Liquor Depot

Choppr

New Jersey

5/5  rDev +13.9%
quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | $$

This is one of the most well stocked stores I have ever seen in terms of variety and volume. I currently live in NJ and there are several well stocked locations around me... I have been to several stores in CT and this one is by far the best I have seen. They have a huge cooler wall with a decent selection as well as many variety 12 packs. They also have a room temp section with everything from Ales to Weiss'. The prices are very resonable and are generally better that what I find in NJ. I highly recommend this place if you are anywhere near the Simsbury area. I picked up a Hooker Imperial Porter (4), a Farmington River Blonde (6), a Ommegang gift pack and a Raspberry Lambic. Look for the reviews in the coming week(s).

11-07-2010 21:28:44 | More by Choppr

TheMan

5/5  rDev +13.9%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | $$

The best place to shop for anything. Wine, Beer, Whiskey, or whatever. Excellent selection. Have been going there since the day they opened. Top notch.
The staff is great in recommending anything you may want.
I have tried wines from $10.00 to $500.00 and have never been dissatisfied..
I am not a big beer drinker, but I do like a good beer once in a while. They have always turned me on to great beers.
Do not hesitate in trying the place out.
You will be amazed at the selection and the staffs knowledge.
I would give them a 10 if I could.

03-29-2012 14:18:26 | More by TheMan

jeffthecheff

Connecticut

4.7/5  rDev +7.1%
quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Great beer store. The selection is the biggest in the area. They have a good six pack selection and will usually have what I'm looking for. It's not big enough to go too far out of your way, unless your looking for imports. There is a section in the back, sorted by country, that has a lot of the obscure imports. I've found a good amount of limited release stuff here too.

The glassware selection here is amazing. I think I've bought most of my glassware from here, including a Rochefort chalice which I haven't seen anywhere else. They do weekly beer and wine tastings here, which is nice. There is a "beer guy" here that I've talked to once and had some suggestions for me. They have a monthly e-mail list here, which just has the info they put on the fliers near the beer coolers.

This is a good place to check out for a large beer selection and great glassware. I go here whenever I'm in the area, so it makes up a lot of my beer shopping.

02-26-2010 01:34:17 | More by jeffthecheff

DNICE555

Connecticut

4.7/5  rDev +7.1%
quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

If you are supposed to review beers within their styles(for example compare an ipa to an ipa and not an ipa to a stout) then I believe you should review stores within their states. Comparing a CT store to an IL store or even a MA for that matter is unfair. Distribution is not something the stores can control. This is the best beer store I have been to in CT. They have a great selection of every brewery that distributes to CT. Their prices are on point for my area. They have an awesome selection of glassware for great prices (1.99 for the pint glasses). The beer manager "Dave" is very knowledgeable and a very cool guy. Some of the cashiers in the store aren't the friendliest but ahhh who cares... the beer guy is cool. My go to spot in CT.

03-17-2010 19:56:45 | More by DNICE555

BlueHammer

Connecticut

4.65/5  rDev +5.9%
quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | $$

Wow, I love this place! I walked in and was immediately impressed. Their selection is wide, especially for this area. Normally, I have to travel up to the Boston area to find some of the craft brews they had in stock. There is a wide selection of refrigerated beers and an even larger section against the wall in the back. Additionally, Liquor Depot carries an assortment of glassware and steins.

Some notables include St. Bernardus, the Chouffes, the Chimays.... Unfortunately not too many of some popular Americans like Rogue. They had a variety of mixed packs in the fridge section, including ones you don't normally find in the regular liquor stores, like Long Trail and Ipswich.

Staff was knowlegable - we got to talking with one of the guys as he packaged up our stuff and he definitely knew what he was talking about. I head up this way for virtually all my beer needs now!

09-06-2006 20:43:07 | More by BlueHammer

far333

Connecticut

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

A mecca in an otherwise fairly uninspired area for craft beer. There are a few places in town to get decent beer, but none as large as this relative newcomer and none with as vast a selection, or depth of styles offered for each brand.

American craft beers are well-represented, including many relatively new entrants to the area like North Coast, Bluegrass, and Avery. Also always have Olde Burnside growlers, plus Hooker 500ml seasonals, 6-packs and mix packs. There is also a great selection of imports, including the standard German and English items, plus a vast selection from Poland, France, Russia, Japan, and of course Belgium. They also have the widest selection of organic beers I've seen anywhere.

The staff is helpful and knowledgeable, and happy to order new selections based on customer requests. Prices also seem to be a bit lower than in other area stores. Beer tastings are held on most Fridays and Saturday evenings. Open 6 days a week until 9pm.

02-24-2007 20:24:31 | More by far333

fredandboboflo

New York

4.4/5  rDev +0.2%
quality: 5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $

Nice spot, seems to be newish, so I figured I'd give it a review after a long hiatus.

Awesome glassware selection, including Rochefort and Westmalle goblets, the funny looking Lindeman's flutes, many, many others, all 2 or 3 bucks each except for Rochefort ($6, but who knows how long those will be around).

Beer selection is top of the line, Rochefort, Bernardus, Cantillon, 3 Fonteinen among others. Very little missing from the Belgian section, although the American, German, U.K. sections could be hit or miss, not quite as extensive.

Still, all great stuff, and very competitive prices, usually just a touch under standard retail value for Greater Hartford, sometimes noticeably under.

05-24-2008 23:59:37 | More by fredandboboflo

marlinsfan4

Maryland

4.4/5  rDev +0.2%
quality: 5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

In my opinion, this is one of the best beer stores I've been to in CT. Located right off route 44 in Simsbury, it's a pretty big store with a large portion of it devoted to beer (kind of a bitch traffic wise to get out of this place, I recommend exiting out the exit in the back of the plaza). Every time I hear about a new beer being released this place will already have it.. no waiting for this one. Everything on the shelves is very fresh with a lot of cooler space if you want a quick cold one. At first I thought all the beer was just in the front left corner of the store in the coolers... but in the adjacent corner in the back there is an even bigger selection of warm six packs and 12 packs. If I remember correctly there is even BA ratings for some of the beers as well. Prices are pretty good, usually average or even a bit cheaper. Also, they usually have one big markdown for the week so you can get some obscure bomber or 6 pack for a huge bargain. Staff is always around but never seem to really ask you for help.. check out staff isn't the best but hey, I'm here for the beer selection.

07-06-2009 03:33:08 | More by marlinsfan4

Durge

Connecticut

4.35/5  rDev -0.9%
quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$

I don't live too close to Simsbury so this was my first visit by chance to Liquor Depot. What a great surprise. I would say it has arguably as good a selection as anywhere else in the state. A solid assortment of domestic micros, particularly the ones representing the Eastern US, and a great selection of imports of all varieties. It did seem that they had some obscure selections from the bigger micros like Dogfish and Magic Hat although they didn't necessarily have a comprehensive selection from any one of the brewers. New England is very well represented. I picked up a nice bomber of Bailey's Ale from Cisco Breweries on Nantucket. I thought they had a good number of bombers to select from and there were many unusual types of brews, not just brands. Be sure to check out the front left section which includes the coolers as well as the rear left of the store where there are many more selections, particularly imports on shelves and stacked cases. The store is well organized, neat and clean in keeping with the general neighborhood. There was a significant staff available on a Friday afternoon and several asked if I needed help. My only disappointment was that they were not too keen on breaking up six packs. The person I spoke to grimaced and said I could do it if I really wanted to but I could tell it wasn't encouraged at all. Although this is not so unusual, some bigger and better beer stores will do this now and I love it. Still, the selection here was good enough to make me forgive this easily and there were many singles and bombers to choose from on the shelves. They also have a pretty impressive collection of beer glassware with logos from micros and imports. They have some nice glasses and mugs and most are priced quite reasonably ($2-$4 each). Some local growlers are also on hand. They had some decent specials offered on cases for most of the higher volume micros as well as some macros. Considering the specialized selection and the upwardly mobile area, the prices weren't bargains but they were acceptable. I saw many beers that were totally new to me, primarily with the imports, and certainly some lesser known domestic items. I will definitely keep this stop in mind whenever I am heading anywhere near Simsbury. It's right on Route 202, on the left as you're heading west toward route 8. Grab a cart!

10-06-2007 03:25:28 | More by Durge

WhiteOak

Connecticut

4.35/5  rDev -0.9%
quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$$

I do business here fairly regularly because of the very good selection and good turn-over (fresh stock).

They constantly have beers that other stores say they can't (or won't) get. And if I ask for something different, or even just mention it, they usually just order it and bring it in. Listening to your customer is good business.

Very solid Belgian & British offerings. I can also find my favorites fron Avery, Great Divide, DFH, Southern Tier, Rogue...

Good selection of stemware too.

I will give them points for not storing their stock in direct sunlight like CBM by the mall.

04-30-2010 20:13:20 | More by WhiteOak