Wally's

beer2day

North Carolina

4.2/5  rDev -3.2%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Nice wine and beer shop near the UCLA campus.

Tough review, since I spent less than 10 minutes in the shop while my wife circled looking for parking.

All the beer I saw was cold across the back of the store in ~10 cooler doors, with lots of single selections and signs indicating warm sixers were available. Nice split of import and micro selections. AleSmith and Stone well represented. Alaskan, Telegraph, Crooked Line all there too.

Service was nice at the checkout, but none offered while looking.

Nice destination neighborhood shop.

09-23-2011 01:14:01 | More by beer2day

ficklenicholas

California

4.44/5  rDev +2.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$$

I go to Wally's frequently, once a month or so, its kind of out of the way for me and a pain in traffic. Nice shop with great selections of wine and liquor. Get on their email list as you have a chance to buy over the phone and get down there at your own convenience. I always find a brew to try or something I have been looking for, although they sell out of stuff very fast. Can be a little expensive, but they have semi annual tent sales where all beers are 20% off and they have great deals on wine and booze. The beer buyer, Stephanie, is very nice and always down to talk beer if she has the time.

03-12-2012 22:08:24 | More by ficklenicholas

kojevergas

California

3.98/5  rDev -8.3%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 3 | $$$

Wally's is my go-to stop in Los Angeles, as the only other store that's close is Ramirez - which has worse selection and service.

I frequently order from Wally's via phone after receiving their "Beer update" email delivered to everyone on their beer list. Calls are quick and efficient, and you pay on the phone for your beer. I love this system because it means I don't have to worry about rushing over to pick up beers that are being held for me but can still be purchased by others; it's first come first served and I know that once I buy a beer, it's set aside for me.

Stephanie, the beer merchant, is knowledgable and friendly. I haven't talked to her about what I'd like to see ordered more frequently, but I intend to.

Service is fast. They happily package your beer with bottle protectors, in boxes. Amex, mastercard, and visa are all accepted.

The pricing is reasonable for the area, but some of their beers are jaw-droppingly expensive.

It balances its emphases well; beer wine and liquor are all equally weighted in spite of the store's name.

Wally's also features a posh cheese shoppe, which I don't at all recommend because the prices are outrageous.

I've yet to encounter a better beer store in L.A. Trumps BevMo and Whole Foods in my book.

I would like to see them introduce a loyalty program/card or something to maybe give dedicated customers a periodic discount.

B+

02-20-2012 03:07:57 | More by kojevergas

psiweaver

Washington

4.16/5  rDev -4.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$$

this place is very good for Los Angeles. I find that most of the shops in Los Angeles, aren't really bottle shops per se and most focus a lot on Wine.

This one is no different in that regard, they tend to have a very good selection of beer, though they don't have anything crazy rare as the selection is always fairly picked over due to the huge amount of foot traffic.

All the beer is kept in refrigerated coolers which is perfect and they tend to have RR, Alesmith and the other CA locals.

Service tends to be very good and they are always super helpful.

worth a stop by if your in the area as you'll find something tasty to drink.

04-23-2011 20:44:37 | More by psiweaver

SpdKilz

Illinois

4.44/5  rDev +2.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$$

Since I don't live in Santa Monica/LA (outside of it) I don't normally come unless I know they have some good stuff. When you walk in everyone always says hi. It is mainly a wine store, but they have a solid beer selection - everything they stock is relatively sought after - they don't waste space with the "common" stuff overall (i.e. Sam Adams, Sierra Nevada, etc and by that I mean the 12 packs, 6 packs, etc.). Service is great - I am always asked if I need help and if I say no they leave you be...the perfect way to handle it IMO. The selection is actually pretty damn good overall. RR stuff, Victory at Sea, FiftyFifty Evan Williams, they DID have Abyss in the back, Sanctification, Tactical Nuclear Penguin (now on shelves), etc. Ask them what they have in back - got a Red Poppy today. As stated, pretty good selection. The value is about on par with LA, but that means it is a bit pricy because other places in CA have these for cheaper. But still, definitely worth a stop!

03-06-2011 03:06:36 | More by SpdKilz

UCLABrewN84

California

4.7/5  rDev +8.3%
quality: 5 | service: 4 | selection: 5 | $$$

I have been to Wally's a few times now. Funny, I never knew about it when I went to school at UCLA, but it's somewhat close to the campus.

Wally's is a pretty upscale place that carries wine, liquor, beer, and even has a cheese shop. ALL of their beer is refrigerated in the back and there are about 8 cooler doors. All beer is organized very well by country or brewery.

They have a large selection of US craft beer that CA gets (Alpine, Ommegang, Avery, Lagunitas) and beers from Europe and Japan. I have found beers here I can't find anywhere else (Drie Fonteinen, De Dolle, Beer Here, Haand, Achel, Hanssens). Prices can be somewhat steep, but it's expected for the high quality beer they stock.

Staff has always been very helpful and polite every time I have gone.

I would highly recommend this place if you are anywhere in the LA area.

02-12-2011 23:26:43 | More by UCLABrewN84

charlzm

California

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

Visited on Monday, Januray 31st about 1:00pm.

I had been looking for Deschutes Abyss 2010 and had been stymied everywhere I tried. Thanks to a helpful tip from the BA forums, I gave Wally's a call.

I have to give them a little ding for their website: beer is there (unlike some beer/wine/liquor stores), but it's a little difficult to navigate. An alphabetical list be brewery would be awesome.

Anyway, they gladly put the beer I wanted on hold. I showed up and picked it up later that day with no issues. Their beer selection is extensive, though not mind-blowing. They go for quality more than quantity and everything is refrigerated. Prices are on the the high end of the acceptable range, but nothing is gouged.

The staff was friendly and efficient.

There's plenty of free parking.

What more can you ask for?

02-01-2011 16:39:43 | More by charlzm

DoesntMatter46

California

4.85/5  rDev +11.8%
quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

This is the place where I buy my good beer.

The beer is located in the fridges in the back, and in the time that I've been shopping there they have expanded the amount of room dedicated to beer. Hopefully the take over will continue...

Very well selected, well organized, and with a sign reading something along the lines of 'if you don't see something, ask, we might have it in the back' you get the feeling that someone really knows their stuff. And those someones are Kathryn and Graham. Both really know their beer, and very willing to rummage around in the chilled back room to look for a request.

Simply put, this place has beers I cannot easily or readily acquire elsewhere. All the bottled Alpine IPAs, the most regular supply of uber fresh Pliny, a wide selection of Dieu du Ciel brews, FiftyFifty Eclipse bottles made an appearance, part of the small amount of Bourbon County Stout that makes it out West, well stocked seasonals from the Bruery, a nice group of new Euro brews- BrewDog, Nogne O, and Mikkeller, well picked classic English, Belgian, and German brews and a fridge door packed with more sour/ wild ales than I knew existed. The quality of their beer is a step above the rest. But it is not as massive of a selection as others, but if you demand your bottle shop have every adjunct lager from every Asia and Latin America country available in a easy to carry 6 pack holder, you might want to look else where.

And yes, I do feel the prices are reasonable, for the outstanding quality and service, a dollar-ish mark up is, in my mind, completely justified. Prices are more competitive with bombers and limited beers than your everyday six pack beer. For example, FW 14 was being sold for the same price here as at BevMo, and SN 30th Anniversary Grand Cru costs a mere 75 cents more at Wally's. Don't think that extra 75 cents is worth it? Sign up for the beer e-mail list. Trust me you'll want to.

Oh, and did I mention I live just a few blocks away on the same street? So, yea, I really like this place.

12-27-2010 09:33:51 | More by DoesntMatter46

keithmurray

Louisiana

4/5  rDev -7.8%
quality: 4 | service: 5 | selection: 3 | $$$

Went yesterday to check out this spot on a suggestion. They have all of their beer located in a cooler inthe back of the store. They don't really sell six packs, rather they sell singles (but if you buy 6 of the same beer, they will kick in an extra 10% discount, which is worth something I guess). They had a decent selection of Germans, Belgians as well as American craft. I found some gems I wasn't able to fin at some of the other craft stores I visited in the area. Found some Kulmbacher Eisbock there for $3.25 a bottle, which is a reasonable price. Also found Hacker Pschoor October fest, which I also couldnt find inthe area as well as Dieu Du Ciel Rigor Mortis (was really happy to find that one!)

I also have to mention the customer service, there was a fella who asked me if I needed help and from their website, they said they had the Kulmbacher Eisbock, but had none in the cooler. The young man went to the back and got me three bottles of the stuff, so props to him for not being lazy.

11-04-2010 19:02:56 | More by keithmurray

Metalmonk

North Carolina

4.64/5  rDev +6.9%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | $$$

Not so much a great beer store as an oasis for drinkers who go for only the highest quality, whether it's beer, spirits, wine...even delectable foods that pair nicely with those adult beverages. And man, does Wally's have an insane wine selection. Their beer selection hardly rivals it in quantity, but the quality factor is seriously high. They throw no bones to the ABCoorsCoronaHeineken crowd -- I hate when otherwise quality stores stock that sort of stuff just to make an extra buck. Wally's don't play dat.

They may lack a number of Belgians I was hoping to see, and they may lack some of the east coast big boys (Southern Tier would fit nicely here), but for an easterner/southerner looking for southern Cali beers not available at home, it's a treat: Bruery (no Black Tuesday), Russian River (Blind Pig IPA, Pliny the Elder), Alesmith (Speedway Stout, Old Numbskull, IPA), Lost Abbey, Port Brewing, Ballast Point...right on. Picked up an Allagash I'd never seen before (Hugh Malone) and was damn pleased to find Portland's finest, Hair Of The Dog (Adam, Fred, Doggie Claws, Blue Dot). And various other offerings from the rest of the country, and the world for that matter.

It's a little cramped, but I was in an aisle that had a couple others perusing the beer and an employee stocking wine shelves behind us, so my cart and my big dumb ass seemed totally in the way of all that. But the service was excellent, and I'll name Graham H. as the guy you should talk to about beer; super-helpful, super-knowledgeable, super-friendly. The guy that rang me up was also cool, pointing out that he really digs the Allagash Hugh Malone.

A must-visit if you're in L.A. and want only quality stuff. Prices are a little high, but hey, consider the turf...

05-05-2010 00:52:08 | More by Metalmonk