Beer in grocery stores.

Here in S.W. Michigan it seems to be very hit or miss on craft selection from one grocery store to the next,
Some stores have almost no selection, while others have a pretty impressive line up on a regular basis.
The stores that do have a good selection, also carry all the formats, except growler fills, which I don't think any grocery store that I have seen does.
Prices can be a little better than most bottle shops, but even that can vary quite a bit from one store to the next.
All in all, I would say that about 80-90 percent of my purchases are made in grocery stores, with an occasional trip to a bottle shop for special occasions, and a very rare growler fill at a local brewery from time to time.

 

What about Meijer? They seem to have a strong craft presence at a lot of their stores.

 

Super markets are pretty good in Belleville IL (20 miles from St Louis MO). They carry Schlafly, Bells, Oskar Blues, 4 Hands, Urban Chestnut, Clown Shoes, Boulevard, Trapistes Rochefort, Stone, Two Brothers, Founders, Left Hand, Lagunitas, New Belgium, Southern Tier, Victory, Westmalle, Ommegang, Sierra Nevada... and I'm probably forgetting a few. Most of the beers from those breweries are flagship beers, and a few seasonals. They also have a decent selection of imports, although I'm not as interested in those. I'd say it's a pretty good selection for a supermarket.

I'm always tentative to buy IPAs from the store. I'm afraid they don't have enough turnover. I've seen Clown Shoes IPA on the shelf for several months. I Usually buy local beers from the supermarket because they seem to have the best turnover rate. I also tend to buy beers that aren't as affected by time.

 

10 years ago I had to drive to One of the 5 main metropolitan areas here or to Boone , NC to buy decent beer. It has come a LONG way here. Most of all of the super markets have all of the big boy '' craft'' beers and are carrying the majority of production brewers here.

 

I kind of consider Meijer, and even WalMart, full on grocery stores, even though I realize they are more than that. And yes they also can have a good selection depending on the store, but it also varies from one store to the next.

 

My local supermarkets like Food Lion and Kroger have an ok selection of decent craft beer, but nothing that overwhelms. The best selection of craft beer in any supermarket in my area is Farm Fresh. Including the huge walkin cooler, they carry a great selection of variety packs, bombers, mix a sixes and sixers including Chimay, lots of Stone products, Dogfish, etc. The only problem with Farm Fresh is that you have to check the dates because they tend to have some older and/or outdated beer, kinda sucks !!!

 

NC depends on your chain.

Harris Teeter has exploded the space for craft--3/4 of the cooler space (in big stores now an entire row and tons of floor space) is now wall to wall with non macro beer but macro owned faux craft and micro owned beers now mixed in. Blue Point everywhere now. I tend to support the local person and the 0.50$ a six doesn't phase me in the least but every once in a while 12s of Celebration at Christmas go on sale for $9.99-10.99.

The biggest boom has been at the Whole Foods and Earthfares where a tower of Sucks will show up from time to time along with similar more difficult to find beers.

Smaller grocery stores in smaller markets--that is really hit and miss.

Freshness for big movers (Two hearted, Hop Drop, Lag IPA) is pretty good but you have to be a bit more careful for other things. For this reason alone I use one dependable shop. As I posted on another thread, Alesmith was showed up with limited distro in NC and debuted with 5mos old Alesmith IPA. I sent an email to Alesmith--it all disappeared within a few days and hasn't been seen since. ?????

 

Some decent selections at a couple of local grocery stores, Lowes Food and Harris Teeter. Harris Teeter has Hop Stoopid for 3.99 a bomber. That being the case I still generally buy my beer from the local folks.

 

Does Carton have statewide distro? I'll be up in Philly next weekend and wanted to jump the border and grab some beer in maybe Mt. Ephraim if Carton or Kane would be around. Guess it's too much to ask for Other Half being available, right?

 

Grocery stores tend to have pretty boring selections in CT with some (Whole foods, stew leonards and to a lesser degree, price chopper) better than others. They're mostly only really worth it for the convenience, and even then not by much since there will almost always be a liquor store with a better selection (and most likely better prices) a minute or two down the street or even in the same plaza. A lot of them don't really keep an eye on dates either.

 

I once found Evil Twin's Imperial Biscotti Break, Imperial Doughnut Break, and Even More Jesus, in addition to The Bruery's White Oak and Cuivre all at my local Whole Foods, so I'd say that's pretty good!

 

Around Louisville, the supermarket/grocery with the best selection is Whole Foods. Prices are generally higher than what you would find at a comparable bottle shop, but every now and then you find the odd surprise at a better price.

After that, your next best choice is probably Kroger - they all seem to have a stand-alone wine/spirit shop (usually in a separate suite that is a part of the same shopping complex) that leans more towards the craft beer offerings while the BMC/macros are available inside the grocery store itself.

Not sure about Costco (relatively new - never been to it before), but I know that the Sam's Club(s) here don't really have much of a beer selection, period - better choices to be found at the likes of Kroger, Walmart, etc.

 

There are some grocery stores that get some pretty great stuff around me. Then there are others who don't. I wonder if that comes down to who buys the beer at those particular markets or if it's their rep from the distributor. Still, I'm not complaining, they all have things like Bell's, Lagunitas and the like so it's a win! If I want something a little deeper, I'll go to my local bottle shop.

 

Well to be fair, distributers (or case/package stores as you call them) do distribute kegs and cases to the local bars/grocers. There are also regional wholesale distributers who service the local distributers/package stores.

 

there's Sierra Nevada pale and torpedo and some Two roads. so, imo, there is very little craft beer at my local stop & shop. I believe Big Y has about the same. Trader Joe's and Whole Foods have a better selection but I don't usually frequent them. My local beer store has been price gouging for years and I'm in the process of finding a new shop. my break down is @50% beer store, 50% breweries.

 

Gak, despite the low cost of cases, for which I envy y'all Pennsylvanians, this thread has certainly pointed to the general arbitrary and ridiculous nature of Pa. beer laws.

 

All of our bottles and exterior boxes are marked with packaged on and best by dates.

 

And unmoveable old cans of Back east misty mountain IPA? I swear every stop in shop I've been to has some 4+ month old cans of the stuff.

 

I do the majority of my beer buying in supermarkets. Grocery stores in CA have really stepped up their game with buy any 4 get 30% off sixers. Selection is quite good so there are usually at least 4 different sixers on hand I'm interested in.

 

When you guys make it to my part of NY I will be happy to buy your beer, if it's in a Supermarket, or bev. store, wherever. Long time fan here.