Healthy Spirits

david131

Michigan

4.65/5  rDev +2%
quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | $$$

I was in town visiting a friend and decided to swing in. The place specializes in beer, whiskey, and hummus. When I first walked in I was greeted with a stand of beers containing some rarer oddities such as Black Albert and some local offerings. Some other breweries that were stocked were Chimay, Trappistes Rochefort, Russian River, Ballast Point, Alesmith, Stone, Mikkeller, St. Bernardus, Oskar Blues, Hair of the Dog, Deschutes, Ommegang, The Bruery, Avery, Port Brewing, Dogfish Head, Big Sky... I could go on. They seemed to stock some of the harder to find offerings from these breweries, although I was bummed to find out that they did not have any Pliny the Elder. David, the beer manager, was very knowledgeable and helpful and even pointed me towards Toronado to get some Pliny. Most of the beer was in the cooler and the only thing that seemed a little off quality wise was some of the beers on the racks being pretty exposed to sunlight. They offer a 10% discount on any combination of 6 bottles, but I still ended up spending quite a bit. Definitely worth checking out.

06-01-2010 00:45:43 | More by david131

corby112

Pennsylvania

4.65/5  rDev +2%
quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | $$$

Stopped by here on a recent trip to the Bay Area. Pretty large corner bottle shop with a very large selection of craft beers. They have a center aisle with a lot of room temperature bottles and about six cooler of additional bottles. The selection was pretty solid but the prices were a bit higher here than everywhere else in the area. Some of the highlights were Abyss, Mirror Mirror, Black Butte XXI, Marin Dipsea, Gales Prize Old Ale 1998 vintage, Cuvee de Tomme, New Belgium Lips of Faith series, Full Sail beers and a large selection of Belgian and Scandinavian beers. They also have quite a few different magnums for sale. The guys working here were very knowledgeable and friendly and I spent a good bit of time just talking to them about beer. I really liked this place and would highly recommend it even if the prices are a bit steeper than others.

01-16-2010 09:59:30 | More by corby112

radshoesbro

California

3.85/5  rDev -15.6%
quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | $$

Heard a lot about this place, and it was recommended by my friend Alex (checkii), so I had fairly high expectations.

First off, it's small. Only about five or six coolers and a few racks. Gourmet cheeses and ice creams, plus wine and beer. Good, friendly service and they seem knowledgeable about beer.

Fair number of belgians that aren't available in San Diego, so I was excited about that! The prices seem about average for a lot of their higher end beers. Otherwise, their selection was pretty moderate. The size sort of kills the amount of excellent beers they can have. Obviously they're going to need to carry the more pedestrian beers as it's their businesses bread and butter.

All in all this is a good place to have in the neighborhood, but if I lived here I'd be somewhat disappointed.

01-10-2010 22:12:27 | More by radshoesbro

jophish17

Georgia

4.55/5  rDev -0.2%
quality: 5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$$

Reviewed with both a visit in fall 08 and a shipped order earlier this year

What more can be said about this great shop. This place is among the best to get all the great west coast beers. Russian River, Deschutes, HOTD, Firestone Walker and then possibly the best selection of Belgians on the west coast. They also specialize in bourbon so that makes this southern dude approve. The staff is incredibly helpful, though it did take a while on my online order to get everything completed and shipped out. Some things can get pricey but its San Fran and Im happy to support such great beer advocates. A great craft beer store

12-04-2009 06:09:35 | More by jophish17

Falcon91Wolvrn03

California

4.93/5  rDev +8.1%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.75 | $$$

I visited all the top rated Beer Advocate beer stores in the Bay Area, and I believe Healthy Spirits has the best selection of beer on the San Francisco Peninsula (although several beer stores in the East Bay Area have more, such as Perry's in Livermore which has the best Bay Area selection).

They have a great website (http://healthy-spirits.blogspot.com/), which includes their beer prices (a HUGE bonus), and it lets you know when beers are out of stock.

The staff is very friendly and knowledgeable. They even sell some pretty decent food & snacks if you're hungry, and will often put food out (like cheese) to sample.

Definitely worth stopping in to see the selection. I picked up many great hard to find beers here.

11-06-2009 06:17:59 | More by Falcon91Wolvrn03

number1bum

Pennsylvania

4.7/5  rDev +3.1%
quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$$

Stopped here while in San Fran to pick up a few goodies to take home. It was easy to park nearby and easy to find. There was a sign boasting over 550 beers, and pretty much none of it was crap. Very impressive selection of regional and national micros, including about 5 different Russian River selections and lots of other limited stuff. I picked up some Deschutes Black Butte XI and some new Nectar Ales Black Xantus. Also saw a few remaining bottles of last year's Bruery Partridge in a Pear Tree which the guy there said was flying out the door. There was too much great stuff and I didn't have enough room (or money) to take nearly enough of it home. Lots of Belgians as well, and just a very high quality selection overall.

The guy behind the counter was chatty and helpful, and if I had had any more questions I have no doubt that he would have been more than willing to help. Seemed to know his shit, too, which was a good sign. Prices seemed a bit high, although there was a 10% off discount for buying 6 or more bottles. Even given the discount prices were maybe a touch high, but the quality and selection were well worth it. I'd absolutely stop here again next time I'm in town.

10-15-2009 01:00:36 | More by number1bum

wd40

New York

3.35/5  rDev -26.5%
quality: 3.5 | service: 2 | selection: 4.5 | $$$

The shop is very clean and tidy. There is a long string of refridgerators on the left wall as you enter the store with beer, some wine and sake as well as some soft drinks. There is a counter where you can get food on the right, which is also where the register is located. Between the two walls are stand alone shelving units which have beers are room temperature. I believe that there is little to no crossover between what is in the fridge and what is on the shelves. There are a number of very good and hard to find beers (at least hard for me to find!) as well as good beers or beers that are just ok.

They had beers from hair of the dog, north coast, some russian river, bear republic, lost abbey, cantillon, st. bernardus among others.

Although I think the store has its good points, I have to mention that I did not feel particularly welcome in this store due to the attitude of the clerk. Also the person working in the store had very little knowledge about beer. If you know what you want and are willing to pay a few dollars more for it, this is the place to go.

07-19-2009 02:36:49 | More by wd40

Jmoore50

Nevada

4.7/5  rDev +3.1%
quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$$

This place boasts to have more that 555 beers available. When you walk into this small place you wonder where? Then you start to look in the fridge and wonder how they have packed so many things into a tight spot. So overall it is great. They have brews that I have never ever heard of. They have really expensive foreign brews and really expensive local brews. It is really pricey. So the people that work there are great, one of the dudes says he has tried one of everything, so that was incredibly helpful. Overall a great place and a place I wish I had locally.
J

07-09-2009 01:30:02 | More by Jmoore50

clvand0

Kentucky

4.85/5  rDev +6.4%
quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | $$$

Healthy Spirits has become a normal stop for me when I'm in the San Francisco area. The staff (only three people) are very knowledgeable and are always willing to make suggestions and give opinions.

This is a fairly small store, but they have some great stuff packed in here. They carry Boon, Deschutes, Port Brewing, Shipyard, Russian River, Hair of the Dog, Mikeller, Nogne O, and tons of Belgians.

The prices are a little high, but the beers are first class and priced appropriately.

This is a must see place if you're in the area.

07-02-2009 04:01:07 | More by clvand0

raoulduke37

California

4.85/5  rDev +6.4%
quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | $$$

Located right in the Castro district, I would have driven right by this place if it didn't have a Chimay flag out in front - the place is tiny, but the selection is nothing short of astounding.

While here, I picked up RR Beatification, JW Lees Vintage Harvest Ale 1999, Gouden Carolus Cuvee, Gouden Carolus Noel, and DFH Palo Santo Marron. Most of the beers are refrigerated, too.

I didn't get to meet the famed Dave while there, but this place was well worth the trip. Do not pass up this gem of a store if you are in the city.

04-01-2009 22:17:10 | More by raoulduke37