Vinnin Square Liquors

GarthDanielson

New Hampshire

4/5  rDev -3.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Oh, did I stumble into a great find here. My wife and I were in Salem for the day, and she needed to do some grocery shopping, so when we punched in Whole Foods into the GPS, I found Vinnin next door. I was delighted to find a great selection of brews from all over the US, as well as a ton from abroad. I only got a chance to peruse the selections from other countries, as my basket was already full of Lost Abbey and Port beers that I haven't had since we lived in SoCal. I will be going back, and next time I will have more space available. The beers were arranged in a fairly straightforward and easy way to browse, and the selection was impressive. One of the better beer selections I have seen since coming back to New England. I can't realy comment on the service, because all I had for interactions was checking out at the register, which went without issue. Didn't buy any food there, either, but I saw some snack stuff, as well as a good selection of cigars, if that is your thing. They also have a huge section of wine and liquor. Truly one stop shopping for those who are thirsty! Prices were very decent, and I am already putting together a mental list of my next trip.

10-23-2011 04:24:57 | More by GarthDanielson

Nuggethops

New Hampshire

4.24/5  rDev +2.2%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Vinnin Square Liquors is one of the best liquor stores on the north shore that I have had the pleasure of patronizing. It looks like a small warehouse from the outside with virtually no windows other than by the entry, a long way from where the beers are located at the rear left of the store so need to worry about bottles left sitting in the sunny window. There is a long aisle of bombers and singles and pretty much the entire back wall is beer coolers.

They have a large selection of domestic and imported craft beers with a full line of offerings from, Founders, Lagunitas, Pretty Things, Stone, Southern Tier, BBC, GI, the list goes on....picked up some shorts here as well. As large a selection of Belgians as I have seen anywhere in the area. i've picked up many different offerings from de struise, drie fonteinen, De Ranke, St bernardus, all of the trappist ales other than westvleteren are available as well.

The staff are courteous and seem knowledgeable of the inventory and the prices are competitive for the area.

Overall, I would say this is the place with the largest selection and most reasonable prices on the North Shore.

04-11-2011 05:35:15 | More by Nuggethops

LynnHomeBrewer

Massachusetts

4.3/5  rDev +3.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Love this store! Great beer selection for Imported crafts and domestic craft beers. The employees are very nice, helpful have some knowledge of most of what they are selling. Vinnin Sq. Liquors also has a nice cigar humidor stocked with a nice variety of stoggies. I good one stop for me as well as for you.

My one gripe is that I left a phone # to be contacted when Sierra Nevada's Hoptimum was in and was never contacted. I wont let one blip stop me from my travel from Lynn to Swampscott.

Prices here are some of the better ones around. Most of the craft beers I find here are 5¢ to a $1 cheaper then most stores I have been to, so far.

03-31-2011 03:15:55 | More by LynnHomeBrewer

Monkey962

Massachusetts

4.38/5  rDev +5.5%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4 | $$

This is the place that I consider my 'local', even though I live in the next town over. My only issue with this place is that it looks a bit worse for wear, thus the 3.5 for atmosphere. Then again, who's ever been to a classy liquor store? Every time I've had a question about a particular beer, it seems every employee is very knowledgeable. They all know where everything is located, and when I asked about a certain ale, he told me that it only shipped as far north as Pennsylvania. A whole aisle is devoted to room temp. beers, and the back wall contains chilled beers. Their selection is fairly extensive, with fairly full collections from Southern Tier, Stone Brewing, Dogfish Head, Smuttynose, and I was rather surprised to see a few bottles from UK breweries like Thornbridge and BrewDog.

02-22-2011 03:47:41 | More by Monkey962

stonermouse

Massachusetts

4.65/5  rDev +12%
quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | $$

Stopped in on Christmas Eve for the first time in years. I'm not sure why I stopped going here... it has to be the best all-around beer stop on the North Shore of MA.

When I went, they were still loaded up with Founders Breakfast Stout, which I hadn't seen on any other shelves for weeks. They had a couple Sculpin's hanging around (although I'm not sure how fresh), as well as a ton of Bourbon County Stout and a few Ballast Point Imperial Porters, all of which I hadn't seen around in a while, if at all. Above all, prices were slightly better than most smaller specialty shops, and the selection was large, with superb variety.

The staff seemed quite helpful, and was constantly replenishing shelves (the place was packed on this particular day, for the holidays of course).

12-27-2010 23:45:25 | More by stonermouse

ElijahCSkuggs

Massachusetts

4.35/5  rDev +4.8%
quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Decided to check Vinnin Square Liquors out the other day, and I was pretty damn impressed with their Import section. They had a slew of beers that I had no idea about. It was almost overwhelming in a way. Then I slowed down, told myself to get a grip, and I began to get under control. It's basically one big gigantic row of singles that will get you salivating with the quickness. They even had some Founders, which I haven't seen anywhere else in the North Shore areas of Mass. This place isn't the cheapest there is, but it's one of the best. I base it on the 750ml of La Fin Du Monde. I've found a place that sells it for 6.50. This place sells it for 6.99, and the most expensive place I know sells it for 7.99, but they also have the 4 pack, which no one else seems to carry. Anyways, I'm sure the service is good, but there was no one to be found when I was there. To conclude, this place is a great place to stop at if you're looking for some Importy goodness.

12-11-2010 22:12:18 | More by ElijahCSkuggs

Futility

Massachusetts

4.8/5  rDev +15.7%
quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | $

I have to say that this place changed me.  Everyone really knows their beer and wine there and are more than happy to talk to you about it.  Seek Gary though, as he is by far the most knowledgeable(especially belgians) beerguy I've ever met.  Super friendly and will always have a good recommendation.  Prices are incredible too, and much better than Marty's by several dollars a bottle.  My folks on the cape always ask me to pick up cases for them here when I go visit them because prices are so cheap.

01-14-2010 22:15:32 | More by Futility

NEhophead

Massachusetts

4.5/5  rDev +8.4%
quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$$

Located adjacent to Whole Foods which makes weekly beer and grocery shopping quite convenient. The beer selection is located to the rear left of the entrance. About 9 cooler doors house cold brews; half of which, are devoted to micros. Although the four/six/twelve packs selection showcases some unique-to-the-area regionals and national micros, the real gems at Vinnin are the warm singles. About four shelves, 20 feet long house a gorgeous selection of unique regional, national, and European (especially Belgian). Examples from the cooler include (practically) full lines of Heavy Seas, Lagunitas (Hairy Eyeball, Sirius, etc), DFH, Haverhill, Smuttynose, Shipyard, Magic Hat, etc. Examples of singles include: Smutty Quadrupel, Vintage Anchor OSA's, FULL LINE of Lost Abbey, Stone, Rogue, Port Brewing, Ommegang (including Bier de Mars), Left Hand, Anderson Valley, DFH, Avery, Cantillon, FULL LINE of Nogne, Mikkeller, etc. In addition to a wide and quality-filled selection, the staff is equally as impressive with their beer knowledge. Being somewhat of an amateur when it comes to the Lost Abbey Ales, I asked one of the staff for a recommendation and was very impressed with a lengthy, detailed description of practically all of the Lost Abbey's offerings. It's a bit out of the way in Swampscott, but a real treat for the locals.

02-07-2009 22:22:26 | More by NEhophead

Gerstensaft

Massachusetts

4.2/5  rDev +1.2%
quality: 4.5 | service: 3 | selection: 5 | $$

Just moved from Boston to the North Shore and stopped by Vinnin's on my way home to see if they had a decent beer selection. Holy cow was I impressed! Coolers in the back have a very solid selection of US micros, although there is a heavy dose of east coast breweries and not much from the western US. However, the shelf of beers is where the true gems were to be found.

The stock the pretty standard run of most of the trappist beers, but also have a huge selection of other and more rare Belgians. They are the only store in MA I've see who stocks the entire De Dolle line (although they were pricey), and had many, many other great beers like Tripel Karmeliet, all the St. Bernardus range (including magnums and a 60th bottle for only $13!). Their selection of domestics here was also pretty strong. I was shocked to find a bunch of 2001 Anchor Christmas Ale, as well as plenty of bombers from many good US breweries like Jolly Pumpkin, Allagash, etc.

Definitely worth the trip if you're in the area, and I'm psyched it's now my local store!

03-29-2008 23:31:18 | More by Gerstensaft

ghscash

Massachusetts

4.35/5  rDev +4.8%
quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Vinnin Square's beer selection has gone through a Renaissance in the last few months. I moved to the are over a year ago, and thought I had gone through the selection of good beers within a few months. All of a sudden, there is a new sheriff in town running the beer show, and now everytime I go in there is something new. They now carry BFM, St. Bernardus 60th Anniversary, and more surprises are on the way. The majority of turnover is in Belgium style ales, though some interesting English beers have been added as of late.

11-01-2007 17:41:50 | More by ghscash