Hello, I need help finding any local stores close to Reading that sell craft 6 packs or singles. I've been to Mari's 6 pack and have been burned a few times on old expired beer. I've gotten to the point now where I will only buy beer with best buy dates. I usually end up driving to Wegman's in Collegeville, but would really like to find a place close to Reading. Thanks,
Brewers bar and grill by 3rd and spruce sells six packs. Liberty Taproom has a nice selection usually. Other than that not a lot of loose bottles/6 pack shops in town.
Liberty is good, but it's mostly (all?) singles. Same goes with Canal St, you'll pay a premium on the price too. Paradise by the Slice in Wernersville has a good selection of craft 6-packs, and also sells singles and a handful of large format bottles.
Depending on what you're looking for, there are a couple options: Liberty Taproom is good for 12oz bottles of things that aren't crazy limited (and you can do mix-6 packs at a discount), but their pricing on large format bottles is well above average. I haven't bought bottles from Paradise, but it's worth a trip - normally a solid tap-list at good prices and pretty tasty food. I wouldn't recommend buying bottles from Canal St to go, unless they offer a to-go discount. Great place to go drink though. Union Jack's in Oley is ok too - maybe a tad pricey for to-go bottles (not as bad as Liberty), but they've had a few nice things both times I've been there. Good place for food as well. Other than that, like you said, Collegeville Wegmans is good, Craft Ale House in Limerick is ok (again, pricey), and every now and then you can find something good to-go at Railroad St in Linfield. They generally have some nice stuff on tap too.
Just saw this thread and I would like to add that Liberty Taproom discounts all bombers by 20% to go.
OP mentions "old expired beer" so I assume he is speaking to hop forward beers. I experience the same problem at Liberty Taproom. I think it is more a function of slow delivery speeds through multiple distributors before getting into the bottle shops hands in Berks County, along with poor handling (storing in distributor warehouses at high temps).
I've been saying to my friends there's a market for a "Good" bottle shop around here. Not saying some of these places aren't good, just saying we could use a few more. Especially around the Shillington area.
