Bottle Shops "That do it right"

Binny's in Lakeview. Jeff is the man. I stopped-in typically twice a week, but now since I moved out to the 'burbs I'm never there anymore.

 

I've never been more impressed than on my visit to West Lakeview Liquors in Chicago. That place was amazing, plus the service and knowledge was beyond what I could have ever expected.

Of course locally for MN folk we have the Four Firkins, great place with a good dude running the shop.

 

Mile High Wine & Spirits - Lakewood, CO (Denver-Area)

• Keep 95% of their bottles refrigerated
• Extremely friendly customer service
• Great selection of local and imports
• Notification of unique beers via FB/Twitter
• Weekly Newsletter & Website update of new beers
• Bomber of the month sales
• Accept orders over the phone
• Bonus points for not holding rare beer back, if anything just bottle limit. Respect.

 

Rick's Wine & Gourmet in Alexandria, VA

Jon, the "Beermudgeon", runs a quality beer selection. They allow you to call and place orders over the phone which is cool. I also really appreciate the bottle limits that they place on limited beers, vs. some other stores in the area that will sell the entire stock to a single customer. I really enjoy going into this store.

 

For the NY/CT area...

Vista Beverage - South Salem, NY
Ninety9 Bottles - Norwalk, CT

 

On the SE side of Michigan I have the following stores which always get my business first when it comes to beer shopping:

1. Beer Baron in Livonia
2. Champanes in Warren
3. Holiday Market in Royal Oak

All these have a decent selection and very knowlegeable staff.

 

1. House of Brews in Jensen Beach, Fl
2. Brawley's in Charlotte

Both run by friendly, knowledgeable beer advocates. Cheers to Brent and Mike. My kind of people.

 

I'll second Mile High Wine and Sprits just outside of Denver. All the points made in a previous post are valid.

Mondo Vino also does it right. They have a great high end selection and the prices are great. They don't limit sales though.

 

I actually dislike Rick's; they are nice and have the selection, but all of the good stuff is pre reserved. I could not get a bottle of hopslam or sucaba the day it hit shelves because it was ALL allocated. Also, their pricing is a bit high for my tastes. I actually like Arrowine up in Arlington much better - basically same stuff, a little cheaper, and it's first come first serve

 

I can't remember if they had their new policy in place when Sucaba came out, but they post all of their new arrivals on Facebook as soon as they get them. They no longer have reservation lists ahead of time. I personally like the new system, but can definitely understand why some people may dislike it, especially if you don't have access to a computer all day. I think KBS sold out within something like 11 minutes of it being posted on Facebook.

 

Tough to beat Capones in the Philly Burbs. Matt is a class act and as fair as they come!

 

The KBS makes sense, and I am glad they did away with that policy. I remember going there, asking for sucaba, being told they have none, and then walking to the back to see more than a case sitting there with sticky notes on the boxes. The other reason I avoid Rick's is it is so high-visibility. KBS was gone in minutes, as you say - it took a tad longer at other places.

 

Brewtopia in Keene, NH - one of the largest selections in the state. Zach and AJ are awesome. Tell 'em Pete sent you.

 

Capones is a little pricey, but the selection is nearly unmatched in the area. If only the place was bigger....

I've had good experiences with Oak Tree, but I haven't been there in a good year or so.

Honeygo Wine & Spirits in the Baltimore area was fantastic last summer (shelf Cantillon!), and I really need to go back soon.

Every place I went to in the Atlanta area last summer was fantastic, but Greens impressed me the most. Huge selection, fairly priced.

 

In MA:

Julio's in Westboro
Redstone Liquors in Woburn
Downtown Wine & Spirits in Somerville

My 3 favorites.

 

TJs Beverage and Tobacco in Carrboro, NC. Theyve implemented a member's club and they get all the rare stuff. I just kind of got in the club without trying. Theyll hide stuff for me if I want, but nothing excessive. RIght now they have Stone IRS hidden, and the guy hid 2 bottles of 12 KBS without me asking.

 

The Bottle Shop on Passyunk Ave in South Philadelphia
Hawthornes Cafe on 11th and Fitzwater near Downtown Philadelphia
Wine Works in Marlton NJ and my personal favorite.

Wine Works to me has all the Italian offerings I seek and more!

 

Cranbury buy rite, NJ
Staff is friendly and informed, have a great selection, decently priced, and the growler station is great with unique brews all the time

 

Redstones in Stoneham, MA. If you are ever in the Boston/North Shore area for any reason, you owe it to yourself to stop by. It's right off the highway. Best selection and staff of any place I've ever seen. That's saying a lot, considering the amount of craft beer joints in the Boston area.

Dope

 

Nejaime's in Lenox, MA - fantastic craft brew selection and great knowledgeable staff