Five Points Bottle Shop

DoubleSimcoe

New York

4.44/5  rDev -3.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 5 | $$

The bottle shop doesn’t look like much from the road but this is THE place for beer in Athens and beyond!

Vintage beer, rare releases, brews you won’t find anywhere else in Georgia… they’re all here. Plus full line-ups of every other major brand (that shelf of Stone bombers…more stuff than I've ever seen).

They have Lost Abbey Deliverance and Angel’s Share (got a ’10 Brandy, drinkable). Also a Harvest Ale 2002! Every Mikkeller you can think of, including the Black Hole series (I bought Tequila).

Pretty fair prices all around, $14.99 for those Lost Abbeys and $7.99 for Harvest Ale. Outrageous selection of bourbons as well, including New Holland bourbon aged in beer barrels.

Service was perfectly nice at checkout, and they have beer folks around the aisles. Along with Ale Yeah! Roswell, this is my favorite beer store in the ATL-GA area.

01-04-2013 04:28:17 | More by DoubleSimcoe

GCBrewingCo

North Carolina

3.85/5  rDev -16.5%
quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 4.5 | $$

The Five Points Bottle Shop is located in Athens and looked pretty easy to find on the mapping program. A bazillion turns later and it seemed pretty obscure. Close to the Mellow Mushroom is probably the best way to use a landmark to find it. Map it out well prior to going to it. If heading past Frat Row, turn right on Lumpkin (South) to get the Five Points and it will be on your left.

The place is a liquor and beer store with fairly reasonable prices on both. The back wall as you walk in is the BMC section with a few micros thrown in. If you walk right you will come through a passageway that has beer on either side, mainly Belgians. Turn left and many more Belgians await. Then begins the coolers. The cooler on the left wall is single bottles of mainly UK and Germans and the the other wall is sixers. I saw workers stocking shelves and cleaning bottles which was good, but then in the cooler I noticed some older beers from last fall which made me check a bit closer. Upon further inspection it appears some of the beers do not move well, so choose carefully.

A nice store. A bit on the grungy side, but the shelves were extremely neat and care was taken in staging the brews. The staff really didn't offer any assistance and when a guy asked about some Tequilla I had to step in. By the way, if you are the guy who bought the Don Julio Reposado, let me know how that Batchelor Party turned out.

I found one single beer in the place I had never tasted before and purchased it. Also I picked up two other beers since I had driven and hour out of my way and a bottle of that Don Julio since we don't see it in NC. A very good store, I won't be back however unless I am in Athens.

05-17-2005 13:11:37 | More by GCBrewingCo

GJ40

North Carolina

4.5/5  rDev -2.4%
quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Five Points is a moderate sized store with a huge selection of alcohol packed in it. Most of the store is wine and spirits but the beer selection is pretty comprehensive. They make great use of the space and the displays are very neat and organized.

They have a wide array of beers from the east coast, west coast, Belgium, England, Germany among others. I saw good representation from Terrapin (obviously), Stone, Rogue, Anchor and Sierra Nevada. I was particularly impressed with the coverage within some of the better breweries. They seemed to have everything that Stone and Rogue offer. Much of the stock is refrigerated as well. I'm sure they need it with that Georgia summer heat.

Five Points shows a great commitment to craft beer. It's well worth a visit if you're in the area.

01-02-2010 21:36:45 | More by GJ40

glid02

Georgia

4.5/5  rDev -2.4%
quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Hands down the best package store in Athens.

Five Points recently expanded their store, and they have even more selection than they used to.

They definitely try and stay on top of breweries that add Georgia to their distribution list. I'm not going to say you can find anything there, but if they don't have it they will be happy to order it.

The service is usually great, I took off half a point for the odd times when the cashier is a bit surly. Overall though, they know beer and are happy to help out. The owner is in from time to time and he will talk your ear off if you're not careful - but in a good way.

The prices are very reasonable, you can usually find some good beer on sale.

Again, this is the best place to buy beer in Athens, if you're in the area it's definitely worth a stop.

07-22-2008 16:25:36 | More by glid02

Georgiabeer

Georgia

4.5/5  rDev -2.4%
quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Great beer store in Athens. In some ways this is as good or better than Green's in Atlanta. Same list of craft beers, and a better selection of British and German beers, and they usually have a huge stock of Terrapin products. There are also usually a few surprises on the shelves. I'd say their belgian selection is a little weaker than Green's though, so it's a bit of a toss-up. The service is friendly and knowledgable, and prices are fine. I hit this up every time I'm in Athens, and with Trapeeze and the Terrapin facility open there now I even take a road trip just to hit up beer sites in Athens ocassionally.

10-16-2008 02:27:47 | More by Georgiabeer

thagr81us

South Carolina

4.65/5  rDev +0.9%
quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | $$

First a warning... Do not attempt to go anywhere near Athens during a UGA football game. I found this out the hard way. Anyways, on to the review... The location was very easy to spot from the road with a nice large sign out front. A decent amount of parking as well. From the outside it appears to look like an old style gas station (minus the pumps obviously), but with beer logos all over the place. Looked like my kind of place. Opened the door and WOW! Tall wooden shelving everywhere stocked to the ceiling. The majority of the left store was liquor with the right portion of the store selling beer. The selection at this location was EPIC. I could have easily bought a lot more bottles but had to limit myself (I still bought QUITE a bit though). Just about anything that is available in the area was there, including a few things that aren't so available as well. Lots of individual bombers, sixers, and 750 mL's to choose from. Prices were pretty reasonable as well from what I have seen in the past. Made my selections (which basically covered half the counter) and went to pay. Upon checking out the cashier told me to pick out two glasses for free for my large purchase. Definite plus on this one... After I was done, the cashier helped me carry the beer out to my car. This bottle shop is top-notch and is a definite must visit. Even made sitting in traffic for an hour totally worth it to visit this gem.

09-20-2010 20:44:29 | More by thagr81us

nickfl

Florida

4.65/5  rDev +0.9%
quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | $$$

Very impressive selection. I was thrilled that they had 7 or 8 different Cantillion beers (although they seemed a bit expensive even for Cantillion). The whole store, and the beer section in particular, is very cramped and that makes it kind of difficult to browse... but it's worth it considering their selection. I didn't talk to anyone because I don't like people, but one of the employees was helping a couple pick some beers for a party while I was looking around and from what I heard he knew his shit (and enjoyed his job). My only complaint is that the prices seemed a bit high, but they weren't unreasonable for an independant retailer.

After visiting the store several more times, I have increased by score for selection to reflect the fact that this store is constantly expanding its selection with new and exotic offerings. I am particularty impressed by their commitment to finding vintage beers, even going so far as to offer discounts on vertical lineups of some beers.

They have recently expanded their beer area vastly. It is no longer the cramped maze of cases it once was. Much of the beer is now in coolers and it is a lot easier to find what you are looking for and find out how much it costs.

After living near this store for six months, I can honestly say that it is, by far, the best beer store I have ever been to. I can go in there every week and find five or six new items that I have never seen before.

08-30-2007 02:20:05 | More by nickfl

AlexJ

North Carolina

3.7/5  rDev -19.7%
quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | $$

I stopped by here while in Athens for the Classic City Brewfest and before the cap was popped here in North Carolina. A decent sized store, they carry wine, liquors, and a wide selection of craft and import brews. I would say the main emphasis here is on fine Belgian ales, with plenty of stuff like St. Bernardus, Westmalle, Rochefort, Augustijn, Unibroue, Gulden Draak, and manym many more. I snagged a few bottles of Quelque Choise which I have never seen before. They have plenty of micros as well, both local and from the West Coast. Prices are very reasonable, bombers of Great Divide were $5 and most sixers were $ 6-8. I was dissapointed to see that they were no longer carrying Three Floyds brews and were out of several other things as well. I spent about $150 and stocked up nicely. I would definately go back next time I'm in town.

02-17-2006 16:22:39 | More by AlexJ

jophish17

Georgia

4.04/5  rDev -12.4%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3 | selection: 5 | $$$

Found this place on my way out of town.. on accident, I swear!

The exterior made me question the reputation. Looks more like a run down convenience store that you'd avoid at night. However, the Dogfish and Allagash signs in the window relieved me.

Walking in, I found the beer to the right, but not before noticing the impressive Single Malt selection as well. The beer aisle is incredible. Hundreds of beers from around the world - possibly everything we can get in Georgia. Locals, American micros, British and Euro beers, you name it and chances are its stocked here. Even some rarer stuff from Italy and Scandinavia that I haven't even seen at either Green's in Atlanta.. whoa, a beer store in Georgia that has a better selection than Greens! And without tons and tons of crap mixed in!

No quality issues whatsoever, and the staff is very helpful and friendly. Prices are a bit higher than in the city, but the place was busy on a Saturday afternoon and beer was flying off the shelves. Bonus points for a seriously good glassware selection and you have one of the best bottle shops around. Great place to spend paychecks. This is more along the lines of Bruisin Ales or Healthy Spirits... which is a good thing

EDIT: I do not like the new "atmosphere" guidelines, Five Points is an awesome shop, deserving of a higher grade than what I've given it. But I can honestly give the place an atmosphere rating higher than 3 because, like I said, it looked like a ghetto convenience store

04-12-2009 02:59:05 | More by jophish17

Big78CJ

Michigan

4/5  rDev -13.2%
quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$$

Although they are now cheaper than other stores in town they are still a bit pricier than I would like. However, I invite you to consider that even with the exchange rate Cooper's Best Extra Stout is actually cheaper here than it is in Brisbane (according to my friends from AU)

Don't walk in here expecting help but if you prod enuogh someone might chat with you. The owner is actually quite knowledgable but the place gets so crowded on weekends and evenings that I would be prepared to look around on your own.

The store is small and only about 1/3 is dedicated to beer but in true European beer shop tradition there is beer packed everywhere from floor to ceiling. They have a lot of variety and things you won't find elsewhere in Athens (like all Aecht Schlerkla brews). Other than the sheer horror that is parking there at 5:00 PM and the fact that I bought a cellared Sweetwater Festive Ale that was skunky, I have no complaints and only compliments to this place.

=== UPDATE ===

Service has vastly improved at this place. Now it is sometimes hard to look at beer without being offered help. So many retarded frat kids sit there confused looking at the lambics that I understand why they offer to help so much. The owner Sachin as well as some of his more loyal guys behind the register all know about beer and will point you to what you want, even if you didn't know you wanted it.

I can't seem to leave this place without something I didn't come in there to get.

01-26-2007 23:40:05 | More by Big78CJ