Jungle Jim's International Market - Fairfield

This is my home beer store, I live just a couple of miles away. I can't recommend this store enough. The selection is second to none I've seen, I've heard it's one of the biggest selections in Ohio. They get multiple deliveries throughout the week, so the place is usually stocked to the gills with product. I will suggest that you don't visit on peak weekend hours, lots of tourists standing in the beer section making it hard to get around.

Service is... okay. Some of the people there are knowledgable, others are far from it. They all try to be helpful at least. I have also heard that they only hold stuff back for some people making it difficult to get rare items. I would say that's the norm nowadays so take for what it is. Overall I would put this place against any.

 

Where do I begin? Everything about this place is off the charts. This international supermarket boasts an incredible array of groceries, toys, candies, baked goods, fresh meats and seafood from every corner of the globe, with everything nicely organized by region and country. That's the Cliff Notes version. They also offer a bewildering selection of wines, spirits, and craft beers. They even have maps available for those having difficulty navigating the B/W/S section. There is a tasting station with over 20 beers and seltzers on tap. You can sample up to four beers for a small charge, or you can grab a full pour to enjoy while you're shopping. I found the store staff to be friendly and helpful, and the B/W/S staff to be knowledgeable about the products offered. If I had a quibble, it would be that there's no international food court. Regardless, this place must be experienced to be believed. Set aside plenty of time, because you're gonna need it.

My wife and I have been shopping here for over 20 years now. This is the store that got me into craft beer. They have always had a huge selection of beers. They also have every international grocery product you could imagine. The only fault is that all of the beer is on shelves. Singles section is also not stocked very well some times. If I’m looking for a particular beer this is my first stop. I will continue to shop here especially for beer as long as they’re open

 

 

A Cincinnati icon. Lots of food, lots of beer. Drinking a beer with you get groceries is pretty cool. They do get some pretty decent stuff on tap. If you need interesting food to go with your beer, this is your place.

Awful lotta good beer sitting warm on the shelves...

A must stop for anyone rolling through Cincinnati looking for local and regional beers. Shelves are easy to navigate and broken up by region. Bell's Two Heartwd canned less than a few weeks ago? Absolutely. An aisle dedicated to local Ohio/Kentucky brews? Makes life real easy. Don't expect much from service since the place is so huge and often crowded with shoppers, but don't let that stop you from swinging by. Make-your-own six packs with a solid selection is a nice option. Points docked for too much warm storage and a cooler that's no bigger than one at a market and is filled with the usual macros. Never had any of the beer on tap but you have to love the option.

I was in Cincinnati celebrating my birthday for the weekend. This was one of the places on my list to visit because I have never been here. I was blown away with their selection. I was also pleasantly surprised that they have about 8 beers on tap for you to try. The store also has a huge selection of food, wine, cheese, cigars, hot sauces, etc. I could spend hours in here checking everything out. I wish it wasn't 3 hours away from where I live. I love shopping while drinking a nice craft beer! I ended up leaving with 4 sampler cases from the local Cincinnati breweries. I can't wait to go back again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Updated Review, September 2021:
This is still a fantastic place to purchase beer. The selection remains vast, the singles section likewise, and the taplist is now 34 or so handles wide. Frankly, I haven't seen import sections as large as the Jungle Jim's locations anywhere else I've been (particularly now that The Party Source has fewer imports).

Original Review from 2014:
Not only are the Jungle Jim's locations both some seriously impressive grocery stores wherein one can reasonably expect to find anything edible (ostrich? boar bacon? rancid emu eggs? It's there!), but the craft beer section is nothing to sneeze at. Multiple taps for tastings and growler fills, in addition to aisles for country / region, all reasonably well-stocked with tons of breweries' offerings. That includes AleSmith, The Bruery, and tons of others. If you want to see a partial list of what they carry, just look at the "Brands" and "Beers We Sell" sections of the websites for Premium Beverage Supply and Heidelberg Distributing. JJ's orders every single beer each of those distributors carries, plus more.

The imports section is absurd for German and Belgian beers, in a good way. If Paulaner, Ayinger, St. Bernardus, or Weihenstephaner brew it, it's in a bottle there somewhere.

To top it all off, there will occasionally be ludicrous sale prices on packs of beer at the Fairfield location. I've gotten a 12-pack of GLBC Edmund Fitzgerald for $8, and a 6-pack of Left Hand Sawtooth for $4.

The downsides are that the staff aren't generally all that knowledgeable - there are some beer geeks, but mostly grocery store employees who just happen to work in the beer section. Advice is not their forte. They also tend to keep a lot of their inventory on non-refrigerated shelves under fluorescent lights, so check dates on bottles.

Really cool place. The Eastgate store has a little better selection

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Went to Jungle Jim''s yesterday. I was a little disappointed with the amount of options. I guess I was expecting more. Where I wasn't disappointed at all, was the different selections I can't get In Indianapolis. I ended up getting quite a bit. I actually even found Elderberry wine which I had been looking for. It was a two-hour trip from Indy, but worth it if your looking for some exotic foods and a different selection of beers!

 

I grew up around this area and still have a lot of family in the area. Every time I come back(1-3 times a yr) stopping at Jungle Jim's is a must. You never know what gems you will find on the shelves. I was there in Sept of this yr and found a few BBQ sitting on the shelves. Highly recommend any craft brew lover to swing by here.

 

 

 

 

Walking into the beer aisle I realized " your not in Kentucky anymore." Huge selection of quality brews and much are unavailable to me in KY. The Bruery, Alesmith, Ballast Point, Great Divide, Victory and so much more were waiting and to top it off I found several that were available but apparently in short supply. There's about ten taps with several great offerings that you can try while you peruse the best selection I've seen. The staff were friendly but not beer geeks, but who cares when your staring at so much.

Between the cigar selection in their walk in humidor and the beer selection available, I thought I landed in my own personal heaven on earth. Jungle Jim's is an adult theme park for foodies, beergeeks, winos, and cigar snobs alike. Massive Ohio brewed selection, tasting area offered beers I had never had, or heard of. Cigars were stellar quality is top notch, and I'm glad I made it to this store, I have to go back but if I never make it there's at least one thing off of my bucket list. I didn't meet many employees well versed on beer, but I was so impressed and jealous at the same time that this isn't located in my neighborhood. Awesome place for cigar, wine, and beer tastings there's nothing like this store not a cookie cutter chain, one of kind built piece by piece as eclectic as any world market could ever claim to be. This place has to be in the Guinness book of world records for originality or something.

I was blown away by this place as a whole, it's massive! Came for the beer only but they have one hell of a food selection as well. Beer section is among the largest I have seen and a nice variety. If it comes to Ohio they will get it. First thing I found was 2 bottles of FFF rye da tiger, which in Columbus was very hard to get ahold of, and 3 bottles of FFF behemoth. With those alone it was worth the trip. Another thing I was supprised by was the nice selection of 1/6 kegs in the walk in cooler. Had a couple alchemy hour that if a had the money to get would snatch in a heart beat. Overall a must stop in Cincinnati and worth the trip out. Looking forward to future visits

I live about 5 minutes from Jungle JIms, so it s just about the only place I go for beer. This place is basically a tourist attraction. Great selection of food, cheese, produce, fresh meats, etc. But the selection of beer is what I go for. The best selection Ive seen in this area. Very quick at getting new lines and new season out, and they generally have decent sales near the season end i.e, Breckenridge Summer $3.99 6/pk, Sierra Nevada Summer $7.99 12/pk just to name a couple. They get a lot of rare beers in so I usually grab them when I see them, usually they are gone the next time Im there. I take any friends and family when they visit, and would recommend this place to any craft beer fan. They also host a Beerfest, in the event center next door, every summer that showcase around 80 brewers.

I've been here a few times, but this was the first time for beer (or being legal to be more specific).

This is a must visit if you're in the greater Cincinnati region. Their beer selection is tremendous, and almost overwhelming. They have all the major US micros and many imports. Great selection of 1/6th kegs available, among them Goose Island Seasonals, all the BMC's, and a Founders or two.

I'm not going to go on about the beer selection, go to the website to get some perspective.

Another great thing about this place is the selection of glassware. Not a ton of options, but a solid 20-30 different glass styles from a fair amount of breweries.

Then of course is the selection of international foods. Every country is represented and there are hundreds of hot sauces, a bakery, and many other great foods. With all of this, it still comes with a small town grocer kind of feel.

I live near Jungle Jim's and it is my beer haven. Their beer section is as big as some small stores. They have loads of craft beers and imports. They sell warm bottles and cans and they also have a "beer cave" with the more popular selections kept cold. They do have some slightly more obscure beers kept cold, but for the most part it is big brand names and the more popular crafts and imports, like DFH. Also in the beer cave is a decent sized selection of 1/6 barrel kegs ranging from typical domestic big names, to some pretty decent crafts. I was told that they will special order kegs as well, but that they can only order domestics and only 1/6 barrels. I nearly forgot to mention that Jungle Jim's is also a HUGE international market with foods from around the world. Anything you can think of you can find here, and for those of you who are using your beer to wash down some spicy eats, Jungle Jim's has a very good selection of hot sauces as well. This is my favorite place to go shopping, and sometimes I go to just walk around the store and take in some of the more unusal offerings. If you are in the Fairfield area you have to stop by Jungle Jim's at least just to check it out.