
Aug 15, 2006
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Reviewed by wlhagan3 from Indiana

3.7/5  rDev -11.7%
This is a new location for the Payless chain here in Indy and surrounding Burbs and by far the best IMHO location. The store is good size with beer/wine/booze. The beer selection is as good as any store in the area short of Kahn's in Carmel. They don't seem to carry the full lines of the regional breweries but do carry a good mix of items.

The only downer I have is that the six packs/case boxes are "arranged" in a pile of sorts with six packs sitting on the case boxes. The beers are not grouped in any way that I could tell. I.E. The Great Lakes items I was looking for were in three different areas in the pile. It would be easy to miss something.

This being said, the bottles are neatly arranged on the shelves by brewery/domestic/import.

The pricing is a tad higher than some other places in Indy but not out of line.

Did not receive any service to speak of short of checking out.

Nice store.
Jun 16, 2005
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Reviewed by zerk from California

4.65/5  rDev +11%
I stumbled across this Payless Liquors by accident over the weekend, and I'm really glad I did! I went in not expecting much... most Payless locations have pretty standard offerings with a few nice micro selections peppered amongst the coolers full of macro brew. This Payless is quite different however. This is a new Payless superstore, which features possibly the best selection of craft brews you'll find in the Indianapolis area! I was stunned to walk through aisles of craft brew, some of which I'd never seen in Indiana before. I didn't get a chance to talk to the beer manager at the store, but it is obvoiusly someone who knows what he or she is doing. Prices are average for the area, and unfortunately most of the beer is kept at room temp, but this is one place definately worth checking out. Location is pretty convenient too, as it's just off of I-69, at 96th St.

I'm not sure if they have as much selection as Kahn's, but if they don't they are pretty damn close.
Apr 04, 2005
Payless Liquors in Indianapolis, IN
Place rating: 4.19 out of 5 with 28 ratings