Healthy Spirits

jkane101

New Jersey

5/5  rDev +9.6%
quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | $$

What can I say about Healthy Spirits...other than this is now and forever will be my "Go To" place in San Fran..
here's my story...
So while browsing the forums I noticed that Rami of Healthy Spirits has just posted that he has a limited number of bottle from Russian River in..just a few of each. Me, living in NJ, started thinking "how the fuck can I get my hands on these bad boys" without performing some kind of Fantastic Four stretchy-man act.
Then it hit me...isnt my ex-wife in SF on a business trip??? HELL YEAH she is...
So a few sweet text messages to butter her up and BINGO...she's willing to be my beer mule!
Now I gotta get in touch with Rami and see if we can work out how to get her the beers since she's in a day long meeting.
I call Rami...and he is, in a word, unbelievable.
First he tells me what he has...then he puts the beers I want to the side. He tells me if it comes to it he'll find a way to get the beer to her hotel...are you kidding me? He's awesome.

Anyway...as it turns out my ex is able to get out of her meeting early and take a cab there. She's on the phone with me the whole time while Rami and her are adding to the order... being a beer drinker herself she also wanted a few of these goodies.

So there's my tale....
an exceptional store with exceptional people working it.
Thank You Rami!!
and hey...thank you to my ex-wife, Kanesty, for being a good sport.

05-12-2008 20:41:38 | More by jkane101

elNopalero

Texas

4.8/5  rDev +5.3%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | $$

This place is tucked away in a residential part of SF near the Castro. While I’ve heard about it for some time I found it by wandering around. Happy accidents!

I consider myself a beer geek but I was amazed at their selection—imports upon imports that I have never encountered elsewhere. How do they do it? Of course expect to pay a premium for these bottles. The staff was friendly and inviting. And to be honest he seemed like he wanted to geek out with everyone who came in. It was a nice touch to see the employees share in the enthusiasm.

12-02-2012 03:17:11 | More by elNopalero

JosephThompson

New Jersey

4.3/5  rDev -5.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$

In essence, it's a kick ass corner store. On offer other then beer they have a good spread of cheeses for pairings, also some chocolates, and other assorted food provisions.

The focus is certainly on Belgians and Belgian-style. For the size of the place, what they fill it with is very impressive. Cooler lined walls on one side opposite the cheese counter and checkout area. Four or five smaller racks with room temp selections. All your traditional labels are here but they've got most other places beat when they add in a label from a brewery you don't normally see in the States.

Sunday afternoon I was the only one in store and service was very good. Learned that they'll be opening a new store in the next couple of weeks which tells you enough about how people feel about this store.

A very good stop for anyone visiting SF.

09-28-2012 16:01:56 | More by JosephThompson

SpdKilz

Illinois

4.71/5  rDev +3.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | $$$

Was only in SF for technically a day and made this a “must go” place for me. Located a few miles from my hotel I found parking right in front of the store.

I walked in around 2pm on a Tuesday. The store was empty except for the man behind the desk who greeted me promptly. The store has lots of fun things besides beer (ice cream, dips, other random food and wine). It is well laid out for such a small store and everything looks clean and new. Presentation was also good with various racks of beers and other things displayed nicely. The selection was fantastic. There were quite a few “rare” beers that I was surprised to see (including Dépuceleuse, BB Old Dipsea, Brettanomyces Lambicus, Danation 23, etc.). Needless to say I was there for quite some time to make sure I saw everything they had to offer.

The gentleman behind the counter was extremely nice and as I struck up a conversation with him I could tell he was genuinely into beer and keeping his store stocked with the best stuff. He was very sincere when he thanked me for complimenting him on his selection.

Overall, a great experience and great beer store. The “hype” of this store is true because as stated, I found some great things I was not expecting in the least, and the people there are great. A must stop if in SF.

02-08-2012 04:54:11 | More by SpdKilz

nrpellegrini

Maryland

4.78/5  rDev +4.8%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | $$

A: Store is small and cozy, a little tight in some spots but it has a great feel.

Q: The quality of all the product in the store was excellent, maybe a few dusty bottles.. but hey I like my beer aged.

S: I was asked if I need help or suggestions. Talked with the owner for a while and found a common interest in the Foodery back home.

S: Selection was great, everything they had was awesome but the store was small. More would have been nicer, but it was still great.

V: I expected to pay exactly what I did. Most places now do a 6 pack discount for mixing.. I can't remember if they had that going when I visited.

12-17-2011 22:17:57 | More by nrpellegrini

emerge077

Illinois

4.41/5  rDev -3.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Healthy spirits offers an exceptional selection of beers, coupled with even more impressive service. What looks like a corner store with a faded Chimay sign on a residential corner turns out to be a treasure trove of imports and local craft beers. A center row of islands holds quite a few single bottles, and the coolers on the left are full of sixers, bombers, and import singles. An inordinate number of magnums and jerobaums here if you're looking for a party starter.

Rami gave some excellent recommendations and advice, not to mention an extra on top of our purchase. Very helpful in picking some local beers to try.

Selection was varied, plenty of imports from the Shelton portfolio, Mikkeller, Italian stuff from B. United, Hitachino, Jolly Pumpkin, Strubbe, Yo-Ho, Drakes, High Water, Russian River, and plenty more. Felt like a kid in a candy store again...

10-08-2011 04:46:08 | More by emerge077

skimoore

France

3.88/5  rDev -14.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$$

Whenever I am back in San Francisco and looking to stock up on good beers to bring home, I check out the selection at Healthy Spirits. They have a great selection of the usual suspects of quality beers from Stone, Russian River, Lost Abbey, Port, Lagunitas and many more. Even some rare Italian stuff. They have a very impressive bourbon selection as well. If you're hungry they have a really good bagel sandwich. If you can't find a specific beer you're looking for, it's worth asking because they might have it hidden in the back somewhere.

09-25-2011 11:29:11 | More by skimoore

OBeerMeGreatOne

California

4.6/5  rDev +0.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 5 | service: 4 | selection: 5 | $$$

I've been to Healthy Spirits a few times now and feel I should finally review it. It looks like a beer store, enough room to explore the selection. Both the gentlemen I've met weren't super open but, to be honest, trip one, he was talking to boss or owner about what new brews he was ordering. Understandable, it's a beer store. Second time I had to approach the dude, but a good brew conversation insued. The selection is top notch, rivaled only by City Beer Store (my opinion of course). Short list of beers obtained: HOTD Blue Dot, Ola Dubh 20, 30 and 40, Port Mongo and Zuur. I'm poor and not on the ball, so I missed or could not afford some of the choice brews. Got a free cloth bottle bag on my first trip too. Very worth finding.

07-29-2011 00:43:34 | More by OBeerMeGreatOne

FoxiBoxi

Florida

4.95/5  rDev +8.6%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 4.5 | $$

Visited Healthy Spirits on my Honeymoon last month. I found it on beer advocate, and the website they had set up looked promising.

Upon arrival, I had a list from the website that I was in search of. They had everything on the list. This is a freak occurence if you're used to hoping that stock matches the website at liquor stores. The gentleman behind the counter was courteous and extremely helpful. I needed help locating everything on the list, even though the store is quite cozy. The selection isn't massive like a chain, but doesn't need to be, because they have stocked everything that a beer lover would ask to find.

They make their own hummus in house and we tried a few. They were all fresh, some spicy and others sweet, and would have gone great with an ice cold beer.

We ended up shipping about 15 bottles home from this store, and are so glad that we went out of our way to find it.

06-28-2011 20:15:15 | More by FoxiBoxi

mikul93

California

3.73/5  rDev -18.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | $$$$

As soon as you walk in you see beer! There is a pretty nice sized cooler filled with a large variety. There were a lot of bottles that I didn't recognize so I was there for a bit, studying each one. They also have a decent glass ware section in the front. Prices seemed reasonable. Parking was a pain but it's the city. The guy behind the register greeted me when I walked in and let me browse without hassling me. Some places can be a little pesky. They must have one of the best selections in the city. That being said, their prices can be a outrageous. They tend to mark up a lot of their beer, especially the limited releases. I've stopped going for this reason.

06-27-2011 04:40:59 | More by mikul93