Cheapest Beer Stores in Pittsburgh

Discussion in 'Mid-Atlantic' started by DavoleBomb, Jan 25, 2016.

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  1. DavoleBomb

    DavoleBomb Pooh-Bah (2,277) Mar 29, 2008 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    I've been away from Pittsburgh for school, but now I'm back and am curious how the scene has changed since then. I'd appreciate any input with regard to the following:

    -Cheapest six-pack store:
    -Cheapest place to buy singles:
    -Cheapest by-the-case store:
    -Store with best selection:
    -Store with best/rarest finds:
    -Best overall store:
     
  2. barflybastard

    barflybastard Initiate (0) Jan 28, 2012 Pennsylvania

    Welcome back.

    The answer to your questions may lie in your location and willingness to travel. Area Giant Eagles (or Whole Foods) have become the easiest places to find wide selection of bottles, singles and four/six packs, at lower prices. But all Giant Eagles are not created equal. Shadyside is hands down the best of show, having the best selection consistently. Robinson and Cranberry probably fall next (after a big step down) and then there's the rest. The GE in Pleasant Hills or Waterfront still has pumpkin beer on the shelves.

    Bottle shops such as House of 1000 Beers in New Ken, Atlas in Lawrenceville, 3 Rivers 6 Pack in Delmont or the bar Caliente in Bloomfield have varying levels of good/great selection (for this distro region). There's also D's SixPax in Regent Square, but with all of these that deal in "grey market" beers, you will pay a premium price and some place are more adventurous in finding the ceiling of a grey beer's price than as compared to other places. Freshness also becomes a concern. So with all of these, check freshness dates and compare pricing so you know what you're getting and for how much.

    I personally prefer GEs, but outside of that I will hit up 3 Rivers 6 Pack, House and Caliente for bottles if I'm in the area. Again, depending on where you reside, many people, myself included, will travel to Vintage Estates in Boardman, Ohio, a little over an hour from Pittsburgh (if you're north or west of the city, this may be closer that some of those places mentioned above). They have many beers we don't see in western PA and their pricing is low. They also have awesome taps; it's just a good day trip.

    It seems that no one but me buys cases, and the best place is Buddy's Brews on Carson. You'll get a bunch of suggestions, and this too will probably depend on your geography, may of them are very similar; Buddy's is unique because they get cases no one else has. Suggest following them on Twitter, as well as Vencenie's, the regional wholesaler, and essentially any of the above bottle shops, so you know what's coming in and when.

    Would also be of benefit to cruise/follow this thread to get a good sense of local nonsense:

    http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/pittsburgh-new-beers-local-breweries.306421/

    Cheers.
     
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  3. PSU_Mike

    PSU_Mike Initiate (0) Sep 6, 2013 Pennsylvania

    -Cheapest six-pack store: Any Giant Eagle
    -Cheapest place to buy singles: Any Giant Eagle
    -Cheapest by-the-case store: McBrooms or Buddy's
    -Store with best selection: Giant Eagle Shadyside or Settler's Ridge
    -Store with best/rarest finds: I'll say Caliente's but you'll pay through the nose
    -Best overall store: Giant Eagle Shadyside

    Brevity > @barflybastard
     
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  4. barflybastard

    barflybastard Initiate (0) Jan 28, 2012 Pennsylvania

    Loquaciousness = more welcoming
     
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  5. barflybastard

    barflybastard Initiate (0) Jan 28, 2012 Pennsylvania

    Trying to provide some context, but dude didn't even like my post. Put some effort into that bad boy.
     
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  6. dtx00

    dtx00 Savant (1,078) Oct 21, 2006 Pennsylvania
    Trader

    Hey Dave welcome back. So are you back for good?
     
  7. DavoleBomb

    DavoleBomb Pooh-Bah (2,277) Mar 29, 2008 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    Hopefully, but I won't find out until March when The Match (tm) occurs.

    On another note, I hit up House of 1,000 and I was deeply horribly disappointed. The last time I was there, which was about 4 years ago, the selection was awesome and the prices were bad, yet tolerable. This time I was floored by how expensive everything was. To compare to some recent purchases at Giant Eagle in Shaler, a sixer of Rivertown (with the buy 5 get 1 free thing) it would have been around $15, which is 50% more than GE. They also had Three Philosophers for $7.50 for a 12oz bottle! Got at 4pk at GE for $18, which I thought was pretty expensive already.

    I think I'm gonna drive to Vintage Estate sometime this week. Four years in Cincinnati has spoiled me from a price standpoint.
     
  8. DavoleBomb

    DavoleBomb Pooh-Bah (2,277) Mar 29, 2008 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    Thanks for the info. The beer buying scene seems pretty similar to when I left except for the much bigger presence of GE. I also have never been to Caliente, so I'll definitely check that out. I'll also need to get back in the loop with Vecenie's. I spend quite a bit of dough there and I love their prices.
     
  9. PSU_Mike

    PSU_Mike Initiate (0) Sep 6, 2013 Pennsylvania

    VE is better than anything we have locally. I love that place. I do a cannonball run up there about every other month.
     
  10. brother_rebus

    brother_rebus Pooh-Bah (2,512) Jul 28, 2014 Maine
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    FWIW Northside Beer on Federal St. is cheaper than Buddys for sure. The selection isn't quite as comperable, but still a good amount of craft.
     
  11. oldmetalguy

    oldmetalguy Initiate (0) Dec 25, 2015 Pennsylvania

    If you are making the run to VE, also hit up Chalet Premier, its about 10 minutes away, and right next to the OH turnpike entrance if your coming back that way, not as big as VE, but a lot non the less. I always hit both on any trip.
     
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