How Good is Your Bottle Shop?

Discussion in 'Beer Talk' started by BeerNDoggerel, Sep 20, 2015.

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  1. BeerNDoggerel

    BeerNDoggerel Initiate (0) Mar 13, 2011 Illinois

    To some people, my home town of Rockford, Illinois isn't exactly utopia. The people who rate places to live for national magazines don't always appreciate our fine park system, our nationally ranked emergency services, our fine performing arts community coupled with proximity to downtown Chicago, Milwaukee and Madison, our great Y facilities, our reasonable cost of living, natural beauty, etc., etc.

    One thing we definitely have is a world class bottle shop (and it's not far from I-90, for those of you on the road). For one thing, their selection is really carefully thought out. Diverse, constantly evolving. In a handful of years, without feeling like I've really been trying, I've rated 500 beers. Many times, I've found myself among the first handful of Beer Advocates to rate a new release.

    The staff try really hard to know regulars' tastes. The younger of the father-son owner partners is a true beer fan, and, like me, clearly a hophead. Another staff member is a Cicerone. Both of them have steered me toward awesome IPAs, imperial & double IPAs, red & amber ales, and pale ales. They have also worked to introduce me to other styles (such as saison and hefeweizen) they thought I would appreciate. (They're also totally honest: if they haven't actually tried a beer themselves, they won't vouch for it. Further, truly amazingly, if they think a selection was a mistake, they'll wave me off if I reach for it.)

    The latest extension of this attention to customer service is even more over the top. They have a relatively new staff person who is still learning her way around the craft beer universe. When I came into the store one afternoon this week, out of the corner of my eye I saw her slyly pull out her cell phone and make a call. Afterward, she came to assist me, pointing me to new brews in my taste family and some really special things I shouldn't miss (Pipeworks in cans!!!). When I asked her about the phone call, she sheepishly admitted to having called their Cicerone to find out what she should recommend to me. That is so, so far beyond the call of duty!

    So, I saw the thread about bad bottle shops and thought we should all hear the other end of the spectrum. What are your stories of great stores and great service?
     
    #1 BeerNDoggerel, Sep 20, 2015
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  2. chipawayboy

    chipawayboy Pooh-Bah (2,181) Oct 26, 2007 Massachusetts
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I've given up on bottle shops. Now buy almost all of my beer from the brewery. Fortunate to have a number of world class brewers within reasonable distance.
     
    #2 chipawayboy, Sep 20, 2015
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  3. Prh27

    Prh27 Initiate (0) Apr 24, 2012 Virginia

    Best in VA. http://www.grapeandgourmet.com/craft-beer/ Their success has come at a price though (popularity) and I don't even attempt to snag rare bottles anymore. They sell out within the hour. Still, I wish them all the best and the owner is top notch. Even saved me bottles when I was deployed.
     
    #3 Prh27, Sep 20, 2015
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  4. mccorvey

    mccorvey Initiate (0) Dec 3, 2013 North Carolina

    Mine's great.
     
    #4 mccorvey, Sep 20, 2015
  5. BeerNDoggerel

    BeerNDoggerel Initiate (0) Mar 13, 2011 Illinois

    Stories. We need stories...
     
    #5 BeerNDoggerel, Sep 20, 2015
  6. Sir_Whats-his-face

    Sir_Whats-his-face Initiate (0) Mar 2, 2015 Oregon

    I have two near me. One of them, The Bier Stein, is one of the largest bottle shops in the state. Their bottle prices aren't great, but they carry pretty much everything that's distributed in the area and the staff is nice and very helpful. The other, Sixteen Tons, is much smaller, but the prices are generally better and it's a nice, low-key place to grab a pint. Plus, they do $2 pints of Boneyard RPM IPA every Monday, which is pretty great.

    So I do okay.
     
    #6 Sir_Whats-his-face, Sep 20, 2015
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  7. IckyT2012

    IckyT2012 Pooh-Bah (2,050) Oct 13, 2014 Florida
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I live in a small "city". We have 3-4 reasonable bottle shops. None of them are gonna put us on the map. But my favorite I'll rave about all day, not for the selection, but for the service. And I know he'll always save one for me. That's about the most important thing, saving me from truck chasing.
     
    #7 IckyT2012, Sep 20, 2015
  8. mccorvey

    mccorvey Initiate (0) Dec 3, 2013 North Carolina

    Peabody's - Boone, NC
     
    #8 mccorvey, Sep 20, 2015
    Last edited: Sep 20, 2015
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  9. Premo88

    Premo88 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,682) Jun 6, 2010 Texas
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah

    I have no great stories, but my grocery store brings in some quality stuff ... relatively rare beers from one of my favorite Texas breweries along with Prairie Artisan brews. The selection at my local bottle shop is always improving, too, and the people there are friendly and helpful. I'm buying less and less beer out of town because I'm able to find it here in Bryan-College Station.
     
    #9 Premo88, Sep 20, 2015
  10. bluehende

    bluehende Initiate (0) Dec 10, 2010 Delaware

    My local that I go to is State Line in Elkton Md. One of the best.
     
    #10 bluehende, Sep 20, 2015
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  11. Strangestbrewer

    Strangestbrewer Crusader (477) Oct 17, 2014 Oregon

    The 2-3 I frequent are world class, I can't complain.
     
    #11 Strangestbrewer, Sep 20, 2015
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  12. SLewis

    SLewis Pundit (901) Jun 17, 2014 North Carolina

    Best bottle shop I've ever been to, and I went there a lot when I was in college
    Great selection all around. Tons of new beers coming in weekly. The guys have no problem breaking six packs into singles if there's space in the fridge or if they have plenty of stock. They have beer tastings on Tuesday nights featuring different breweries. During the summer they have an annual cellar sale featuring many sought after beers that they've tucked away. Their prices are a dollar or two high on some stuff but I had no problem paying that for the quality of service.
     
    #12 SLewis, Sep 20, 2015
  13. BeerNDoggerel

    BeerNDoggerel Initiate (0) Mar 13, 2011 Illinois

    Two things I forgot to say:

    1) The bottle shop is one of the sponsors of Rockford's annual craft beer festival, Screw City Beer Festival, absolutely the best party of the year here in Rockford. (The name? Rockford has been the fastener capital of the U.S.--more nuts, bolts, and screws manufactured here than anywhere else. How's THAT for a claim to fame!?!)

    2) The name of the bottle shop: Artale.
     
    #13 BeerNDoggerel, Sep 20, 2015
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  14. BeerNDoggerel

    BeerNDoggerel Initiate (0) Mar 13, 2011 Illinois

    Story?
     
    #14 BeerNDoggerel, Sep 20, 2015
  15. Czequershuus

    Czequershuus Pooh-Bah (1,730) Feb 7, 2014 Minnesota
    Pooh-Bah

    I liked mine so much I got a job there. It is much more fulfilling than what I had planned for a career with my college degree. and it offers the opportunity of education and advancement. I could not be much happier.
     
    #15 Czequershuus, Sep 20, 2015
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  16. mccorvey

    mccorvey Initiate (0) Dec 3, 2013 North Carolina

    This guy sums it up pretty well.

     
    #16 mccorvey, Sep 20, 2015
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  17. BeerNDoggerel

    BeerNDoggerel Initiate (0) Mar 13, 2011 Illinois

    Thanks!
     
    #17 BeerNDoggerel, Sep 20, 2015
  18. larryi86

    larryi86 Grand Pooh-Bah (5,118) Apr 4, 2010 Delaware
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Couldn't agree more. Great, friendly staff, well stocked, and even willing to hold beers that you forgot to ask them to hold for you. After living living 20 minutes away and work 10 minutes away from State Line for the last 6 years I don't think I could find a store as good!
     
    #18 larryi86, Sep 20, 2015
  19. JohnnyMc

    JohnnyMc Pooh-Bah (1,623) Feb 14, 2012 Ohio
    Pooh-Bah

    I'd love to plug my own store I work at (I work REALLY hard to bring in new, unique and rare offerings while giving good recommendations to new and regular customers), but in the interest of fairness I wanna say Mack's Beverage (in Parma, OH) is an AWESOME place!

    Was my go-to store for years and Pete (the owner) really works hard to take care of his customers and is genuinely thrilled about bringing in new beers. If you live in the area go check it out!
     
    #19 JohnnyMc, Sep 20, 2015
  20. mrcraft

    mrcraft Grand Pooh-Bah (3,396) Dec 15, 2012 California
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I went to one of my regular bottleshops tonight - Ramirez Beverage Center. It's huge. The Ramirez brothers have two other locations. If a beer is distributed here, they'll get it. I've gotten to know them over the years. Good guys.

    Their grand opening, they had something like 150 or more bottles of Cantillon's for sale. The first group in line were able to buy the harder to get Cantillons.
     
    #20 mrcraft, Sep 20, 2015
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