Knightly Spirits

My first business conference ever, and I celebrated on Day 1 with a well-researched trip to Knightly Spirits Metrowest. Solan from RB works there, as I soon found out. Very helpful in pointing out some of the better beers in the place. I've never been in a joint that had more than my budget could bear, until this place. $20 bottles of Italian beer were calling to me, but I had other plans. I grabbed a number of stubby Belgian singles, any Cigar City they had, some High and Mighty found only in this state outside of its home region of MA. What else here? Thomas Hooker, Otter Creek, a bottle of Verdi I.S (cool bottle, spicy brew). I wish I had driven my car and had like $500 to spend.

I had to turn my back on so many good brews, I can only hope I get to come back to the conference next year and visit this place again.

Recommended.

Reviewed on: 11-11-2009 04:14:17

A ridiculous amount of belgians, a good amount of german and other european beers, an ok amount of west coast beers, and a good amount of non-west coasters. Only place in FL I've seen BORIS or any hoppin frog for that matter, and they have the last 8 years or so of jw lees harvest. For those coming from out of state, a decent selection of cigar city is to be had. It wasn't particularly easy to find a dipa that I couldn't get elsewhere, but their selection isn't geared towards that end of the spectrum. Overall, the selection is great and the staff is knowledgeable and helpful. Claustrophobics need not apply.

Reviewed on: 10-21-2009 03:57:25

Stopped by here on a recent trip to Orlando and was very impressed with the selection and reasonable prices. Alan, the store manager was very friendly and knowledgeable and helped me with questions about local beers that aren't available in my area as well as some of their Italian imports. Nice selection of domestic craft as well as a very diverse import section. Lots of Belgians, Germans, Scandinavian and best of all Cigar City beers. All of the beers that I've found here were half the price of what they would cost in Philly. Also, they had a decent collection of glassware for sale. I would highly recommend this place to anyone in the area.

Reviewed on: 09-09-2009 05:50:31

Wow, what a find! I am not from Orlando, but go there occasionally on business. I saw this store described on Beeradvocate.com and knew I had to try it. I've been there twice now and will definitely go back anytime I pass through Orlando.

This is without a doubt the best beer selection I've seen in my life. I should add that I am biased toward Belgian styles, so this was right up my alley. If you are looking for US West Coast or Midwest styles, you won't be as blown away as I was. The US, British and other Euro brands were fairly diverse, but the Belgians were just on another level altogether. I have spent a lot of time in Belgium on business and I have never seen a store with a selection this good even in the "home country"!

The wine and liquor selection also looked good. The staff was very friendly and knowledgable on both my visits, whether the subject was obscure Belgian beers or single malt Scotch. On one of my visits the clerk saw me pick up a bottle of De Dolle Oerbier and immediately rushed up to say, "That's a 2008 bottle, but if you're interested I think we still have some 2006 bottles in the back for the same price." He proceeded to dig around for several minutes and finally reappeared with the prize. That's service!

Reviewed on: 08-20-2009 03:41:45

This place looks like a typical liquor store, until you walk into the beer section. Its American micro is mostly just the usual suspects, but oh the Belgian section. I has more Belgian brands in one place than i have seen in my life. I'm not even going to try to name them, but its great. They also seem to try to keep vintage stuff around, i bougtt 99-08 jw less vertical while i was there
The guy working that day seemed to know his stuff and have a genuine interest in beer. Anyone in the Orlando area should stop by.

Reviewed on: 08-11-2009 16:02:57

I have been going here for years! Ever since I moved to Orlando, I heard stories about this beer selection and boy where they right. Knightly as I like to call it has a huge selection of Belgians. I must say driving by it you could never tell the amount of vast selection it has there. I love how I can go there every week, pick up 2 or 3 bottles of good stuff, and always have something new to try. Great selection, Bar none, staff is friendly too good to joke around with and they know there beer. I go here every week and I love it! A must go to for any beer lover.

Reviewed on: 06-13-2009 20:27:46

This is a very nice liquor store in a relatively beer barren area. The selection is quite good, though I was hoping for more American micros, there is a nice variety, but the imports (especially Belgians) is where this store really shines. I noticed some good bargains, and some relatively inflated prices. I thought the beer was pretty reasonable, though no great bargains. I saw some wine that was excellently priced (10% below MD) and some that was 15% higher than usual in MD. There is also a nice selection of scotch.
Service was fine, the cashier offered to help, but nothing more than that when I was there.
The beer aisles in particular are quite tight, so you may need to crouch a little to see the stuff at the bottom.

Reviewed on: 05-30-2009 17:08:54

I am from north GA and was in Orlando looking for some stuff that I can't get here. Got on BA and found this place. I walked in, looked around, and was amazed at what I saw. One of the best collections of great quality beer that I have seen ever. The guy behind the counter asked me if I needed any help but wasn't overly aggressive which is great. He knew about all of the beers that I was looking for personally and then made some recommendations to me, which I listened because I am always open to suggestions from a fellow BA. If you are ever in the Orlando area, you definitely want to stop by this place and check it out. Well worth the trip. I will be back to this store if/when I get back to the area.

Reviewed on: 03-30-2009 02:34:23

I stopped in while visiting Orlando on business. Knightly Spirits looks like your average beer and wine store from the outside but once you get to the back of the store, you realize it's a beer haven.

The variety is outstanding with an emphasis on European beers over American beers. They seemed to have just about every Belgian, British and German beer I'd ever seen. They have a decent selection of American beers but it isn't nearly as impressive. It included Bell's (they still had plenty of Hop Slam), Rogue, Bear Republic, DFH, Alagash and others. Unfortunately, only a small selection was refrigerated and that was mostly six packs.

I didn't ask any questions but the guy behind the counter seemed friendly and knowledgeable. I think my only criticism (other than lack of refrigeration) is that it's very small and tightly packed. You almost can't see what's on the bottom shelves because the aisles are so narrow. But that's a small price to pay.

Knightly Spirits is as good as I've seen in Florida and pretty solid even when compared to the rest of the country. It's well worth a visit.

Reviewed on: 03-23-2009 23:38:35

This ia a smaller store in a typical/upscale Florida mini strip mall. Wine and booze up front, and the beer starts about 1/2 of the way towards the rear. Selection is quite impressive. Tons of Belgians, the typical Brit and Germans (yawn) and then a quite excellent selection of domestic good stuff, that offered me many interesting options. Bells, a full selection of Jolly Pumpkin, Bison, Terrapin being an idea of some of the exciting stuff I cannot get in NY. You also will find, Stone, Ommegang, Avery, Brooklyn, DFH and multiple other quality choices. A smattering of glassware, a friendly and informative guy behind the register, reasonable prices, clean, well organized/stocked all adds up to this being a well worth visiting destination , just a few minutes north of the tourist zone(hell on earth for good beer and real food) in Orlando. Go to this quality beer spot.

Reviewed on: 03-14-2009 19:14:12