Whole Foods Market

Augustiner719

Connecticut

3.55/5  rDev -13.4%
quality: 4 | service: 2.5 | selection: 4 | $$$

Stopped in here today after long hearing about this place and its great growler and beer selection. After walking in, you immediately see a large circle bar with growlers all around it with various tap lines. growlers come in 32 and 64 ounces and are reasonable priced. Beers along the walls in refrigerated and warm sections vary from local craft to imports and are well designated. Prices were a bit high, usually on the 6 packs but single prices for bombers were in line at least with NYC prices. I picked up some saison du buff there and a couple of pretty things items are reasonable prices. Staff help was ok, but nothing spectacular by any means. one of the guys answered questions nicely while the other seemed to be just pissed off and non chalant with trying to help anyone. This place does have a great selection but its noting i would travel into NYC just to go to. 32oz fills are a plus though especially since they are easy to finish off solo.

07-19-2010 01:42:59 | More by Augustiner719

bobsy

Ontario (Canada)

3.7/5  rDev -9.8%
quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | $$$$

So this was a little confusing. I enter Whole Foods full of great expectations, yet find only a quarter of an aisle dedicated to beer. WTF? This can't be! Well it isn't... I ask one of the employees if there's more beer anywhere in the store, and he directs me past the checkouts and into a separate annexe. I find myself in a moderately sized room with bottles on three sides and surrounding a growler-fill station in the middle. Great selection of US and international beers. Service was okay, but didn't really ask if I needed help or show any interest in the other customers. Prices were New York level, which is to say, ridiculously expensive compared to the rest of the States, I picked up bombers Bruery Saison Rue, Lagunitas Hop Stoopid, B.O.R.I.S. the Crusher and some decent singles.

Pretty good, but you'll find it very pricey unless you're a New Yorker.

08-06-2009 18:32:00 | More by bobsy

Buebie

Minnesota

3.7/5  rDev -9.8%
quality: 2.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

There are several areas of the store to find beers. There is a main beer room, and several coolers littering the store with singles and stuff not in the main beer room.
The beer in the main room seems to have more sunlight exposure then desired. I pulled most of my stuff from coolers inside the store and away from light. The stuff in the main room I pulled from the floor area of the storage racks away from the light. But the room they keep stuff in is sketchy for beer storage, way to much sunlight exposure.

The staff was friendly and helpful. There were 6 growler pour stations in the main room. I've never seen this before and found it very appealing. Prices were good and almost better then bomber prices in Minnesota. Some of the bombers were in the $4 range.

Next time I'll check out new beer. We were on a serious time limit, so I had to be quick. Took the train from the hotel down to bowery and the stop was right there at WF bowery. Made it easier carrying all that beer back to the hotel. Round trip including shopping was about an hour.

Quality gets average due to the sunlit room and exposed bottles.

09-30-2009 18:56:22 | More by Buebie

SpeedwayJim

New York

3.75/5  rDev -8.5%
quality: 4.5 | service: 2.5 | selection: 4 | $$$

Whole Foods on East Houston is the better of the two that I've been to (the other being in Union Square).
There's a whole beer area here with three walls covered in exotic Belgians, German, and American beers along with a couple of others. The beer is kept at a good temperature and they even have a growler fill station with 3 or 4 taps. The service is ok considering its a supermarket but really, you'd be better served asking one of the other patrons about a certain beer selection or recommendation than the people working there.
Value again is a bit pricey as $10.99 for a 750ml Lindemann's and $4.99 for a 12oz. St. Bernardus Abt 12 goes to show especially since New Beer is just down the street.

In terms of selection, much better than the Whole Foods in Union Square but still, if you're looking for hard to finds and a better deal, you're better served going to New Beer about a 5 minute walk away.

09-21-2009 02:58:03 | More by SpeedwayJim

papat444

Quebec (Canada)

3.8/5  rDev -7.3%
quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$

Visited Oct. 10.

After hitting New Beer, this place seemed a breath of fresh air. Well lit, clean and lots of space made it easier to shop. Sampled a few French beers and chatted with the woman who was happy to speak french with us. Scored a free glass with a purchase of a single bottle of Jenlain Ambrée. A lot of shelves are against the window so i would be careful of what i chose because who knows how long they've been exposed to the sunlight.

Prices seem to be in line with New Beer but maybe a tad better. Selection is a bit less than than New Beer but still pretty solid. My only knock is that they don't break up six-packs but it's not that bad because they have a decent selection of singles, imports and bombers also. Saw some dust a little bit but otherwise cleaner than New Beer. There was also a growler station with a few Southern Tier beers.

Overall, this place is easier to shop but selection is a bit less than New Beer. Worth checking out for sure especially if you're going to New Beer as it's only a few blocks away.

10-15-2009 12:36:19 | More by papat444

knightlypint

3.84/5  rDev -6.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$$

Nice place to buy beer, spacious. Neighborhood isn't the best, and this WF is a bit off the beaten track. Right across Houston St from DBGB.

I've found the quality of the bottled beers to be as good as it can be; however, I've run across a few bottles of Brits which were beyond their BB4 date. They have coolers but most beers are stored at room temperature. Windows are shaded.

Service is friendly and helpful, although a few of the guys haven't been sufficiently enlightened about beer.

I'd say the best beer selection I've come across in Manhattan, south of 86th St. Selection not quite as extensive as some beer shops in northern NJ but it will more than do. Not as good as Happy Deli either, although HD is OOB. The stock is broken out by nation...US, Belgian, German, UK, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, etc....this helps. My only real criticism is they heavily favor recognizable brand names, with only a small dose of novel stuff. About as good as it gets in Manhattan.

No food.

$5 for a bottle of standard Sam Smith, I consider that a bit pricey. Orkneys are running $6 or $7 a bottle, but Dark Island is available for $5...which is nice. Old Peculiar and Riggwelter for $5 a pint. This is the kind of place you go to for stocking up on solid beers, but figure $6/pint and $12 or $13 for a six. Can't wait for inflation to hit.

04-19-2012 18:01:59 | More by knightlypint

mangledorf

Minnesota

3.85/5  rDev -6.1%
quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | $$$

The beer room at Whole Foods Bowery has come a long way. When it first opened a couple years ago, I entered to find a very friendly Whole Foods employee shuffling around the room. He showed me the Brooklyn Brewery taps for growlers. Impressed by such a nice looking store I started to ask him if he had this beer or that beer. His reply was always, ``Oh yeah, that's on our list." or ``No, we don't have that, but it's on our list."

I got the feeling this list didn't exist, and even that he had no idea what I was talking about.

This is no longer the case. The beer room staff is strictly beer room and knowledgeably friendly. The growler taps are far more rare and exciting than the original line up. Though the prices are heavy, $12.99 for half a gallon of Captain Lawrence etc. (New Beer around the corner had the same Capt. Law. on tap for $6.99 one time).

That said, the Whole Foods Bowery Beer Room is open late. Nearly every friday they host breweries. The taps change rather monthly. I'm glad they're here, though I usually only bother if I don't like what's at New Beer, or it's too late. Hey, it's a recession, right?

10-30-2008 06:40:54 | More by mangledorf

DrJay

Massachusetts

3.85/5  rDev -6.1%
quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | $$

I noticed the beer through the window while walking by and decided to stop in to see what was available. I was glad I did and now this is a regular stop whenever I head down to Katz's Deli.

They had a great selection of regional craft beers and many selections from across the US. Plenty of imports too. Lots to keep you interested as long as you're looking for regular releases - I didn't notice much in the way of special release or very hard to find beers. But that's fine. One of the best features of the store is the growler station where you have a choice of ~6 beers from the local region.

Service has been fine whenever I've visited. The only thing that's a bit unfortunate is the storage of some of the beer. Although there are several coolers along the back wall (which is good), some of the room temperature beer is stored against the windows on one side of the store. They've tried to block the sunlight, but it still makes me uneasy. That being said, I've purchased many bottles from that section and have never run across any problems.

I probably wouldn't make a trip here specifically to buy beer, but if you're in the area already it's worth taking a look. Especially for the growlers.

12-28-2008 21:06:10 | More by DrJay

david18

New York

3.85/5  rDev -6.1%
quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | $

Whole Foods' biggest problem is the proximity to what has to be the best beer store in the city and possibly the east coast. That said, it's still probably the second best beer store in the City. Good selection, VERY knowledgable and enthusiastic staff. Very good selection of california and belgian, a little less of the more obscure, midwestern breweries. The biggest problem is that many of the 12 oz options (can and bottles) need to be sold in sixpacks and can't be bought individually.

They also have growlers with all local beers and rotating taps very often.

09-21-2009 21:11:15 | More by david18

NYCWheatFanSC

New York

3.85/5  rDev -6.1%
quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | $$$$

The only other good craft brew store in Manhattan other than New Beer, which is only three blocks away down Chrystie St. I only go to WF Beer Room if I can't find something at New Beer, a local family run joint whose prices and selection have never been beaten.

Overall, this place has a pretty decent selection of international brews, as well as many domestics. Way more domestic 6'ers than bombers, which I'm typically hunting for. They always get some of the rare releases which is nice, but they are always way pricey. They also do growlers, and normally have some pretty good stuff on tap.

The guys in the beer room seem to have some basic beer knowledge from what I've seen, which is nice considering WF could have staffed this place with baggers if they wished.

12-12-2009 02:18:53 | More by NYCWheatFanSC