Beer Store in Malvern

I stopped by for Sump. don't recall what they were charging. I want to say $8 but I might be mistaken. They've always given great service when I've been there.

 

That's crazy to monitor facebook that hard.

 

He deleted one of my posts a few weeks ago. Quickly.

 

My buddy posted one a few weeks ago and told me the same thing.

 

Sump was $8 for 8 oz pour.

 

Not terrible - that's what you would pay at a bar/restaurant.

 

I was in DC this past weekend and had 12oz at the Whole Foods on P Street for $7 FWIW.

 

Did everyone see they're offering scotch and bourbon now? I'm still confused as to if this is a bar, bottle shop, whatever...

 

Stopped in today, here are my impressions:
1) Super clean, well organized shop with an incredible selection
2) One guy working, very friendly but didn't talk shop with him so no idea of knowledge
3) Prices are what I would expect from a Philly-area bottle shop. Coming from Delaware, comparable products in my home state are considerably cheaper but PA carries many more brands than DE does.
4) The only product that I saw that was priced way too high was Boulevard BBQ. While they were sold out, the tag had it at $19.99. I grabbed a bottle in MD for $12.99. Everything else was as I expected.

Final thoughts: If I'm in the area again (and I may be in the future) I will definitely shop there for some special not-in-DE brews or stuff I can't find at Whole Foods. For everyday stuff, I'll probably grab what is available closer to home.

 

Not your father's root beer 6-pack. $17.99 at Beer Store Malvern - $13.99 at Wegman's Malvern.

 

Beer will always be cheaper at grocery/drug stores because they sell it at a slight loss or minimal profit to get you into the store to buy other things. Specialty store obviously can't do that, because all they sell is beer. They rely on those profits to keep their business open and their house paid for.

 

If a case of NYFRB sells for $45-48 in PA then 13.99 a 6 pack is $55.96 a case so they are making a profit, in fact a better profit then the beer distributors that keep their stores open and their houses paid for. MBS is just making a better profit, which is their discretion. But there are other bottle shops that sell the beer for less, and if you don't like the price don't buy it.

My main issues with this place came when they upped their prices and didn't mark the new piece until you paid for it. Example - Grapefruit Sculpin at the MBS release was $5.99 a bottle, thats $143.76 a case! 3x the case price
Or when they sold Shapes of Hops for $9.99 a 4 pack one day and then a week later it was $15.96 with no price marked. over a 50% mark up over the original price.

That is just poor business practices, as is selling NYFRB for $17.99 and telling people that they don't know if they will be getting anymore of it until June, then 1 week later like 50 cases shows up at every Wegmans in the market.

The staff is very friendly and I do still stop in from time to time, but I walk out empty handed more often then not.

 

6 bucks for one bottle of Grapefruit sculpin is ridiculous.

 

FYI, it's only 14.50 a 6-er at Northern Liberties Beer. That's only 50 cents more a 6 pack than Wegman's at another small shop. MBS should be able to do the same, but it's up to them how much profit vs how competitive they will be.

Also, there is definitely more, continual shipments coming in. I think NoLibs is getting another shipment later this week. That's why I shop there... good prices, small shop, accurate info, great people running it.

 

The guy that runs it is a scum bag for all of the aforementioned reasons.

They tried the ol switcharoo on me when I bought a six pack of Expedition Stout there last month. I told the guy at the counter that the shelf said $19.99, and he tried charging me $23.

 

Sadly that's the price I see middle of the state as well. Far less expensive on draft and Crowler.

 

In PA it is illegal to sell beer for a loss.

 

wow, that's ridiculous. i sell it for $3.50 at my store.

 

Six pack prices are decent but singles are outrageous. Where are you in PA?

 

im in philadelphia.
https://www.beermenus.com/places/8736-northern-liberties-beer

 

Nyfrb is 10.99 in ohio

 

I have a friend who lives in Malvern and he was very excited when this place opened. I didn't ask about pricing but they probably figure being one of very few good shops in the area they can get away with higher prices. They do have a sweet selection though. I did see a pic of a massive display of NYFRB. Hope they sold through it at the price being charged!

 

I bought a six of Kirsch there because Wegmans was sold out. Prices were the same.

 

Keith, you stated “six” but you meant to state “four” since Kirsch comes in four-packs.

Wegmans prices for four-packs are not cheap. It does not surprise me one bit that this beer is priced the same.

Cheers!

 

$15 a bottle where I live....if you can find it.

 

really? christ, i'll send you some if you want it, i can get it outside philly around $15/17 for a 6 pack of cans

 

Ha well back when I posted that I was living in South Korea. I'm back in the States now....much more affordable haha. Thanks though!

 

Just coming in to state that this place still sucks. Avoid at all costs.

 

Anyone go to the Philly location yet? Curious to know how jacked up the prices are there.

 

I'd imagine they're in line with the Malvern store, if not higher.

 

The only thing "good" about this store is that they will have some beers that are hard to find anywhere else. That's just because the prices are often almost twice what they should be but if you LOVED a seasonal from a year ago and are willing to pay an insane price then they might have it.

 

What about the age of the beers? Are they fresh or is there lots of old product?

Cheers!

 

A decent amount of old. Last time I was there I saw Stone RIS and Weyerbacher Insanity that were over a year old. There was fresh beer too but I get the impression that some of their very overpriced beer doesn't sell well. I wouldn't mind buying a barleywine or RIS that's a year old for normal prices though and that's what I was shopping for so I can't say how fresh stuff like IPA's and pale ales were.

 

I was guessing that was the situation. Thank you for your input.

Cheers!

P.S. Yes Imperial Stouts are a more forgiving beer style as regards bottle age.

 

Last year I saw them put out Victory Hop Ranch way out of season, it was in like late spring to early summer.

 

What!?!

Hop Ranch is a hoppy beer with a limited shelf-life.

Cheers!

 

The last time I was in the Southampton store was the weekend before Christmas 2014 and they still had Aprihop on the shelf. And it wasn't a clearance shelf either.

There was another thread, I think it was the Java Cask thread, where a few of us speculated that these owners also own a beer distributor in the city: https://www.yelp.com/biz/northeast-beer-philadelphia

Seems like the legality of the whole operation is somewhat sketchy.

 

I was there once. Had a glass of Maine Lunch. Went home with a bottle of Russian River Supplication that they just got in that day. Purchased fresh Jai Alai and Breakfast Stout that is not available in my distro area. Like a kid in the candy store.

 

Agreed. I dont know what this place is. Ive seen lots of people go over the 192 oz limit. And they serve beer. and were serving liquor at one point. the f*ck?

 

License Type:RESTAURANT LIQUOR - (R)

They have a type-R license and should be held to the 192 oz limit.

"Even though "R" licensees may serve liquor, wine and beer products, they are under the same restrictions as "E" licensees regarding the sale of these products for take-out purposes. "R" licensees may not sell any single, open container of alcoholic beverage for consumption outside the establishment."

"E" licensees may only sell beer or its variants; liquor and wine sales are forbidden. The licensee can sell up to 192 fluid ounces of beer products, in original containers, for take-out purposes. "E" licensees may not sell any single, open container of alcoholic beverage for consumption outside the establishment."