Hops & Grapes

 

 

A nice little wine and beer shop in the middle of a shopping plaza. They have a large and diverse selection, as well as a bar in the back that had roughly 10 taps as well. The bartender was very nice and helpful.

 

Stopped by to meet another BA while I was passing through. Excellent selection of NC locals as well as every other beer you could imagine. Worth a stop if you are in the area. Lots of wine too. Cheers

 

 

 

Love this place. It amazes me the selection of beer. Love the vibe too. Wish I could sample all the beer.

Great little store in Hickory NC. Although they do have a great selection, better than many other stores, I had to put 4.5 because they are still not up to the level of Sam's in Durham or one of the shops in Asheville. Nevertheless, solid store and nice people I would definitely check them out again if I was passing through the area. Which is kind of the only downfall, they are in a strange part of Hickory that people from out of town might have a hard time finding. Which might be a plus for the local patrons!

 

 

 

I just moved to HIckory from New York. I was stunned to find out there isn't any Beer Distributor type places anywhere. In New York there'd a BD in every town. I found this place after doing some searching via google for good beers. This place has it all, and more. Half the place is beer and the other half is wine. Amazing selection and has a growler station. Very intense selection of beers. Definitely recommend.

 

Not really having a beer store near me, but being within 30 minutes of plenty of good ones, I consider Hops and Grapes my go-to store. Sit and have a beer and chat with the friendly staff or just browse the endless selection. Always something new to try and nice beers on tap.

 

 

 

Hey, I'm biased. I own Hops & Grapes. (Gail has not been involved in over 2 years).

We carry a great selection of local, NC and national craft brewed beers. There's too many to name them all, but the list includes Lagunitas, Founders, Bell's, Rogue, Sierra Nevada, Weyerbacher, Southern Tier, Left Hand, Avery, Allagash, Foothills, Olde Hickory, Highland, Triangle, Natty Greene's, Howard, Catawba and many many more.

We do our best to bring in the best. If you're looking for a beer, give us a try. We'll track 'em down, if possible.

Always 8-10 beers on draft; growler fills and on-premise consumption- yes, you can drink in the store.

We alternate wine and beer tastings every Thursday. To sign up for our informative newsletter, send you email address to: [email protected]

Cheers, Bobby

This is an excellent place to buy craft beer in Hickory. Their selection is outstanding. The prices are reasonable, but maybe a few dollars more than something from Total Wine or Lowes Foods. However, I keep coming back because I like to support the local business. The people who work here are knowledgeable of the beer and always ask if I need help or if I'm looking for anything in particular. Also, they have 5 or so beers on tap so you can enjoy a beer while you shop. They have tastings and other events. They will special order anything for you (within reason). Another cool thing is they have a very large glassware selection. Wine is also sold, and it seems like a decent selection.

Absolutely love this place. The staff is very friendly and more than willing to help, be it with finding something specific that you've come in looking for or with suggestions when you're lost/overwhelmed by the options. Very clean and welcoming, with the added bonus of a few brews on tap that they are more than happy to let you sip while you browse. They also do tastings once a week, sometimes wine and sometimes beer. Price varies by what you're wanting.. seems to be fairly in line with local standards, occasionally a little high. Overall, I'm very glad to have such a place so near!

I'm in the store all the time as its just down the road from my house. Very nice selection and the new owner (Bobby) has been working to expand the beer list past where it was under the prior owner (Gail), which was already a pretty decent beer list. Wine is covered well also, though there isn't quite the knowledge of wine as there is for beer.

This is the first bottle shop I've been to where you can drink at the shop. Don't know if that says something about the places I've been or what... There are a couple drafts on tap and, especially after 5/6pm, there are a handful people around the store drinking a bottle or so.

Really, a great shop and I'm glad we have it in Hickory.

A- Really welcoming. Great place to have a beer and peruse the cooler.

Q- Good.

S- Great. Staff has always been knowledgeable and quick with suggestions and pointing out new arrivals. Also really interested in hearing what you have to say, which is awesome. With Bobby in the picture now a whole other level of knowledge is in that store.

S- I've seen bigger, but this is by far the best store in hickory. I'd like a little more beer and less wine, but I get how that works so I can't really knock it.

f- I gave it an n/a, but they do offer a varied selection of cheeses, spreads, chocolates, and other specialty stuff that you wouldn't really know where to get if somebody asked you.

V- Compared with every other place, it's right in line.

A beer/wine store that presents both fermented products with equal reverence. Most beers are in coolers, with a few newer releases on display on several tables, tastefully laid out. Tons of North Carolina beers, also a very good cross-section of the distribution available in the state, from CA to IL to MA.

They also have 2 taps for growler fills, serving Black Chocolate Stout and something else I don't remember. Prices were about average, well worth it for properly cared for beers sold by people who seem to care. Definitely worth a stop, maybe nothing too rare (or maybe you'll get lucky), the type of place I'd always shop at if I lived in Hickory.

Previously 'Gail's Hops & Grapes'.

Under new ownership (Now simply 'Hops & Grapes'), there is more focus on great beer. Thanks to Bobby, there's a better selection of NC brews, and more availability of beers distributed to NC. Most of the same great staff is here, ever helpful and smiling.

Go in, pop open a brew, go to a tasting, or partake in a beer lesson with Bobby. A lot of great things happening here now. A great place just got better. This place is much need in the Hickory area, where there are no other bottle shops to speak of, and grocery store selections are not very good at all.

I live in Hickory half of the week and decided this past week to google craft beer up there. Amongst all of the Olde Hickory links, Gail's popped up and I decided to stop by on the way back home. I was expecting some Olde Hickory beers and maybe some other easily accessible beers. However, I was pleasently surprised by the extent of their selection. I walked out with Ballast Point, Laugintas, and some Southern Tier. The customer service was also great. The two women working were very knowledgable about the selection and I always like to meet fellow women involved in the craft beer scene. The value was also comprable to the other craft beer stores that I frequent in Charlotte. Overall, it is an awesome place and I will be a regular patron from now on.

Just went this weekend the lady was very helpful at the store. Was very friendly I'm going back to get some different beer. Had a line of beer & wine help my wife with a wine she like. So I highly recommend this place.It's small but had a lot of stuff inside. Clean inside nice cooler inside for Beer a few wines inside cooler. Wife enjoyed the staff who was pleasant on enterey. In a location that was not what you find in most small area's but called a got directions.It's in a small town so support them because it's the only one we have.

I can't remember where I heard of this place, but I make bi-weekly trips to Hickory and I always stop in during lunch. If you go on Mondays there's a slight (very slight, 5% i think) discount on all beer. I've never been able to, but they do allow you to sit and enjoy a beer on site. There's maybe 12 coolers on your right with great selections from all your local breweries and also coolers dedicated to imports including Trappist and beers from the UK and Germany/Belgium. They also have one cooler dedicated to seasonals only. A few non-local breweries represented from memory are Bear Republic, Founders, Allagash, Great Divide, Terrapin, Sweetwater, Left Hand, Green Flash, Ballast Point, Lagunitas, Stone, Rogue, Bells... and of course tons more. Gail is great to talk to as well as a few of the other employees. Some are more knowledgable than other, but all are very nice and acommadating. Use a GPS to find this place if possible, it sits down low off the road and is difficult to see. I highly recommend it for beer advocates, as they have tons to choose from! Unfortunately, I never spend less than $60 everytime I drop in....

Nice shop done up very well. Devoted to wine overall but beer is almost half the store so thats good. You can drink a beer in house while you shop which is great!

Quality/Selection: Overall a pretty deverse selection especially for the area. Best in hickory id say. Almost every style is available and locals are well represented.

Service: Good when the owner or outgoing employee is there. Could be better when a less motivated staff member is present.

value: Pricey compared to other stores in other places. Theve got a monopoly so take it or leave it. Wine is def overpriced.

Made a point of stopping by Gail's after reading the Beerfly Reviews. Located in a little strip mall that sits at the bottom of a hill. If you didn't know where this place was you would miss it completely. Needs signage on the main road. Anway, really nice store when entering. Beer coolers located on the left with the rest of the store dedicated to wine, glassware, high end snacks. Pretty nice selection. One cooler is dedicated to NC beers with Olde Hickory, Duck Rabbit, French Broad, Natty Greenes, Mother Earth among those represented. Other coolers are dedicated to nationally recognized names like Allagash, DFH, Terrapin, Starr Hill, Great Divide, Avery, Boulder, Founders, etc...Another section is where you will find the imports with a small but decent selection of Belgian and German beers with some random Euro-Asian lagers thrown in for good measure. What really sets the store apart is that you can actually drink a beer in the store. If you ask, they will give you a glass so you can try any of the beers you bought. Pretty cool if you ask me. Shared a bomber for the French Broad Rye beer and glad I did. Picked up another bomber before I left. Overall, really classy and well done store. Definitely worth a stop. Highly recommended if in the area.

Wow. I was totally suprised by the selection presented here. If my memory is right, 8 large coolers with an awesome selection of beer for the area. Pisgah and French Broad bombers. A good representation of the good beers available in NC. DFH, Stone, Weyerbacher, Victory. A large selection of German and Belgian beers.

Good selection of wine, too. The woman working seemed to know more about the wine than the beer, but the beer is well presented and little assistance is needed in finding anything.

Nice table of glassware and coasters. You can pick up a pint glass to match the beer you are buying.

Easily the best beer store between Winston and Asheville. Makes my top 10 beer stores in NC.

About 3 miles north of town, but well worth the drive.

I have been to this place twice now and have somehow managed to only blow about $120 total. While they don't have anywhere near the 700 beers (or 900 wines) advertised in the phone book, they do have a very impressive selection. It takes me long enough to decide now I can't imagine how it would be if I had 700 choices... Plenty of NC beers and beers from Olde Hickory Brewery.

This last time I picked up an Allagash Curieux (bourbon barrel aged), Dog Fish Head Chateau Jiahu, and a beer from OHB called Bardstown which is a barleywine that was aged in bourbon barrels. The Bardstown and Chateau Jiahu are both about a year old, but I don't consider that a bad thing since those both will probably age in the bottle.

They have plenty of Belgians, IPAs, and barleywines, but there were a couple of styles I really want to try that they either don't have, or don't have much of. They had only one smoked beer, but could possibly get others, I didn't ask. Unfortunately I don't think they can get any braggots, but they have plenty enough other styles for me to try.

Both times I have been the lady at the counter (a different one both times) was very helpful. The first time I was there, they seemed like a beer person and had tried many of the beers available and were very helpful (besides my girlfriend being irritable the rest of the night because she thought the girl was flirting with me...). The second lady was also quite helpful, though not as well versed in the different beers/styles.

Definately a place to visit if you're in the area.

Gail's is a wine first kinda store with a good selection of beers in a cooler along one wall. They had the beers separated nicely by North Carolina micros(Duck Rabbit,Highland and Olde Hickory)and South East Micros(Terrapin and Sweetwater), American micros, Belgians, English, German and everything else. They did not have a selection of room temparture beer on the floor so I told the lady I was from out of town and she let me enter the back closet to choose some room temp beer. I picked up a Westmalle tripel, Weyerbacher Quad, Hebrew Origin and a few others. I also grabbed a sixer out of the cooler of Duck Rabbit Amber for later that night to enjoy with my cousins.

Hickory does have a horrible road layout which makes it confusing to get around but Gail's is on 127N which is easier to find than most places in town.

This is definitely the best way to find what you're looking for in Hickory or even if you're in the surrounding areas. Beautiful place located near Planet Fitness. As another reviewer posted, Hickory is pretty confusing. Once you find this place, you'll easily remember when you come back. Overwhelming selection of beers compared to most places I've been. Not just your typical beers from the area. Rogue, Victory, Bell's, and many other note worthy brewer's beers can be found here. I was please to see the Bell's and was also informed that they should be getting the Two-Hearted Ale there in the next month. They now have Terrapin and many others that will attract your attention. This place is a no-nonsense store that stocks the best of the best. The only common names you might see are Heinekin and Guinness. That's it. You can even get the Rochefort 8 and 10 here. Prices are slightly higher than other places but that's because other places might have a handful of Gail's selection total. By the way, the owners here used to own "We Be Sisters" which is the Texaco on 127. I'm glad they moved to a more upscale and personal location. Now instead of selling snacks and milk they can concentrate on their unbelievable beer selection. You can also request different beers which they can usually locate for you, though you have to purchase at least a case for this unique service. Wine, coffee, and chocolate is also at a premium here if you're into that. I highly recommend this place to anyone in the area who is having trouble finding something in particular. I'm sure you'll find something you haven't seen before until you get there.

Edit: Selection has declined steadily. Seems they're leaning more and more toward wine, though it was already leaning that way to begin. It's worth my time making a trip to Asheville or Boone instead of driving right down the road, sad to say.

Edit 1-10-13, made a purchase over the holidays & noticed ( & accidently purchased) some out of date seasonals. They also have some beer on tap now

I made a $ 60 trip here during my vacation, that in itself tells you something. Easily the best place to get your beer on in Hickory!

All of the beers I tried tasted up to date/fresh & no cooler room wasted on crap beer!

The gamut was covered here from stellar east coast micros to some from the Rockies & west coast. Too much to try, needed a multi-month visit to try them all. Pretty good & eclectic selection of European beers as well. My only nitpick other than them being a $1 more a sixer on most beers found elsewhere; not many micros from the south outside if NC. I can live with it, just was hoping to see terrapin & some other southern beers I was seeking. I've certainly seen stores with more selection, but not as a good a quality selection.

I sure hope this place makes a go of it, otherwise Harris Teeters or Fowler's Galaxy (supermarkets) are your next options for take home. Super friendly/helpful staff & a great coffee/wine selections are a bonus. One of the ladies said they were licensed for on- premise consumption, so maybe next time a quick one prior to shopping.
Highly recommended!

This is a cool store located in the North Pointe shopping center off of highway 127N. The selection is very good. Basically, any beer that is currently available in NC is sold here. If a beer is out of stock or they just haven't carried it , it can be ordered for you. Wine seems to be the main attraction here, but beer is also given a bit of respect. The owner told me that they regularly hold beer tastings as well as wine tastings. My only gripe is the confusing roads in Hickory and the amount of traffic. For a fairly small city, Hickory seems to have horrendous traffic at nearly all times of the day. That being said, Gails has the best beer selection in the Hickory-Morganton-Lenoir area and is well worth the visit.

Had to give Gails a whirl. I hate the roads in Hickory since they have all kinds of odd designations, but Gails is on Hwy 127 N beside Planet Fitness. If heading North it will be in a lower plaza on the right.

The store has wine and a coffee shop. I was asked if I needed assistance by someone stocking the coolers, but the owner was on the phone ordering beer during my visit so no speaking with her. The coolers are well laid out and very, very clean. Pricing and ABV for most beers is on the shelf tag so anything above 6% ABV is clearly marked in the coolers. I did not see any room temp beers, but no matter.

The selection was pretty darn good, not everything and not space for everything, but it did have most every standard beer that has made it into the state as of late. Some of the more oddball offerings were not present, but one that just hit the shelves last week was there in spades.

If in the area, I'd go back to Gail's. Great quality and the availability of cold beer to go with a good selection.

Stopped by Gails on my lunch break to peruse the selection. I must say the selection is very impressive. About 10 or so coolers of quality beer. I dont think I say one macro in the whole joint. I think tehy had every Rogue offered including the Dead Guy glow in the dark Growler (I also bought a Choc Stout). They had Allagash, Highland, Duck Rabbit, SN, Anchor, tons of belgians with belgian names I wont even try to pronounce along with the usual Chimay. Also had Unibroue. Other purchase was a four pack of Old Rasputin and a bomber of Highland Black Mocha Stout, which I am told is a seasonal and I scored the last bottle. Yesss! Prices seem a little high compared to other places I have been. But great selection and wonderful service.

I can't believe there is a place like this in Hickory. Cheers to Gail for putting such an awsome establishment in the Catawba River Valley area.
Heres's the details: First I think apperance should be rated here. The place was a classy beer first establishment. It also sells fine chocolates, coffees, and wines. I felt special just being there. Since apperance is not rated above, I'll give it a 5.
The service was good. The employee was friendly, nice, and very helpful. He even said he used beeradvocate to help customers sometimes. He was more than willing to talk and got my e-mail and phone # to call me if they got certain beers I was looking for.
I have not been to a lot of just craft beer stores, but this was the best selection I have seen. They had all the high gravity beers I've been reading about in the forums that are in our area. They had eight coolers(I think) of nothing but craft beers. Ok I did see 1 sixer of Miller Lite ponys, but it was looking like the lost unappreciated step-child admist all that quality. The value was comparable to other places. I wondered around for a while trying to make a decision b/c my wife put me on a 10$ budget. I ended up with Rogues Ole Crustacean barley wine for 12$. This place is worth seeking out.