So, I was on my way home and decided on a whim to stop in at a local liquor store pretty much a block away from my house. For some reason I had always assumed that this was a run of the mill place that would probably have all of the macro selections and not much else. However, I was pleasantly surprised, as they had a great selection of local stuff and many of the more popular national brews. To top it off, they had someone providing samples of a few different Sixpoint beers. It went from a place I would have never thought about stopping in, to somewhere I'll be sure to stop next time I want to pick something up. I'm just curious if others have had similar experiences in either shops, bars, or restaurants, have any of them greatly surpassed your expectations?
I used to venture a hole in the wall place for beer. Then my eyes were opened when I found two local spots. First being Max's then second Honeygo Wine and Spirits. Never been happier since! #realtalk
Those are the best! There's a place by my house that makes you feel like you're going to get robbed by the looks of it. Plenty of Nati Light posters to keep me away for a long time. I later decided to not judge a book by its cover and stop in. I'm not too proud to admit how wrong I was. Since that day I've found Older Viscosity, Love Child #4, Tart of Darkness, Mocha/coffee/toasty nut abduction, citra ninja, Daisy cutter, 120 minute, and more! Moral of the story: I stop in every new liquor store now. Changed man.
Yep. The first real bottle shop I went to was a definite surprise. When I first got into craft I thought the Hy-Vee in my town was my only option to buy craft beer besides driving 45 minutes to another Hy-Vee with a bigger selection. I went over into Illinois, which is a 10 minute drive and decided to check out their little liquor store. I never bothered to stop there, because it looks small and a bit run down. I figured it was just going to be stacks of 30 packs, cheap liquor, and boxed wine; but I was dead wrong luckily. I walked into the aisle and it was packed with craft beer. The selection wasn't massive or anything, but it blew me away how many beers they had for how small the shop is. Hy-Vee had Sierra Nevada Stout and Well's Double Chocolate Stout and that was their stout selection. I wanted some good stouts, and the bottle shop in Illinois did not disappoint. I walked out with Breakfast Stout, Beer Geek Breakfast, and Founders Porter. That's when I became officially addicted I believe.
Local liquor stores is where I usually find the best stuff. There are two major chains in my area and they have some good beers with great prices but there selection is not as good as the local shops I visit. The local liquor stores is where I find BA stouts and local breweries.
Yeah. Loved Simtra, back when it was first bottled. Thought I had to wait until the best local shop got it in. Went around the corner to a liquor store and they had ordered several cases. Everyplace else in town ran out. I drank Simtra every night for a month and a half. It's pretty common now, but back then...
Our local grocery store has pretty much everything I want at about a dollar less than most liquor stores. To give you an idea I've bought 4 packs of KBS their for like 3 years in a row at 17.99, 2012 coffee bcbs bomber for 20, sweet repute, BA central waters beers, bruery sours, they have FFF six packs and bombers for 11 and 10 bucks, Speedway stout for 9.99. I won't lie I probably got the bcbs bomber because I've given or sold the beer manager a few brews he wanted like pseudo sue stuff like that but he also only got like 4 bottles and I was the first person he said asked about it. He almost never holds stuff for me though or tells me anything he wouldn't tell anybody else about limited releases which is more than I can say for a lot of shops. He said he'd hang on to one of the beer camp 12 packs for me but honestly can't think of anything else. Overall the amazing selection great prices and friendly beer staff not to mention its a grocery store so honestly what could be better?
There's an Organic market out here that I never thought twice about stopping in, until I did some googling and found out they have a nice selection of craft beer... 2.5 years later I still stop in at least once a week and have become friends with the owner and get a 15% discount on purchases. Makes me wonder how many other beer lovers in my area don't even have this place on their radar?
I have the exact opposite... Local place in front of my neighborhood had a 6 pack of stone IPA and I didnt recognize the colors. I went to investigate and the reason I didnt notice was it was from 2012 .. yup... 2012.
Yes that is the one risk with craft beers at these places. They don't always move product quickly so you have to be careful on the dates and storage etc. I've gotten really nasty Chimay's and year old SN Celebration ale at a country general store before. Just be careful.
Well, I was planning on chiming in about Honeygo, and did not expect the first reply to mention it. So, I'll simply second this motion. A fantastic place with a wide selection and a knowledgeable staff. I used to stop by weekly when I lived back in Baltimore.
Went into a butcher shop one day just walking around a new mixed-use development in VA just to see what they had. Lots of organic and local farm items, and in the back, a very nice (but limited) beer selection. Came to find out they are owned (or run) by the same restaurant group that owns ChurchKey (and Blue Jacket) in DC. Was a nice surprise, and we stop by almost every time we're in the area.
Agreed! Me and a staff member always have conversations about beer. I think the whole time I'm there, I'm just talking about beer, not buying beer.
I went back the other day and the shop apparently had some kbs on hold with one bottle left. Needless to say he didn't have to convince me to buy it
