DiCarlo Fine Wines & Spirits

emerge077

Illinois

4.21/5  rDev 0%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 5 | selection: 4 | $$

Recently stopped by this place again, which has made some notable changes recently. There's a good sized singles section now, which will increase with demand. This is rare in Illinois (Cook Co. that is) for some reason, but a perfectly economical way to sample various beers.

From the second I walked in the door and talked to the beer guy Scott at the desk, service was better that most beer stores i've ever been in. This guy knew his beer backwards and forwards, and was quick to offer suggestions. He pointed out new arrivals, and chatted about the history of several breweries. Great! This is rare in my experience of retail beer places, someone genuinely excited about what they sell. There was even a mailing list to sign up for, to get the latest new arrivals...

Once left to browse, there were plenty of things to catch the eye. A nice domestic selection, including Allagash, Left Hand, 3F, JP, Goose, Sprecher, Great Divide, and countless others. Singles section had plenty to pull from, including Gonzo, Golden Monkey, GD St. Bridget's, Capital Maibock, and others. Sale items at the end of one beer aisle, opposite the singles.

Scaldis Prestige is available for the big spender, and many more Belgians on hand. The recent addition Konigshoeven was here, plus Bink, Dupont, Bornem, Brigand, and lesser known Belgians. Didn't check out the coolers, as the shelves had put me back $100 already, ouch. Pricing was good on singles and certain imports.

Reccomended to the northern ex-urbians...

02-11-2007 02:37:09 | More by emerge077

DaPeculierDane

Wisconsin

3.8/5  rDev -9.7%
quality: 3.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | $

Great liquor store. HUGE selection. One of the biggest I've seen. Great prices, great specials.

I also like that there always seems to be drunk old ladies at Armanetti's offering free samples of sangria and margaritas.

I also like that their "Belgian" section is bigger than the beer section at many, if not most liquor stores.

Tons of singles are available too.

Words of warning:

If it seems too good to be true, it is.

Watch out for dust. Armanetti’s sometimes sells really, really old beers that should be destroyed. Often these are found on special for next to nothing. They're still not worth the pennies that you pay for them. Stay away.

Otherwise Armanetti's is a great place to buy beer. The Mundelein store is the best that I've been too but the one in Antioch is good too.

09-15-2005 21:13:27 | More by DaPeculierDane

crossovert

Wisconsin

3.7/5  rDev -12.1%
quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | $$

Stopped in here today, it was busy. There is macro and a bit fo craft in the back coolers but nothing that caught my eye.

There are a few long aisles of beer. One is of all singles although not all the shelf space is being taken up, they have room to expand. The Belgians are away form the rest of the imports in another aisle.

I grabbed the last Angel's share they had. Their craft supply was a bit better than the imports. Overall it is on line with say the McHenry Binnys, the Buffalo Grove Binny's down the road has a better selection, as does the one in Lake Zurich.

All of the floor workers were busy doing other things and pretty much ignored the beer aisle.

This is a nice stop if your directly in Vernon Hills/Mundelein but the surrounding Binny's have a bit better selection.

05-29-2010 19:39:14 | More by crossovert

TMoney2591

Illinois

4.2/5  rDev -0.2%
quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$

After hearing very good things about this place, I had to go take a look for myself. I'm glad I did. Upon entering, you're flush with wine, but a quick left turn and a short walk down the aisle leads to the beer section. Sixers, singles, and cases abound, with a good assortment of breweries from around the world. Most of the selection is from American breweries, but the international offerings are also pretty plentiful. In terms of rarities, you're porbably not gonna be dazzled, but there's always something great to try. In terms of service, the staff seemed to me to be somewhat aloof at first, but if you need any help, they're more than happy to oblige, even keep you abreast of upcoming releases and special order some if you can't find them. Prices are very good and comparable with the other stores in the area. If you're in the Mundelein area, definitely stop in and check this place out.

03-09-2010 10:10:27 | More by TMoney2591

MarcatGSB

Michigan

4.18/5  rDev -0.7%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$

I was pointed in the direction of DiCarlo's from a friend who lives nearby in Libertyville. He actually took us there to check out their Whisk(e)y selection, but was very satisfied with their beer selection.

It's your typical warehouse style liquor store, with rows of booze, and three or four rows of beer on the shelf. A very broad selection ranging from limited selection of Cantillon to some Hoppin' Frog, Port Brewing, and DFH. Lots of stuff that wasn't on the shelf DT in Chicago at Binny's, Warehouse Liquors, West Lakeview Liquors, etc.

This is a good stop that isn't too far off the freeway if you are heading into the city from the great north woods of Wisconsin or Upper Michigan.

11-10-2011 23:01:34 | More by MarcatGSB

Vdubb86

Illinois

4.2/5  rDev -0.2%
quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$

Came here a few times with my buddy TMoney2591. This place has a pretty darn good selection when it comes to liquor and beer (can't comment on the wine, I've never really looked). The beer section way down at the end has plenty of what you might be looking for. The cool thing about this place is that it is friendly to getting single 12oz bottles of beer. They have 2 aisles of just singles. That unique thing is was the main draw for me. The service at this particular location seems pretty apt. They can locate anything in the store and will provide a recommendation if you so desire. The selection here is pretty good. The have plenty of craft beers and even more oddball BMC products. They have some quality and some dirt cheap beers from all around the world as well. As far as finding rare beers you may want to look somewhere else, but that doesn't mean you won't leave happy. There is plenty here to enjoy.

10-04-2010 16:01:14 | More by Vdubb86

BeerLover99

New Jersey

4.14/5  rDev -1.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | $$

Appearance/atmosphere: This wine/beer/spirits store is small, but they pack a lot of quality into a confined space. It is a location that perhaps you have driven by a million times and thought, "can't be anything great in there." You would be wrong.

Quality: I have never had a problem with the quality of beer. I had mentioned a few times that a beer or two were past it and they removed it immediately.

Service: Outstanding! Scott is THE beer guy. He has many beer tastings throughout the year, will try to order a wide array of styles and he sends out beer e-mails. The other beer clerk, nice guy with a brn hair and brn moustache gives great suggestions and is very friendly.

S: The beer is located at the far left end of the store, as you walk in near the counters. There are 3 rows of micro/craft brews, outstanding selection for newbies and some rare gems for the hardcore beer lover. The final back shelf is packed with imports. Not world-class selection, but certainly best bang for your buck considering the space.

V: This is where this place rocks; vast majority of beer stores I notice NEVER allow you to buy single beers. This place does! You can pack a few 6 packs of many different beers, excellent value.

CHECK THIS PLACE OUT, YOU WILL ENJOY IT!

04-28-2011 15:19:58 | More by BeerLover99

brew3crew

Ohio

4.74/5  rDev +12.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | $

A-Just your typical beer store. Lots of liquor and wine and cigars

Q-Nothing but high class here. Everything you could really want from a local liquor store

S-The staff is very helpful and if they do not know how to answer your question they will find someone who does

S-Great selection. Most if not all that Illinois has to offer. This is pretty much my local shop while I lived here...

V-Good value. often have sales on some of the stuff that is older, but still good (i.e. boulevard stout just to name one).

08-24-2011 02:15:46 | More by brew3crew

kajerm

Illinois

4.3/5  rDev +2.1%
quality: 4 | service: 5 | selection: 4 | $

I went to the spring beer tasting here; apparently they also have one in the fall.

Excellent selection of brews-- pretty much every midwestern beer (including some relative rarities like Blackout Stout) you'd want is here. The rest of the US and Belgium are well-represented, as is Germany. The lines from each brewery are very complete.

Rated as inexpensive for two reasons. First, there is an extensive rotating collection of singles, and they will individually price single bottles from any sixer or four-pack in the store. Second, some of the beers are priced near cost.

All of this suggests a beer buyer who knows what he's doing, and they've definitely got that. Their buyer, Scott, is a former customer who loves talking beer and knows the industry as well as anyone I've ever met. Also, his homebrew kicks ass.

04-09-2007 15:48:06 | More by kajerm

CH3CH2OH

New Jersey

4.65/5  rDev +10.5%
quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

DiCarlo is a great place for beer aficionados. Excellent selection of old standbys - german lagers, belgians, major US micros. Also a regularly updated selection of the latest and greatest introductions and rare selections. Scott, the beer manager, provides email updates and beer trivia. In person, he is unwaveringly enthusiastic about beer (more than once, I have received the "stink eye" from my wife after returning to the car after a long conversation with Scott.

It also offers most of their selections in singles, and discounts on end of season beers. It is only a few miles from where I live, but I rate it as high as the Binnys and Sams of the Chicago area.

03-24-2008 00:48:46 | More by CH3CH2OH