Gabriel's Superstore

Gabriel's SuperstoreGabriel's Superstore
Gabriel's SuperstoreGabriel's Superstore
Homebrew, Beer-to-go

1309 N Loop 1604 W
Ste 109
San Antonio, Texas, 78258-4770
United States

(210) 492-8585 | map
gabrielsliquor.com
PLACE STATS
Average:
4.3
Reviews:
24
Ratings:
44
pDev:
7.91%
View: Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by corby112:
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Reviewed by corby112 from Pennsylvania

3.7/5  rDev -14%
Stopped by here on a recent trip to San Antonio before a trip to Freetail. This is basically a very large liquor store with an impressive selection of craft beers. Lots of Belgians as well as some Brewdog, German beers and local TX beers. Burried Hatchet Stout, St. Arnolds along with some of the Boulevard Reserve series, etc. The prices were very reasonable but the service was nothing out of the ordinary. No one knew much about beer and they kind of just stayed away fro the section. Probably the best place in the area for bottles.
Dec 17, 2010
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4.34 by erickt from Texas

Sep 09, 2017
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Rated by Dharmelink from Wisconsin

4.21/5  rDev -2.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4.5
Robert the beer manager is very friendly and loves to talk beer
Mar 18, 2017
 
Rated: 4.08 by SergeLowpz from Texas

Aug 26, 2015
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Reviewed by OKFine from Michigan

4.23/5  rDev -1.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.75
So Gabriel's is great if you know EXACTLY what you're looking for. Granted, the staff is extremely attentive and helpful, they keep the good distro in back and you have to ask SPECIFICALLY for it. It's gotten to a point where Yellow Rose is in back and you have to ask for it. The head of beer has a twitter handle @RobertSABeerGuy , but he doesn't actually post the great releases. It seems he posts the ones that either he likes or is asked to promote by corporate. Granted, they do have an exceptional selection, likely the best in town, but for the semi-whales, you have to ask for.
Jul 26, 2015
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Reviewed by Scooter694 from Texas

4.55/5  rDev +5.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 5 | selection: 5
They have the biggest selection in San Antonio that I've seen. Staff always asks if I need help often more then once. Not the place I would go for special releases due to the popularity. But if you're looking for a wide selection this is the place to go.
Jun 14, 2015
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Reviewed by nickfl from Florida

3.49/5  rDev -18.8%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 4 | service: 2 | selection: 4.25
The location is out of the way, but the selection is quite good. Its a generic wine warehouse type liquor store in a strip mall in San Antonio's suburban sprawl hell outskirts area. Prices seems a bit on the high side, but I don't really know what is standard for the area. Service was lacking, I don't need or expects any suggestions at a bottle shop, and didn't get any here, but the guy at the counter was a snotty ass for no reason as we were checking out. I'm not going to bash the other aspects of the place, but the staff sucks.
Jun 14, 2015
 
Rated: 4.24 by blastoderm55 from Texas

Feb 01, 2015
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Rated by Macsimus from North Carolina

4.29/5  rDev -0.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4.5
Nice place but did not any one to help me on the floor.
Jan 27, 2015
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Reviewed by DoubleSimcoe from Pennsylvania

3.79/5  rDev -11.9%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.75 | service: 3.75 | selection: 4
Conveniently located a couple of miles down the road from Freetail Brewing, Gabriel’s Superstore offers a massive amount of craft beer. This is one of those “supermarkets of liquor” that has got enough booze to flood a small town.

Beer-wise, a lot of the stock here refrigerated, which is always a plus. They have a ton of singles to build a pack, and packs and bombers from Deschutes. Stone, Squatters, Prairie, Five Stones, Adelbert’s, New Braunfels and a bunch of Texas names… plus Belgians, fifteen different New Belgium Lips of Faith and some high-gravity goodies like Brewdog Bitch Please.

All the open cases and boxes of beer on pallets on the floor make the beer section look a little haphazard (as opposed to the neatly displayed bottles of spirits). A friendly beer guy helped me out with my failed quest for Jester King El Cedro.

This would be a great joint for your everyday beer needs, but probably not for barrel-aged stuff and special releases.
Jan 22, 2015
 
Rated: 4.82 by Hohnbaum from Kansas

Jan 04, 2015
 
Rated: 4 by Magery from Kentucky

Dec 09, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by Gagnonsux from Texas

Nov 29, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by Devil_Doc from Texas

Oct 05, 2014
 
Rated: 4.5 by bttrbean from Texas

Oct 05, 2014
 
Rated: 4.75 by mgr78704 from Texas

Sep 19, 2014
 
Rated: 4.72 by jandadeboer from Texas

Aug 11, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by Texasfan549 from Texas

Jul 20, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by wtkphoto from Michigan

Jul 13, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by thewimperoo from Illinois

Jun 21, 2014
 
Rated: 4.5 by ubenumber2 from Arkansas

Jun 19, 2014
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Reviewed by Radome from Florida

4.11/5  rDev -4.4%
vibe: 3.25 | quality: 4 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4.5
I saw the BA ratings on this store and tried it out when I was in that part of town. In my experience, they have the best/widest selection of craft beer of any store in town. There were dozens to hundreds of different beers. The emphasis was on US craft brewers with lots of Texas titles and a pretty good selection of Belgian beers. There were fewer German and British labels. Prices were decent with a few specials available. Although the selection was better than other stores in town that I've been to, I'm not sure it's enough improved to warrant going a long way out of your way to check them out.
May 31, 2014
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Reviewed by bhalter8 from Georgia

4.56/5  rDev +6%
vibe: 3.25 | quality: 4.75 | service: 4.75 | selection: 4.75
There's not a lot in the way of craft beer in San Antonio, but if you are looking for some bottles to take home with you, this is the place. The beer manager, Robert, is very knowledgeable and helpful. He has put together quite a beer selection and knows where to point ya. The place is a huge, and first impression might be that it is not a craft beer destination, but it most definitely is. Highly recommended...
May 19, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by gtermi from Texas

May 07, 2014
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Reviewed by MoorBeerPlz from Arizona

4.61/5  rDev +7.2%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5
Stopped in the Ganriel's while on a business road trip. Wanted to get some of the beers that don't have distro in So Cal. Was approached by one of the employees and we proceeded to talk beers for the next hour while he walked me through their stock, telling me about the ones I hadn't seen before. This store (there are several) had an pretty extensive selection of beers plus a section where you could make up your own six packs.

After talking to the employee I took him up on a couple of suggestions for a new brewery's offering (5 Stones) and made up a couple mixed sixers while I was at it.

Recommend this place highly and I'll be back when the next business trip comes up.

Cheers!
Feb 14, 2014
 
Rated: 4.5 by Guzano from Texas

Feb 11, 2014
 
Rated: 4.75 by bkeller04 from Texas

Feb 07, 2014
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Reviewed by Sludgeman from District of Columbia

4.34/5  rDev +0.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.75 | selection: 4.5
Visited on a Wednesday evening. Store was dead. I wish this store was closer to downtown and easier to find (its in a shopping center, off the main road)

A - Open, bright , clean, rather industrial. Like a Total Wine, but with liquor. Not a den of craft beer, but certainly an easy quick place to shop. - 4

Q – No concerns. You can get many of the beers as singles already chilled. - 4

Sel – Fantastic selection for both domestic and foreign. Prairie Artisan – bought one of each of the four different bottles on the shelf. – 4.75

Ser – The staff wanders the isle and asked twice if I needed help. The second time I took him up on it and he had an immediate answer and took me right to the spot on the shelf. – 4.5

Food – No food, except a few take out snacks.

Value – $$
Jan 30, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by kjkinsey from Texas

Jan 24, 2014
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Reviewed by sliverX from S. Georgia & S. Sandwich Isls.

4.1/5  rDev -4.7%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5
Stopped here before heading home from Texas on recommendation and the fact our hotel was only a few "blocks" away.
All in one store beer, wine, liquor which is an oddity to us in NY. Far left side of the store was the beer aisle which was basically your average grocery store aisle blown double wide.
Found more stuff than I could possibly fit in my checked luggage so would say its a successful trip. Maui cans, ska bombers, Jester King everything, Santa Fe cans and chicken killer bw. Don't remember any imports of note but wasn't looking much into them. Location close to Freetail makes this a perfect place for visitors to hit.
Jul 07, 2013
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Reviewed by TheAlamoWrocker from Texas

4.41/5  rDev +2.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5
I have been to over 6 Gabriel's locations in San Antonio with some barely 10 minutes away from another location and I could easily say this is the best of their locations. Don't believe just because this location has a great rating that other locations will have just as great a selection because other locations may have close to nothing for beers.

Vibe: There weren't too many beer enthusiasts here when I came. Most people were getting what they already knew, but some were bold and stepped out of their boundaries which was quite nice to see. This is a very big locations selling all types of alcohol, so there is quite a hustle and bustle going on.

Quality: The only real problem that I saw from this location was that in their singles that put them in an extremely cold cooler and this may freeze the canned beers, which I found one frozen slushy can.
Other than this one mistake they have some drinks in coolers and other ones outside on shelves. The ones on the shelves were beers made for aging, so I feel like this is how they convince themselves that they can be shelved like this, without the proper storing procedures then these truly can't be aged though.
Most were properly stored, so don't let me turn you off with my downsides.

Service: People were always willing to help if you had any questions. When people help outside of their area of expertise then its quite funny. If you ask someone who doesn't know what you're talking about they will first try to find it themselves and after they admit defeat then they ask someone who actually knows. At least someone knows and that's the important thing. Only ask those who hover in the beer department and not at the front.

Selection: The stand outs that I was surprised to see were the Trappistes Rochefort set, Three Philosophers, and the main 3 from the Jester King Craft Brewery. I know this might sound like nothing to other, but these really can't be found in San Antonio. They had a nice selection of foreign beers, lambics, and Gueuzes which is always a nice surprise when I visit a new selection. This place had something for everything and I bought over 25 singles from my run, looked them up on my phone, and they were all solidly reviewed beers.

Overall: If you are looking for a place where you could stock up at then this is your best location in San Antonio. The best after this store is Central Market and then Whole Foods, but even these two don't come close to this Gabriel's. I stayed here for over a hour looking at everything and trying to pick.
Dec 25, 2011
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Reviewed by 18tony from Texas

4.72/5  rDev +9.8%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5
I live in Dallas and I live near three good to great beer spots. Centennial in Addison has liquor and High ABV beers. Think 18% and up. Kegs and barrels on 15th in Plano. Small quantities but great Belgium selection and room temp selections.Mr. G's on 15th. Bigger selection both chilled and shelved and great staff.

That said, Gabriel's has all that in one building. Great quantities. I mean they still have boxes i saw just lose bottles of in DFW. And they have Liquors that some of the brewers make. they don't like breaking up packs but, i can live with that.

San Antonio is not know for having "one of the best" of anything but in this case, I don't know of any place better.
Nov 23, 2011
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Reviewed by BrewsCrewSA from Texas

4.8/5  rDev +11.6%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5
In my opinion, and I've done a lot of beer shopping in San Antonio, this is the best place for market beer in SA. Jason, who used to manage the beer section at Central Market, along with Robert and Andrew, have brought in some incredible beers from across the country and around the world. Their distribution channels should make the rest of SA envious. Unless you're talking to those three though, the rest of the staff could probably not help you. And, since it's that way, sometimes you have to wait a little to get their attention. It's true - most of the warehouse-style liquor store is dedicated to spirits and wines. There's a beer singles mix section for both U.S. and international; those are generally $1.50 to $3.00 each...then there's your required pisswater coolers, then about eight or nine cases of cold craft. There's also a Belgian Beer shelf section, about twenty feet wide, and a Super Secret (that's not so super secret anymore, ask Jason to see the private stock). Across from the cold cases is a wide unrefrigerated section for seasonals. Overall, Beer Nirvana in San Antonio.
Nov 19, 2011
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Reviewed by kbenson2 from Texas

4.46/5  rDev +3.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4
This is a Texas-sized liquor store. The majority of the store is split between liquor and wine. Beer is delegated to one aisle, however the offerings are diverse and far from mainstream. They dedicated a cooler off to the side solely to local Texas beer selections (yes, there are more than Shiner). They have a lot of popular cult beers (Stone IPA, Arrogant Bastard Ale, Rogue Dead Guy, DFH, etc.). When I went a few weeks ago in early October they had already sold out of their shipment of DFH Punkin Ale and weren't getting any more. They have a few shelves in the back dedicated solely to Trappist brews (all three Chimays in different sizes, for example). They have one guy in the store in charge of their entire beer inventory. This place was well worth the time, and is just under a mile down 1604 from Freetail Brewing Co. You will have a hard time making a decision from the huge selection.
Oct 25, 2011
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Reviewed by jamescain from Texas

3.8/5  rDev -11.6%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 4.5
I don't want to compare this store wit other stores in the state. That's not fair to them, but it's hard not to. San Antonio, never gets all of the beers that the other major cities in the state receive. Gabriel's has the best selection in the city though. They are a little out of the way, but if you make the trip it is worth it. Most of their beers are kept in coolers, although most of their new arrivals are not. They have selves in the back that hold some of their older beers; however, it is hard to convince myself to buy them due to their less then optimal storage conditions. They have a nice single's selection up front, but generally will not break up a six pack. The people that work in the beer section are fairly knowledgeable, but anyone else in the store is not. Their prices recently have began to become more expensive, but for some items they are not bad. They have recently added a glassware collection in the back of the store also. This is easily the best selection in the city and the place that I usually recommend. It doesn't hurt that it's only two exits down from Freetail either.
Jul 22, 2011
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Reviewed by RedBeardBrewing from Texas

4.64/5  rDev +7.9%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5
Was in San Antonio recently for some business, followed by a short vacation. Based on the reviews on BA, I knew I had to see this place to find some stuff I can't get at home.

Gabriel's was a great spot. It was very clean and well laid out and the staff was extremely helpful, friendly and readily passed on info about upcoming selections.

I was very happy to find Ranger Creek (Mesquite Smoked Porter, La Bestia) and Jester King (Wytchmaker) on the shelves and I make sure to pickup a few of each.

Great selection, best of what I saw while in town. This will be my "go-to" place when around San Antonio when in town get find the good stuff.
Jul 22, 2011
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Reviewed by jdense from Oregon

4.14/5  rDev -3.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4
Visited during SAT beer sortie, 4.22.11.

Located off the loop at the far north end of San Antonio in the ever-present strip mall about a mile or so down the road from Freetail, Gabriel's #60 is the place to go in town for the traveling BA intent of stuffing some Texas goodies into their suitcase for the trip home. The previous reviews indicate the depth of their selection. They had the full litany of Texas micro-brews on tap, everything that was bottled or canned in the state was available except for a few out of stock items.

The staff was super friendly, when I told them I was a traveling BA they took me to the secret stash where I grabbed a six pack of St. Arnold's 11. Stuffed suitcase with full range of Live Oak cans, pretty reasonably priced, discount for cash or debit as opposed to credit card.

Given the knowledgeable, friendly staff, good selection and decent prices, not sure why you wouldn't shop here, other than the relatively hard trip up from downtown or Riverwalk area. While it's ostensibly a liquor and wine store, the dedication to craft beer here makes this a must stop for the traveling BA. Highly recommended.
Jun 17, 2011
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Reviewed by AlCaponeJunior from Texas

4.3/5  rDev 0%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5
Easy to get to, plenty of parking. Went inside and it's quite a large place, with tons of liquor and wine everywhere. On the left you can see the signs for beer, which is where I headed. First I came upon a nice little cooler filled with singles, perhaps 100 different selections from various different breweries. There's a similar cooler on the back side of this one, with more conventional selections but nonetheless with plenty to choose from. Picked out a few singles to review and moved on to the main selection. At the time I was there these were "buy six or more for an extra discount,"* but I didn't discover this till I got to the counter. Luckily I had chosen seven beers from that cooler!

I was quite impressed that most of their beer, even the quality bombers and 750s, was kept in coolers. More impressive than that was that there was mostly fine quality beers taking up shelf space, an impressive contrast from the typical liquor store MO of packing all the cooler space with BMC and leaving all the good stuff out on the warm shelves. Way to go Gabriel's.

Selection wise again I was quite impressed. Here's a list of some** of the highlights I saw:

Lagunitas
Great Divide (including oak aged coffee and espresso yeti)
Stone (including Cali-Belique, Ruination, Oak-aged AB)
Brooklyn (including local 1, my fav!)
Avery
Dogfish Head
Moylans
Allagash
Harpoon
Real Ale
Bear Republic
Boulevard
Brewdog
Oskar Blues
Westmalle
Magic Hat
Harpoon
Maui
St Bernardus
Chimay
Duvel
Ranger Creek
Victory
Misc Locals

There were plenty of other imported and domestic fine quality beers to choose from, as well as lots of glassware. The employees were helpful and I was not left without polite offers of assistance for more than about five minutes. Prices were very reasonable on most everything.

Great place, I highly recommend it.

*Strangely, Gabriel's has a 5% "discount" for cash, which turns out to mean both cash and debit card. Credit costs more. The discount for cash/debit on the cooler mentioned above was (at the time) 10% if you bought at least six of these selections. They pretty much have them all in sixers as well, and I didn't price-per-bottle compare, but when you're looking to try a single without buying a six-pack I guess the prices were fine. Prices ranged from $1.49-$3.00+ in this particular cooler, with many under two bucks.

**not even close to an all-inclusive list
Jun 07, 2011
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Reviewed by grssmnperez from Texas

4.15/5  rDev -3.5%
have made several trips to Gabriels and can't seem to spend less than 75 - 100 dollars. The selection is the best i've found to date in the San Antonio area. I keep comparing it to state line in Maryland which i stopped @ on the way down as I am in the United States Air Force and my access to decent beer changes frequently. The service here is good with a quite knowledgable staff who have brewing expirience. The prices are good but the selection is so wide that its hard hard to hold one's self back from cleaning off the shelf!
Nov 15, 2010
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Reviewed by climax from Missouri

3.8/5  rDev -11.6%
Located northside San Antonio in new construction off Loop 1604. The store was very clean, large, and open. Staff were all very friendly and willing to help.

The selection of beer was pretty good, better on the 6 pack side of things. The singles selection was decent, most being 12oz offerings. One cooler had domestics, on the other side, imports. Most of the domestics were the major offerings from Colorado and California (Avery, New Belgium, Stone, North Coast, etc.), with some Texas micros squeezed in. All the bombers and "big" beers were located on the other side of the store un-chilled.

Picked up a Harpoon Leviathan which was over a month past it's drink by date. Questionable. Otherwise, a nice stop during my week in San Antonio, never really heard of a better place to check for beer. Prices were quite reasonable.
Sep 18, 2010
Gabriel's Superstore in San Antonio, TX
Place rating: 4.3 out of 5 with 44 ratings