Consumer's Beverages Inc.

 

 

I would avoid most of these locations around the city. The stock is usually old, prices are high, staff will not help you with anything, and the selection is pretty poor. Go to the Village Beer Merchant, Wegman's, Premier Gourmet instead. Anywhere but here will do.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Popped in to just see what was laying around. Unless you're in a pinch and in the 'hood don't bother. Craft selection is below average (mostly the big named regionals you'd expect) and you can likely do just as well at a Wegmans. Freshness is an issue, as with all Consumer's. Staff is useless but par for the company.

This consumer location is close to the hotel I usually stay at when traveling through on business. The selection isn't exactly huge, but it's quality. Most of the beers there I've had but can usually find something I've never tried before. My one gripe about Consumer's...most of their locations accept cash only, that's a huge drawback. Not the greatest place I've ever been to, but when in Buffalo, worth checking out one of their several locations. The store is always clean and well organized. As any other place, depending on the beer, they can be either pricey or reasonable. If $1-$3 per six is unreasonable, then maybe pass them up. However, in my opinion, worth the stop.

You sure you have the right store? The Genesee St Consumers doesn't have any taps. I would say this store has a decent selection, definitely not the demographic to warrant a large micro/import selection. If you want to see something impressive, check out the new(er) Clinton St store right off of Harlem. The Sheridan Drive and Transit Rd stores also have a really great selection. The prices at these places are awesome too compared to the VBM. All in all, the Genesee St store is a pretty average beer store. Its not gonna knock your socks off but plenty of value inside.

I went here the last time I was in Buffalo. They have a pretty good selection of domestic craft brews, but nothing out of the ordinary. No single bottles of domestic stuff either. They only had a few shelves of imports, but most of those did come as bombers or single 12 oz bottles. They also have 12 rotating taps and a small selection of glassware. Staff seemed friendly enough, but some of them didn't seem too knowledgeable about craft beer. There's also a small "warehouse" style section of the store where you can buy bulk amounts of the typical American macro beers. Overall, I would say this isn't a bad spot to go buy some decent beer, especially if you want larger quantities. However, I wold rather go to the Village Beer Merchant.