Market District

 

 

Rick C. and company are doing the best that are capable of I recently spent a lunch in their beer/dining section. You have to eat at this location are you going into drink which varies from the Market District at Settler's Ridge in Robinson. I grabbed a bomber of Clown Shoes Crunkle Sam Barleywine (great beer) and was thoroughly impressed with his stock. Rick pulled out a new arrival a 50 dollar bottle of 12 Dogs of Christmas that was aged on bourbon barrels.

However, I grabbed some brisket sat and ate while waiting for them to tap Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stout...while eating here you are limited to two drinks. I did also take home one of 22 (12 oz. bottles) of Bourbon County Brand Barleywine (which was the best beer I drank last year), so all in all I was happy with my outing to Bethel Park!

 

I didn't realize there was a beer section in this store at first. So, when I "stumbled" across it, I was naturally quite surprised and impressed. The selection here is vast and extremely well organized. The "locals" are on their own prominent shelf. The "regionals" are on the next one over. I could deal with some more singles, but they seem to have local singles available. Prices are better than most other single bottle shops - no surprise there. Service is quite standard. The manager of the department is very on top of things. But they are just pulling people in who are regular Giant Eagle employees to work, and several admit that they don't know anything about the beer - which is inexcusable in this day and age, in my opinion. Overall, it's a good spot.

The beer selection is really quite good, and gives all local bottle shops a run for their money. The prices are generally much better than surrounding stores, and the rotation of new choices is constant. They regularly have the new releases from DFH, Stone, Great Divide, and Founders, and their assortment of belgians should satisfy most.

While the staff is friendly, they generally aren't beer geeks- they likely won't be very helpful in answering specific questions, such as "Which beers have the higher IBU/ABV?"

The informal competition that this location has between the Robinson Twp location keeps the selection going, and keeps me coming back.

It's a supermarket! And the selections and freshness of the stock place it at the top of anyplace like this I have ever experienced. It's a nice market on par with a Whole Foods. Beer is easy to pick since it's displayed by style or brewer. You serve yourself but a manager is available to advise you if you are unsure about your choices. The beer selection is varied with many surprises. The beer is next to the prepared foods section in the store so it's a great location if you are trying to throw together an impromptu party or just want to party period. The guy who picks the selections should get a medal, good job!!