Ward's Supermarket

cubanbeerguy

Florida

4.19/5  rDev +3.5%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4.75 | selection: 3.75 | $

Wards is a health food market I guess. Lots of local produce and products. They have 1 beer aisle but nice selection. I walked in there one day and Hopslam was sitting there and old rasputin XV. Steve the beer guy is very helpful and always takes my calls since its across town for me. great selection for the size of the store and the fact its a grocery store.

03-26-2013 16:39:46 | More by cubanbeerguy

aepb1

Florida

3.85/5  rDev -4.9%
quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 4.5 | $$

For a grocery store, Wards has a great selection!

The beer is in the back corrner of the store, opposite the entrance.

They have a fairly large cooler and about the same amount of space dedicated to bombers and some more six packs making a nice beer aisle.

The only drawback is that they adhere to the commercial packaging. No singles out of the sixers, but come on, I'm stretching to find a negative.

If you are in gainesville, be sure to give this a shot. Prices are good and the selection is one of the best in town. Exemplary for a grocery store!

A special thanks to vapodge for introducing me to this wonder.

02-17-2011 03:03:47 | More by aepb1

MisterE

Florida

4.35/5  rDev +7.4%
quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $

Ever since I first discovered what a great beer selection Ward's has, I've become a 'regular' there. The prices are also very competitive. Over the years, the selection has grown bigger and better - to the point where I almost don't bother to shop for beer anywhere else. If you're looking for something different, you can find some unusual (and expensive) brews that I haven't seen anywhere else, and you can often find some amazing bargains. American micro brews, German wheat beers, Polish and Ukrainian strong ales are all well represented. Definitely worth a visit!

12-24-2010 22:51:10 | More by MisterE

GatorBrew

Florida

4.35/5  rDev +7.4%
quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Frequent this place often, it's a must-go if you live in Gainesville and have never been to a "local" grocery store anywhere. Truly Different.

To the beer.. They have a good bit of an aisle designated for beer, some of it is in the cooler, some isn't with no particalur reason it seems. The selection is fantastic for a grocery store, and the pricing is pretty good as well. I guess for nostalgic reasons I feel like they are better than a lot of other places in town because they were one of the first places to start carrying micro's and hard-to-find brews.

If you need to grab something for a cookout - try them for not only the food but the beer too - you wont go wrong!

09-29-2010 20:51:51 | More by GatorBrew

jf60657

Florida

3.7/5  rDev -8.6%
quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | $

Visited on a trip to Gainesville. About half a aisle of beer in a grocery store. Good selection of brews, lots of harder to find stone (oaked arrogant bastard, runiation) and a good amount of bombers. Sweetwater is available here. Was not very strong on Belgians, mostly American craft brews. Service was nowhere to be found but I didn't need help so no biggie. Pretty average place IMO, I felt like I was in a grocery store (because I was) and I prefer to shop in specialty stores. I'd go here again when in town to check what they have got in but I'd rather go to Tipples and spend my money there.

06-18-2010 17:37:25 | More by jf60657

PorterLambic

Florida

4.2/5  rDev +3.7%
quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

As previously stated, first & foremost a local grocery store with a very heavy farmers market vibe. I like that. My mother-in-law loves the meat there, for what its worth.
The beer area is all over against the left (as you enter) wall. Nice selection of Belgians, some UK, lots of good US brewers represented as well. Six- & four-packs as well as big bottles. Cold brews differed from the room temp. stock. Not sure why except maybe to increase the selection? Picked up a new (to me) baltic porter and several other I've never had including a brew from Sweet Water Brewing in GA.

01-17-2010 20:54:04 | More by PorterLambic

drabmuh

Maryland

3.85/5  rDev -4.9%
quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Ward's is a grocery store in Gainesville. It specializes in local foods. It is usually pretty crowded. There is 1/2 of an aisle completely devoted to beer. There is a great selection of German and American beers from Florida and around the nation. This is consistently the cheapest place to buy good beer. I would buy Baltika from this place for $1.25. Other favorites that they have in stock are Stone IPA, Schneider weiss, and a large selection of Belgian style ales, Caracole, St. Bernadus, and Gulden Draak. The staff is not there to sell beer. They are there to run a grocery store, so there is no assistance available. That's ok you don't really need it.
You cannot assemble your own beer packs though. THere are several sample packs from Tommy Knockers, or Shipyard, or Flying Dog available usually. Its a good place to get beer.

08-28-2009 17:55:41 | More by drabmuh

azorie

Florida

3.85/5  rDev -4.9%
quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 4.5 | $$

ok this was the first place me and the wife stopped in on our afternoon trip, to check out every beer store in gainesville. Ok so this is a grocery store of mainly local stuff, and its got lots of good things, we had fun shopping here. ok they have a good 20 to 30 of shelf space in beer stacked to about 11 feet high. They had every stone made, even oaked AB, not even TW in JAX has all these. They also had a GREAT German selection of doppelbocks, weizenbocks etc. Also had a decent Belgian selection. I highly recommend this little place. they also have a great organic selection, we found some great olives and crackers, stuff you have to pay more for at Whole foods. go visit this place. Did not need any service so unless some one offers to help I always rate this as average.

07-15-2009 12:00:06 | More by azorie

danny013

Florida

4.15/5  rDev +2.5%
quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$$

I go here occasionally when I'm over on that side of town and want to grab a few singles. Overall, it's a small local grocery, lots of fresh veggies and meats (good prices on them too!), and an excellent selection of beer (there is a lot of wine, too, but I know next to nothing about it).

Lots of selection to pick from, mostly singles with some 6 packs thrown here and there. Lots of hard to find English ales, Belgians, and some US craft stuff. I can't recall everything (I'm usually grabbing and looking at those 3 things above when I go), but there is a lot of other stuff to check out as well. Prices are decent - reasonable priced, GB is just a few cents cheaper so it's no big deal, and they do have some things GB does not.

One word of warning, this place is usually packed with hippies! Be prepared for bra-less, shoe-less (and deoderant-less) masses wandering around. :P

One note, though - the address listed here on BA is incorrect; it is on 23rd, not 3rd (threw me off at first as well!).

Check it out!

10-08-2008 21:21:44 | More by danny013

mullenite

Florida

4.15/5  rDev +2.5%
quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$

The best thing about wards, in my personal opinion, is their willingness to carry beers that are not available anywhere else in town. They have a large variety of Hebrew, Baltika, and a few others that are difficult to find throughout the rest of the city. The staff is not always knowledgeable but is always willing to help in whatever way they can, which includes admitting defeat and finding someone who may be able to help you better.

Single bottle prices are average and larger bottles are very reasonable. It is a grocery store with a bit of an 'earthy' vibe but the prices are still decent and the staff is very friendly.

08-22-2008 12:45:08 | More by mullenite