No real change around me in the booze stores. Maybe carrying less high-end wine in their stock. A few mediocre beer-focused bars and breweries have gone but they aren’t particularly missed.
I don't think that there's been a huge change in my area compared to precious years. No closure that come to mind. I've asked friends in the business and they haven't really voiced any complaints. I guess the closure of all Iron Hill locations and the acquisition (?) of Workhorse may be of note.
I walked out of the store that I've been going to for 30 years with just a 4 pack last time. Huge loss of shelf space for beer. I usually buy 50 some beers there, not 4. I go somewhere else with a now better selection, but they charge more.
Was at my local beer store The Beer Trappe and they are doing fine. I am sure they would like to do better but from the appearance of the crowd they will be around for 2026 at least.
The store I frequented the most (Grapevine) closed a few years ago and I've struggled to find a good replacement. The only places that comes close (Mile High) might as well be in Utah considering how long it takes me to drive there. The owners of that store recently sold the place, but it does seem like they haven't missed a beat, luckily. I find that in this area we either have places with massive selections and shaky freshness or places that are highly curated with limited options and higher prices. We've seen several major closures of stores using both approaches, but it seems like things have steadied a bit. The two stores I go to the most (Lowry for curated and Molly's for selection) both seem to be doing solid business. I'd trade 'em both for another Grapevine, but I've learned to cope.
What is your decision making process for deciding to go to one retailer vs. the other? For example, if you are in a mood to conduct some 'window shopping' prior to selecting which beer(s) you buy do you go to Molly's? Cheers!
Indiana’s lack of outside beer distribution, plus the lack of homestate breweries makes beer stores a sad place to go in Indiana. I do most of my beer shopping in Illinois, where I can find most of what I want.
It's almost entirely geographic. Lowry shares a wall with my favorite pizza/beer place, Walter's 303. Molly's is in an area with tons of food close by, and it's right off I25. I typically just stop at whichever one I happen to be near at the time. It's pretty rare that I have a craving for something that I can't approximate at either store.
I live in Queens and most of the time I just head to the actual breweries to pick up cans. The one specialty store left in the region (although it's somewhat young) that I will sometimes frequent is Halftime Beverage in Mamaroneck, in Westchester County. They have literally everything in cans, are adjoined to Marlowe, and have a nice clean growler station. They are very expensive, but I have yet to see another store in the northeast that has such an expanse variety-Suarez, Schilling, Wild East, Eckhart, Human Robot, Notch, Duncan's Abbey, Hudson Valley, Fiden's etc.., and the store is usually fairly empty. The bridge tolls make it even more expensive even though it's only 16 miles away. Have to pay to play I guess.
We have been spoiled over the past decade with a wonderful selection of all kinds of beers. If a bunch of great shops close or greatly reduce their inventory, I wonder if the cycle will begin again. Demand starts to rise, selections increase, and shops start opening (or beer sections expand). I can't imagine losing all of the selection that I currently have. I try to support my local shop as much as possible in hopes that this doesn't go south.
Gonna have to order straight from brewery. Luckily in CA ALL of YOUR favorite IPA breweries ship to home
Indiana does not get a lot of outside distribution compared to surrounding states. Many Indiana breweries have closed. in some cases, that makes us better off. Many of the ones that are decent, do not distribute much. Hence, Indiana is a beer desert.
Had to move to the east side of the LA metro area. I have to hop between several small stores to get the variety I’m used to. One store has some local craft, one store has some German biers, one store has some Samuel Smith. Costco is hit and miss if you don’t want Modelo products. Overall I have to make more effort to get what I want.
Just curious: have you ever considered ordering beers for delivery? https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/do-you-order-beer-for-delivery.682220/ Cheers!
A lot of people in RI complain about how grocery and convenience stores can’t sell beer, wine or liquor. I think it’s great. We have loads of liquor stores (or package stores, aka “packies”), the vast majority of which are independently run by small business owners. I’ve lived my whole life in RI and I can remember just ONE liquor store going out of business. I’m sure there have been others, but it seems quite rare. On the imported beer front, we, like other states, are in rough shape. The amount of imports has dwindled over the years. What does make it our way is often pretty old. It sucks. But, for local stuff, we got plenty of options.
Until a few years ago, the beer laws in Pennsylvania were similar; we called our beer retailers Beer Distributors. Now I can buy beer at my local supermarkets (e.g., Wegmans, Giant,...). In the past I bought all of my beers from my local Beer Distributors (yesterday I purchase a fresh four-pack of Jever at my local Beer Distributor) but nowadays the majority of my beer purchases are at my local Wegmans when I do the weekly grocery shopping. There is a very good selection of beer at my local Wegmans and it appears there is very quick turnover there; I very rarely see old product in the beer refrigerators/shelves. And the prices are lower than my local Beer Distributors; I guess they operate on a lower margin. I am real glad to have more choices of beer retailers. More choices benefit consumers or at least that is the situation in my hometown. Cheers! P.S. Earlier today I bottled a batch of homebrewed Altbier (Sticke version). I look forward to drinking these beers in a few weeks. I can't buy this sort of beer at my local beer retailers or local craft breweries.
Do you find that some of the thrill of the hunt is lost? I know that was a big part (for me, at least) of going to the delis that had an awesome selection for takeaway when I lived in Philly 12 years ago. Getting the cool variety cases that were only packed for the PA market at the distributors was awesome when I lived in Pittsburgh 20 some years ago.
