Fewer draft lines than Milltown or Tyler's. Smaller bottle selection than Carrboro Beverage or TJ's. No food. Beer Study is new favorite spot in CH, with Milltown a close second. Beer Study's draft line up is written on a chalkboard with all the relevant information including date of last line cleaning. Hope to see some of my fellow BA's there!
Here's a link to an article in the Daily Tar Heel about the grand opening: http://www.dailytarheel.com/blog/town_talk/2012/12/chapel-hill-welcomes-new-beer-place
I am also confused as well, sounds like negative, negative, negative.... this is my new favorite place.
Regarding the perceived negatives- they've only been open a week. Great draft list, and bottle selection. They even have se charlotte beers that don't make it here. Owner is a nice guy. I'd guess it will be the best shop in chapel hill very soon if its not already.
In terms of customer service and quality of beer, it wins. They dont have the protfolio that places like Sams has, but they get some super high class beers. The no food part is fine, its a bottle shop not a bar). JD takes care of you, and knows his stuff. He only has 5 lines, and hes still learning how to order kegs when. When he can get that nailed down, thatll be great. Its the atmosphere that sets it apart. He has a Nintendo set up, with whatever music playing. Its semi dark and low key. Relaxing. He was aiming for a little brighter than Whiskey/West End Wine Bar but beercentric. JD has a great start so far, and hes got room for improvement. Hey JD, lower the bar!
Cool deal I have been meaning to get by there. I remember the owner from when he worked at TJ's. It seems he knows his beer so it will probably get some decent stuff, im sure it will turn into one of the better stores in the area with TJ's supposedly closing down sometime in the near future. Of course Carrboro Bev. will aways get a nice selection as well.
I raised all the "perceived negatives" in my first post, because I figured someone else would if I didn't. I was saying, even though it may not be called the best in town on some measures, its a great addition to CH/Carrboro and worth checking out. JD is doing a great job at selecting kegs. Last night, Big Boss Aces & Ates, Rocket Science from Fullsteam, Event Horizon, Coco Loco porter from Charlotte plus a couple of more. Also, I think bottles at Beer Study are slightly less expensive than TJ's or Carrboro Bev. It's the first bottle shop in Chapel Hill to have stools and seats in many years which makes it a great place to hang.
