Bottle shops near Silver Spring, MD

you named all the Silver Spring shops already. There is another called Quench on New Hampshire Ave which is relatively new and has decent selection. Not sure about their prices, only been in there once. The Woodmoor Market in 4 Corners has decent selection of 6ers. Large format bottles are fairly scarce there outside of DFH, but they have Lagunitas, Stone, GI, etc.

For the most part you are better off just driving to Rodmans/CC/Magruders, outside of rush hour they're only about 15 minutes away depending on where you are ("Silver Spring" covers a huge area of the county). Another option is driving up 29 and hitting I.M. Wine just over the Howard County line. about a 25 min drive from downtown SS, but you can fly up 29 on a weekend and do it in less. .

As far as differences, you probably know the big 2 - distributors, and price. DC gets more stuff distributed (Bells) and also gets stuff out of market at certain shops (Three Floyds, Alpine, etc). And of course MoCo prices are always an abomination.

 

sorry - two more. Corridor/Total Wine up in Laurel is also worth the drive every few months.

Village Pump in College Park is actually very good. Its got an incredibly seedy vibe, but they pack a ton of stuff into that tiny store. and the harder to find stuff will stay there a bit longer b/c the college crowd isnt as interested.

 

i'm a stock guy at Jason's. it's right where 29n hits route 40. not exactly silver spring but we have a very nice craft beer selection, so if there's anything you can't find in your area, feel free to send me a PM and i can let you know if we carry it or if i've seen it elsewhere.

 

I moved from DC to Silver Spring in August and I hate to say it, but Montgomery County is a dead zone for craft beer. The ridiculous laws that the County forces upon beer stores both limit the selection and raise the prices through the roof. I will always drive the 10 minutes to Magruders or Chevy Chase Wine & Spirits to take advantage of the better selection, fresher beers and lower prices than shop at the stores Silver Spring has to offer. Until Montgomery County realizes that they are hurting local businesses with their harsh liquor laws and makes a change, Silver Spring's beer scene will remain terrible.

 

I live in Columbia but work in Silver Spring and would say there really isn't much point in heading north to any shops, as a lot of MD's dist. is available in your immediate area. CC, Magruder's, and Rodman's are your best bet in the area. If you are going to hit a Total Wine I would go to McLean. It is 25 min from Georgia/495 (without too much traffic) and it gets more stuff you won't find in your area.

 

A must to check out is the new Old Line Wine/Liquor/Bistro. A great addition right off Route 1 in Beltsville. Pricing is great. Knowledgeable beer guys. The bistro has something like 15 or 16 drafts (no bmc crap). I was only there once, but was thoroughly impressed. I just wish they did mix and match 6 packs. Other than that though...

 

What store have you ever seen Three Floyds in?

 

If you keep shopping in MoCo you're going to pay for it. I moved from 17th and T to Kensington about a year ago and still do all my shopping at the usual suspects (P street, Virginia Market, Total Wine McLean, Norm's)

 

Connecticut Ave. Wine & Spirits in Dupont brings in Three Floyds stuff from out of market from time-to-time. I've picked up bottles of Dreadnaught and Gumballhead in the past. I think the last Three Floyds drop came sometime last Fall. Just beware that the bottles will be expensive since they're not officially distributed in DC and thus have to come in through "alternative" distribution methods. Expect to pay $20 for a bomber of Dreadnaught and $5-$6 for a 12 oz. bottle of Gumballhead.

 

I found a bottle of Speedway stout in there once and thought it was quite strange. Since I've moved from DC I've forgotten about that place due to congestion and parking. I live next to the red line though so it may be worth taking a metro ride down. Thanks

 

They've had a pretty steady stream of Surly and CCB in there lately. They definitely had Furious and Smoke when I was there on Tuesday. They've already gone through a couple of drops of Abrasive.

 

Any Marshal Zhukov's?

 

They've had it before, but I don't think they have it in now. I think it was $25-$30 for a bottle.

 

It has been said, but I will say it again. Unless you are in a real emergency, don't buy in MoCo. Terrible prices, limited selection, and a lot of beer is "old" in comparison to DC/NoVa. Your best bet is to keep going to your old shops or to a Total Wine in NoVa.

 

I will toss out a suggestion for Adega Wine Bar right near the Whole Foods. They usually have some good stuff and keep their prices pretty fair (our Resurrection six packs go for 2-3 bucks less than other MoCo outlets). I know that my kid's school benefits from the MoCo DLC "mark-up" but I do like to pop over to Morris Miller sometimes for six packs, they are at Alaska and Georgia. Alex, their buyer, is trying to get a single bottle exemption from the DC Council and if he does so he will very likely have a very nice selection of 750s, 22oz, etc. - he certainly has a nice array of sixers now and is much closer to DTSS than Rodman's or Whole Foods P Street...

 

Adega has awesome prices for draft beer, especially during happy hour (5-7 weekdays). I was there last week and they had both Unibroue's La Fin du Monde and Southern Tier Choklat for $5.50 a glass. With the happy hour discount, they were $4.13 a glass.

 

Just a followup in that Alex of Morris Miller told me they got an exemption of the single bottle ban but they are limited to unrefrigerated 750s. Still should open up a lot of possibilities.

 

Once in awhile you can find some real good gems in Morris Miller... and they have good prices too.