Is there a good beer store in your area?

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krausenmustache

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For me, theres virtually nothing. The whole foods in my area has a very decent selection and the big supermarkets have a few micros. Back in my hometown, however (about 2hrs north of me) there is a large warehouse type beer store. They have virtually every micro one could ask for as well as typically 10 beers on tap. They also have a very respectable cigar selection among other tobacco products (cigs, dip, etc.).

So my question to the brew community; is there a store like this in your area? I also ask as preliminary research into possibly finding a place locally to set up a shop at some point in the future. I think it would be great to open a shop with a ridiculous selection of micros and cigars, then possibly expand to a brew supply (also very lacking in my area).
 
While there is plenty of Sierra Nevada, Chico is pretty devoid of a good beer store. Mangrove Bottle Shop is the best, and the do have a decent selection but nothing much to choose from East of Colorado. I'd really dig a warehouse beer store, one with some Midwest and East Coast brews and a good selection of British and Belgian brews. Ah well, one can hope...
 
My hometown has a "party supply" store that has a crazy selection of micros, just as you described. I do miss it.

Today, the best selection of micros is actually at my LHBS (Gentiles - Grandview, OH)... which also happens to be a wine seller and pizzeria. Odd combo.
 
There's no beer store anywhere around here that I've found, but the regular grocery stores have killer beer selections. It also pays to get to know the beer/wine department manager at your local store. I spent a half hour sitting and chatting about beer with one of mine the other day. He's going to set aside a few bottles of Mirror Mirror for me when he gets some in. :D
 
Lukas Liquor Super Store in St. Louis.

A mecca of local micro, craft and world beers.

I stop by at least once a month and stuff the saddle bags with as much as I can.
 
micky finn's second location in florence SC has a verry good selection... for a southern town. !st store has a good selection but better cigars... have bought cigars from 1 and drove across town for beer... more than 2 stone brewery variety, always... all 3 anchor always, an just got 2 varieyies of mead, vanilla cinnamon and raspberry! also carries a hometown fav (not Florence SC) Stoudt's American Pale from Adamstown PA!!!!! And their Double IPA & had them Special order the "Scarlet Lady IPA" YUM. Going camping for my B-Day and Divorce will order another CASE for that!!!! along with a bottle of appleton estate extra old rum! drink, and drink an drink & fish AND CAMP.... Oh I forgot they have Pre-Embargo 1966 Padron cigars (at first location) And smoke!
 
Yeah, a couple. Sam's Blue Light in Durham is freakin' amazing (A+ World Class on BA) and Peace Street Market in Raleigh is just regular amazing. After that, Total Wine is about the best.
 
Im surprised a New York Stater started this thread. So it isn't all Beers of the World and Finger Lakes Beverage?

Not too mention Wegmans. Heck, there's an independent convenience store near where I work that sells mostly cigarettes, lottery tickets and lunchtime pizza slices. And even they sell Stone verticals, Chimay, Unibroue, growlers form the local brewery, etc.
 
Im surprised a New York Stater started this thread. So it isn't all Beers of the World and Finger Lakes Beverage?

Not too mention Wegmans. Heck, there's an independent convenience store near where I work that sells mostly cigarettes, lottery tickets and lunchtime pizza slices. And even they sell Stone verticals, Chimay, Unibroue, growlers form the local brewery, etc.

lol, wrong part of the state my friend. Make your way toward the city and the selection dries up rather quickly. I've never even seen a wegmans in real life.
 
He's going to set aside a few bottles of Mirror Mirror for me when he gets some in. :D

I picked up a bottle of Mirror Mirror at Bottle Barn here in SR yesterday (and a Dissident a few weeks ago). Not much available from the Eastern States there either.

We have a BevMo too, but it doesn't... feel... right.

Neither store keeps more than about 1/3rd of their beer stock cold.
 
I've got a Thriftway. Has a half dozen craft beers stuck in one corner of the cooler. 25 miles to the next option.
 
Portland is Beervana. We have four or five stores that rank near the top of the list in selection and ambiance:

John's Market in Multnomah Village. The best selection in Portland with over 1000 different bottled beer selections from around the world (as well as some cans). An old convenience store turned into a shrine to beer (oh, yeah, they have wine, too). Their website shows what's available and is sortable by Style, Beer Name, Brewery, IBUs, or ABV.

Belmont Station in SE. A superb selection of worldwide beers, with a beer cafe in one half of the store that serves great local and popular craft beers. Used to be located next to the Horse Brass Pub, which Esquire Magazine selected as America's Best Pub in 2009 (well, it made the list of best bars in American and was listed first in the geographical layout, which meant it was the top pub in America!).

Saraveza in North Portland. New to the scene (opened November 2008), this bottle shop and pasty pub focuses on American craft beer seasonals, usually in 22oz bombers, and Belgians, about 200 different choices which you can drink there or take away. They have a rotating set of 10 taps, and have a great menu with handmade pasties, pickles, and great soups. It's a man's pub & bottle shop, no mistake. I had a glass of Mirror Mirror on tap there yesterday, as well as a bottle of Baron Brewing's Rauch beer from Seattle and a new smoked beer from Lagunitas, all in anticipation of today's brewday.

Bridgetown Beerhouse in North Portland. Even newer to the scene (opened January 2009), this is a very friendly, small place where the owner is there every day and takes requests for specific brews. I've worked with him to get Stiegl Goldbrau from Salzburg, Austria, into the Portland market, and he was quite receptive - and now can't keep it on the shelf! I think that shops where the staff works to get what the customer wants are top-notch, and have high hopes for Bridgetown.
 
Yeah, Portland is Beervana and driving purgatory. About twice a month, I drive up to Portland for activities unavailable here. Each time, it resets my desire to move closer in to zero. Tough to appreciate the beer when there isn't any place to park, so you can get to the beer. Can't even MAX in, because my van is too tall for the parking garages.
 
I live in very rural Southwest Virginia. We have a very limited selection in grocery stores. The closest good beer store is about 45 minutes. It's actually a wine shop that has a great selection of beer. Today we are making a trip to the Vintage Cellar in Blacksburg, VA. Great selection of microbrews, imports, even several Trappists'. It's about 2 hours away, but completely worth the drive.
 
Huntington, WV doesn't have much selection past Rogue and SN, and the occasional good import. For great beers I'll usually make a trip to Whole Foods in Dublin, OH. Or if I'm visiting friends in Cincinnati I'll go to Party Source in Newport, KY, or Jungle Jim's in i think fairfield, OH.
 
Greens in Columbia, sc has a huge selection of imports and micros. it's like a giant grocery store for beer and wine. 3 isles full of beer. i have to factor in 45 minutes and about $60 every time i go in there...
 
S.E. Kansas is pretty lacking for good beer. Have to drive 40 min east to Joplin MO. to get any good selection. Macadoodle's is a new wine and beer store that has an est. 120' of shelf space for beer with a good make your own sixer selection, and more Belgiums than I have seen before. On the other hand, 2 hrs west in Wichita called Goebel Liquor, which is the freakin mecca of craft brews featuring 1200 beers. :drunk:
Their site: Goebel Liquor, Home of Rob's World of Beer - Wichita Kansas Spirits Alcohol Micro Brew Import Domestic Store
:rockin:
 
I'm in PA, the Commonwealth with the crazy liquor code. That said, there's a GREAT beer distributor in Wayne, PA, hidden behind a Star Bucks. They have a really impressive collection of microbrews and imports, and the guys there are pretty liberal about opening cases to pass out samples of new brews, or old favorites I might have missed or forgotten.

-Jack
 
Yeah, Portland is Beervana and driving purgatory. About twice a month, I drive up to Portland for activities unavailable here. Each time, it resets my desire to move closer in to zero. Tough to appreciate the beer when there isn't any place to park, so you can get to the beer. Can't even MAX in, because my van is too tall for the parking garages.

Whenever my girl and I go to P-town, we park near the Widmer Brewery. There are no meters and almost always a spot. You can get a pint from the Brewery and then catch the MAX on Albina about a block and a half away. Plus, Amnesia Brewing is just up the road on Mississippi and if its going to be a late night you can get a room at the McMenammins across from Widmer for $45.
 
For the Chicago area I go to Binny's Beverage Depot. Good thing for this month is they have alot of beers $2 off a 4 or 6 pack. Been picking up some Bell's beers and trying out some others.
 
Greens in Columbia, sc has a huge selection of imports and micros. it's like a giant grocery store for beer and wine. 3 isles full of beer. i have to factor in 45 minutes and about $60 every time i go in there...

Greens is awesome. I used to have friends in Columbia. Every time I visited, I would stock up.
 
Guys I live in the middle of nowhere the nearest store/gas station is ten miles away. My advice is get to know the owner and frequent his establishment then ask to stock various beer and see what happens. Right now I have him stocking Sierra Nevada, Stone and Smuttynose products. Next up is Victory and Rogue. Other than that there is a few specialty shops with specialty prices within 15-30 mile range but after living in Atlanta for 20+ years I won't trade living here for that again.
 
The best places around here are piggly wiggly, western super market, vulcan beverage and dee's package store.
I have been to greens in atlanta and its one of the best places I've ever been.
 
Here in Louisville we have several Liquor Barn stores that have a good selection, and New Albany, Indiana is just across the river and is home to another great beer store whose name escapes me, but I think it's something like World Liquors.
 
This town sucks. San Antonio is better, but Texas (the whole, big state) isn't really beer mecca, either. HEB Central Market and Whole Foods have the best selections I've found within a 150 mile radius (including Mexico).
 
Yuri,
I think we're finally catching up. When I lived closer to Houston, I would go in to Spec's Liquor Warehouse. They have any beer I could think of and the one downtown would get it if they didn't have it. I'm now closer to San Antonio and it is a little more "challenging". BUT, some beer lover opened a Mom & Pop about 5 min. from me that stocks over 100 beer types. Unfortunately, he's so popular that he's often out of some things. Oh Yeah, there's always
Lone Star, "The National Beer Of Texas!" - Dwain
 
Seconding what other Pennsylvania residents have said - we have weird laws governing alcohol sales here, but one result is that we have small unaffiliated stores that sell almost nothing but beer (and the usual lottery tickets, beef jerky, cheetoes and ice). So five minutes from my house (Broomall) there are two distributors where I can get darn near any beer from anywhere in the world. The down side is that they only sell in cases. The upside is that the price per bottle in a case is low and there is about zero chance of buying light-struck beer.
 
We have a 2 decent distributors that I know of in the Pittsburgh area, but I have been blessed with an excellent bottle shop close by. They have all sorts of micros and imports that you won't find anywhere else in the city.
 
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