Binny's Beverage Depot

emerge077

Illinois

4.1/5  rDev +5.9%
quality: 3.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

This is a very solid Binnys location. I've been to *most* of the locations (20/25), and despite this one seemingly being an older one, the selection was extensive, and the service was great.

Located in a strip mall, the Binnys sign juts out as a beacon in a sea of mediocre retail establishments. Once inside, past the entrance, it was dense with liquor gift packs. along the wall was the first beer shelf, followed by several more the further back you go. There were full lines from many craft brewers, up first was the majority of Allagash 750 series, and some local sixers from Emmetts and Argus caught my eye further down. Local beers had a shelf tag stating that they were made in Chicago or the surrounding area, which I thought was cool. Often the locals can get lost in a sea of big brands. I won't get into the specifics of the selection, but the Naperville Binnys hit all possible styles. Berliner Weisse, Gueuze, Double IPA, Imperial Stout, Saison, Wild Ales, you name it. I left with some Emmetts Victory Pale (0209=July '10 bottling, 6 months old :/), some obscure Euro imports, DFH Namaste, and a couple other things. Plenty of obscure imports: Scandinavian, Euro, German, English (XXXB, Lees Harvest, Elizabethan), and more. Everything was freshly dusted, though I didn't check dates on everything.

Nate was the beer guy, and was great to talk to. While I was browsing, he talked beer with another customer, and answered my questions thoroughly. Overall a very positive experience here.

12-06-2010 00:46:16 | More by emerge077

AleWatcher

Illinois

4.08/5  rDev +5.4%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | $$$

So yeah, it's a Binny's.
It looks like a Binny's... Carries all the beers a Binny's carries, and has the EXACT pricing as every other location (is this set by corporate or what?)

If you've already been in a Binny's store, you'll know what to expect here... Look for good deals and you'll find some. Look only for the newest beers and you'll overpay on a few.

In my visits the staff was friendly and cool. They seemed knowledgeable too.

This is another store that gets some beers the Plainfield location doesn't-- and the beer arrives here two to 3 weeks before it hits Plainfield or Orland.

Worth stopping by if you're in the area-- especially if you stop in during one of the "beer month" sales.

08-19-2011 14:28:42 | More by AleWatcher

mikes2923

Illinois

4/5  rDev +3.4%
quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4

Granted in a perfect world I would be able to find an ample supply of any and all my favorite beers and Binny's can't claim to do that... but they come as close as any store in the area. And they regularly hold pretty good sales on beers like Sam Adams, Leinenkugel's and Berghoff's that are definitely a step up from the macro's that you find on sale in the grocery stores!

01-10-2003 11:49:21 | More by mikes2923

tgbljb

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +3.4%
quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$

My second trip to a Binny's during a recent visit to the area. When you are used to dealing the beer laws in Pennsylvania, any type of store like this is heaven. There were lots of NA micro brews. There was also a large selection of Eastern European beers. Belgians were also well represented. All the stock looked fresh. The most dissapointing thing was the limitedf ability to buy singles. I did enjoy the visit and left with a nice selection. If you could combine there representation of local beers wuth the convenince of singles at State Line, you would have the perfect store.

05-27-2008 21:54:37 | More by tgbljb

kmpitz2

Tennessee

3.85/5  rDev -0.5%
quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | $$$

Stopped in here while in the area a few weekends ago. This place has a supermarkey-like feel to it. They had quite a bit of brew on display, with a large selection of eastern European brews, due to the ethnicity of the area. There were most of the usualy suspects here, with a few nice brews that I was looking for like Unibroue Ephemere Black Currant. There was not a person to be found to help us while there, but it was pretty strait forward. Overall, this was a nice little shop to hit. If you are in the area its worth hitting, but don't go out of your way to get there.

05-02-2005 22:22:39 | More by kmpitz2

Flippindiscs

Illinois

3.85/5  rDev -0.5%
quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | $$

Another great selection of craft micro brews. They have many types of beer that other stores just don't have. I always seem to spend to much money when I go to Binny's. It is great on weekends when they offer sampling and have been given free cigars as well. I have had issues with them questioning my Id more then once which is a little annoying but I guess they are heavily checked by the local municipality.

Always plan on brining extra cash for those exotic beers when shopping at Binny's. I always love picking up some Big Sky since it is hard to find else where

04-04-2009 22:16:44 | More by Flippindiscs

livin4jc

Illinois

3.75/5  rDev -3.1%
quality: 4.5 | service: 2 | selection: 4.5

Binny's has recently renovated their store. It is a plain store, but does have a good selection of beers. Their prices are in line with the new Sam's Wine out in nearby Downer's Grove and in Chicago. However, the service is quite poor except at the registers. They are not very friendly at all. They have the staff dusting the shelves and they will walk right in front of you and even dust the display you are looking at. They do have a good selection of beer and hide the malt crap in back. Of course, every time I go have no trouble loading up the cart. However, their Glen Ellyn store is much friendlier.

08-26-2004 00:51:40 | More by livin4jc

RunDWP

California

3.7/5  rDev -4.4%
quality: 4 | service: 2.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$$

I was in town visiting family and friends from California, and dropped in here to see what local stuff I could take back to California. The answer was plenty.

Lots of stuff from Great Lakes Brewing, Goose Island, Capital City, Hoppin' Frog,stuff from Michigan, and it was a bit of a challenge getting it all in my suitcase. They also had stuff from Canada, East Coast, Colorado, California, pretty much all over. Selection was comparable to a typical BevMo! one might find in the Western United States, but with less emphasis west of the Mississippi, and more emphasis east of it. A lot of selections were refridgerated, but most of their inventory was not, if that is important to you. All the non-refridgerated stuff I bought tasted pretty good.

It's a big box store, so service was pretty limited, to the cashiers in front.

Next time I'm in town, I'll definately make a stop here.

11-26-2008 15:49:16 | More by RunDWP

zjungleist

Illinois

3.65/5  rDev -5.7%
quality: 3.5 | service: 3 | selection: 4.5 | $$$

Located in an average strip mall, this liquor store had the atmosphere of an ordinary grocery store. I was nearly dissapointed when I saw the coolers, which were about half the size of my local store. It actually took a little bit of searching to find the beer shelves. And once I found those, I was nearly dissapointed again, because I thought there was only a modest selection of mirco/import 6packs. But after even more searching, I finally found all the beer in the store, and I do have to say the selection was a bit impressive. The draw back is that it's not intuitive to find it all. You could easily miss an aisle or two. It was somewhat well organized, with the previously mentioned section for sixers, an area for imported bombers, an area for mirco bombers, and an area for belgain style ales and lambics. Other than a good beer selection, there was of course wine and liquor, a special wine cellar for the pricey bottles, a walk in cigar humidor, and a little deli. There were two pretty sizable drawbacks to this place, though. One being price, which I found to be a little high on items I am familiar with. The other being quality, and the reason I say so is because... I found a number of beers that I knew to be out of season. After seeing that, I was sure to only buy beers that had
"bottled on" dates. Overalll, I'd go back if I was in the area, but I won't be going out of my way.

05-09-2006 22:35:34 | More by zjungleist

MrMcGibblets

Illinois

3.65/5  rDev -5.7%
quality: 3.5 | service: 3 | selection: 4.5 | $$$

nice selection but you just get a feeling that there is nobody here on-site with any care for the beers. somebody in corporate has it brought in and that's it. there are a lot of beers to choose from, but nobody knows a goddamn thing about beer here from my experience, and that's not being a snob, just wanting to know stuff like "do you have more of this in the back" type questions. some of the stuff is dusty and i'm not talking vintage ales. i would expect with binny's buying power that better deals would be available also.
july 2007 update-they opened up a whole new section of bombers which is nice. they even have munsterfest which i presume to be last fall's. prices tend to be either the same or a bit higher than most other places. there are a couple regular stock dudes here who enjoy craft beer.

04-10-2007 04:53:23 | More by MrMcGibblets