Valumarket

Store

1250 Bardstown Rd
Louisville, Kentucky, 40204-1333
United States

(502) 459-2221 | map
valumarket.com
PLACE STATS
Average:
3.98
Reviews:
3
Ratings:
10
pDev:
9.55%
View: Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
 
Rated: 4 by scottspencer from Indiana

Jan 30, 2015
 
Rated: 3.75 by Magery from Kentucky

Dec 11, 2014
 
Rated: 3.92 by cwd from Kentucky

Sep 28, 2014
 
Rated: 3.88 by tykechandler from Kentucky

Aug 22, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by ZombiesAteMyDog from Indiana

Jul 15, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by gspeicher from Kentucky

Jun 25, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by rxthree from Ohio

May 21, 2014
Photo of Bourbon
Reviewed by Bourbon from Kentucky

4.15/5  rDev +4.3%
It's not that the selection is immense, really. It's the fact that I have watched it grow from nothingness into a sprawling beast that is consuming the store around it.
It seems that every couple of months, another couple square feet of store gets annexed for beer.

The selection, as stated, is not the largest in the city. The liquor mega-stores have more, to be sure. Whole Foods does as well. Where Valumarket comes up aces is prices and surprises. At time of writing, Valumarket's retail price is $2 less than Whole Foods on 90 Minute IPA. This is not a fluke. I've not seen a price that anyone other than the liquor mega-stores can touch. Follow this with the Red Tag Specials. Right now, Duchesse is the cheapest in the city by $1.95 on Red Tag.

What about surprises? Growlers filled as low a3s $6.99, and their collection of limited release bottles have been filling my vintage cellar for a couple of years now.

So why would I want to drive all the way out to the East End again?
Sep 23, 2010
Photo of Buschyfor3
Reviewed by Buschyfor3 from Kentucky

3.2/5  rDev -19.6%
I stopped by this weekend to check out the "Beer Cave" and I must say I was pleasantly surprised by what Valumarket had to offer. Definitely not the most comprehensive selection in Louisville, nor the best selection I have seen in a grocery store (i.e. Whole Foods Market and this one little local chain grocery where my grandparents live in Seaside Heights, New Jersey), but it is quite respectable. When you walk through the sliding door into the refrigerated room, you are greeted by four walls of beer: Belgians, Germans and British beers to your left, American craft directly in front, BMC to the far right, the single serve sheft to the near right, and then a center display that features a mix of everything from crafts to BMC to some non-alcoholic selections.

As for the breadth of the selections in the Beer Cave, I was quite impressed. Undoubtedly, there were some Belgian lambic selections on hand that I have yet to see even at the larger Liquor Barn locations in Louisville. As for the American craft shelf, there were a couple of surprises including both Matilda and Pere Jacques from GI Reserve (no spot for BCS, however it may have already been sold out). That fact alone might warrant the "4" score in selection as I have rarely even seen GI Reserves at my local Liquor Barns! It seems that Bluegrass Brewing Co. and Alltech/Lexington Brewery (locals) and Schlafly's, Boston Beer Co. and Sierra Nevada's full lines were represented on the shelves. The previous review indicated 600 beers to choose from? I think that is a bit of an excessive guess. I'd say there were maybe at most 200 different beers to choose from total in the whole beer cave including BMC.

For the single selections, there was a nice repetoire of many German hefeweizens in 16.9oz bottles, along with the usual suspects in 22oz bombers - Rogue and Stone (nice to see their Somer Orange Honey Ale in stores for the first time!) to name a few. There were also a good number of 750s to be found, including some older vintage Schlafly Reserve Imperial Stouts aged in Bourbon Barrels, of which I decided to indulge and purchase a bottle. There were also some larger 3L "special occasion" bottles from Duvel and Scaldis that were in the $75-$100 range. Nice. The previous review also indicated there were 150 singles to choose from - the reviewer must have been referring to the total number of bottles on the shelf. There were probably only 30-40 different singles to choose from, plus the 15 or so Belgians that were in both 11.2oz and 750ml bottles.

Prices were quite competitive... easily close to Liquor Barn's prices on most beers, with many tagged on the shelf for "dollar-off" specials.

Maybe the only downside was that not once during my visit did I see any store attendant in the Beer Cave to help with selections. As I was leaving, I did see an employee rolling out a dolley from the store room in the back with some 6 packs stacked on it, but he pushed them to a tiny display out in one of the aisles in front of the Beer Cave, not inside of it. Could be frustrating for those who are interested in getting suggestions for new things to try or need help locating a specific kind of beer to pair with foods.

Overall, quite pleasant for a local, neighborhood grocery store.
Jul 14, 2009
Photo of carp327pl
Reviewed by carp327pl from Kentucky

4.85/5  rDev +21.9%
To correct the previous review, (this is my favorite beer store and i thought the previous review to be erroneous, especially since their recent expansion) the accurate amount of packages are as follows by category:
-All Single Serves Craft/Import (750ml, 22oz, 18.7oz, 16.9oz, etc) there are a total of 190 single serve beers
-All Craft/Import (6pk, 4pk, etc) there are a total of 304 beers
-This makes a total of 494 different Craft/Import packages excluding BMC and FMB
-All store total packages are 579 different beers, this IS including BMC and FMB
Nov 26, 2008
Valumarket in Louisville, KY
Place rating: 3.98 out of 5 with 10 ratings