Vines & Bines

Store

3705 Murrell Road
Rockledge, Florida, 32937
United States

// CLOSED //
PLACE STATS
Average:
4.08
Reviews:
3
Ratings:
3
pDev:
10.05%
View: Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews.
Photo of BRLockwood
Reviewed by BRLockwood from Florida

4.35/5  rDev +6.6%
Just thought I'd add my two cents worth because I have been here a few times and so far have found it to be the best beer store in Florida. I haven't visited many places but this is the best that I have seen. It's amazing this store is a mile down the road from my parents house. I enjoy the opportunity to visit each time I am in town and find the owner to be fairly knowledgeable about the beers I am interested in. I hope to find some other good stores in Florida but as of today this is the best!
Apr 19, 2007
Photo of Drew966
Reviewed by Drew966 from Florida

3.5/5  rDev -14.2%
Vines and Bines primarily specializes in wine. If you come expecting a large selection of beer you will probably be disappointed. That being said, what they do carry is pretty much top notch (the only non craft brew they had was Iron City). There is a good (but not great) selection of Belgians, micros (including Ommegang, Lost Coast, Rogue, Flying Dog, Great Divide and I'm sure a few others) and what has become one of my favorites, St. Peter's Cream Stout. Martin is usually there, he is moderately knowledgeable about the beer on hand (he often has not tried the ones I've asked about), his overall knowledge of beer is not overwhelming (he is definitely from a wine background). Overall, not a bad place to check out, the options around here are fairly slim for finding good beer (short of a trip to Orlando), worth a stop if you are in the area.
Feb 26, 2006
Photo of beerogre
Reviewed by beerogre from New York

4.4/5  rDev +7.8%
In the next week or so I will be moving just down the road from this place and today I had the opportunity to pop in briefly, as I was passing by, to get a feel for what they were offering.

Having already perused the website I had some idea that my visit would not be entirely a waste of time (like so many other times when I have checked out the liquor stores here in Florida) since several of the beers mentioned on the website were of notable quality.

On entering the store I was immediately greeted in a friendly manner and asked if I needed assistance. I explained I had come to check out which craft brews they were offering and was accompanied over towards the beer section. After enquiring what my name was, the guy introduced himself as Martin and explained that in addition to the beers already on display, he had some additional recently acquired stock that had yet to have prices put upon it, and that if I didn't immediately see what I wanted to ask him, since he may have it or be able to help out with suitable suggestions. He also made a point of directing me towards his stock of Belgian beers, which he seemed to be justifiably proud of.

In the rather short time available to me on this visit I was somewhat overwhelmed by the choice and limited myself to just one purchase (since I know this is going to be my new beer store and I will definitely be coming back, I could do that). I finally bought my first ever bottle of St. Bernardus Abt 12 - I have been so close to buying this beer on many occasions but somehow it always got away. Well not today. Needless to say, worth every penny and everything I ever thought it would be.

Anyway, back to the review...My favourite style these days is barleywines, but that developed from being a stouts and porters man, and those two styles were very well represented here, including several imperial versions of both styles, Yeti Imperial Stout is one I remember. There was just about every style of Rogue I have ever heard of and some that I hadn't, some Unibroue La Fin Du Monde, I recall, which is on my list to try. Delirium Nocturnum and Tremens are others I recall seeing.

My 1 pint 9.4 fl oz bottle of St. Bernardus Abt 12 cost $8.50. I'm not sure how this rates price wise by comparison with elsewhere, but it's certainly a quality product. There were several 6 packs that I will be trying in the near future which were priced at $7.99, which I think is pretty good for craft beer on the whole. Am I wrong?

As I have already indicated this is going to be my new much frequented beer store in the very near future and I will be expanding upon my review when I have conducted several "fact finding tours" as the politicians in England used to say.

Just over a week later and my second visit to the store. I was somewhat surprised (and in some ways encouraged) to find that some of the beers I spotted on my first visit, and had been considering as possible purchases on this visit, were no longer available and had been replaced with other, equally intriguing brews.

On this occasion I spent much longer in the store, simply because I couldn’t decide what I wanted to try this time around. I finally came away with a 4 pack of Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout (Excellent, like a few others I have had, but Sam Smiths is still the best.), a 4 pack of Flying Dog Horn Dog Barley Wine Style Ale (I am impressed with this, I actually viewed this one as the risky purchase of the bunch, but I would definitely buy it again, no problem. A quality barleywine for my tastes.) a 6 pack of Rogue Mocha Porter (a good though not spectacular interpretation), and a 750ml Brasserie Des Rocs Triple Impériale (with which I was slightly disappointed).

There was one particular beer in the store I had wanted to try for a while, Thomas Hardy’s Ale. I decided to pass on it due to the price which was $18.50 for 4 small 8.5fl oz bottles. I am currently attempting to get feedback from fellow BA’s on whether this is a worthwhile price to pay for this beer, as it just seemed a lot to pay for a relatively small quantity. However, the fact remains that the beer was available for sale and that in itself is encouraging.

There were two other notably points to come out of this visit. The first was that there where a few gaps on the shelves were beer had been on my first visit. So although the choice was possibly slightly less on this occasion, I view this as a good thing, since the store is obviously selling its craft beer and therefore I would assume, will be encouraged in its venture. The second point was that all the time I was there trying to work out what I was going to buy, there was a bunch of young guys stood next to me doing the same thing. I thought this was great. Maybe there is hope for the World tomorrow!

Anyway, in closing, Vines and Bines is currently doing a great job, providing an oasis of quality beer in a largely barren beer wasteland. This is no mirage. This is real ale.
Oct 24, 2005
Vines & Bines in Rockledge, FL
Place rating: 4.08 out of 5 with 3 ratings