Westmere Beverage

BigPlay1824

New York

4.41/5  rDev +1.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

This has become my favorite beverage store in upstate new york. the store has an overall phenomenal selection with a ton of imports and a pretty wide selection of breweries. the one thing i love is that they have a ton of beers from the breweries they do have which makes it easy to try a breweries lineup. great growler selection but a bit pricey. the best deal they've got going is a deal where if you get a make your own six pack you get 5 dollars off of it. the staff is genuinely excited to talk beer and they love to help out and give recommendations. overall great store

08-23-2011 23:56:16 | More by BigPlay1824

Hendry

Vermont

4.67/5  rDev +7.1%
vibe: 4.75 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Helpful crew that knows their beer, J.T. & Drew were quite helpful. The selection was extensive and spanned the continents, plus the store had a cool vibe to it.

They put me hip to a cask of Flower Power that was dry hopped and offered as a special event later that day, so I returned on their recommendation.

Prices are fair and indicative of Albany area pricing because of the population: there are other beer stores off I-87 that are slightly less expensive with a similar selection, but Westmere is a great hang with some cool employees that appreciate good beer.

05-13-2013 04:56:18 | More by Hendry

zoober911

New York

4.64/5  rDev +6.4%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

This is my go to shop. The guys there are always helpful with recommendations based on what you are looking for etc. They have made a lot of changes in the store over the last year since I started going there. Expanding their selections quite a bit. I have seen some rare beer coming through their doors, nothing unbelievable but I've been able to get quite of few of my wants there that are obviously within their distribution list. Westmere is probably the 2nd best shop in the Albany area, second only to their sister shop, Oliver's whose prices a little bit lower and a bit bigger selection. Overall, the shop is great.

05-10-2013 14:38:30 | More by zoober911

papat444

Quebec (Canada)

3.84/5  rDev -11.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$$

Came here will the girls were shopping at Crossgates. Enter into the store with a wall of coolers to my left and some display of cases. The main area of the store is further back. Lots of stuff to choose from, the selection might be a bit less than Oliver's? Lots of dust on some things and the lighting made it a bit hard to read some of the freshness codes.

There is some old stuff here so be careful. I was welcomed when i came in but nobody came to see me in the near hour i was there.

Overall a worthy place but i think i'd rather go to Oliver's in the future.

11-20-2012 21:45:45 | More by papat444

shueyy

New York

3.33/5  rDev -23.6%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4 | service: 2 | selection: 4 | $$

Beer selection is great for the Albany area. Some beers were priced well like Sierra Nevada 30th anniversary for $5.99. The service was not on par with other beer stores in the area. I was the only one in there and asked for a sample of one of the beers on tap because I had my growler and was refused. The guy saying he wasn't allowed to give samples it was like I had asked for a pint or something seriously. I would rather take my business else were it's the simple things that separate beer stores. If you can't give some one a sample when they are about to spend $35 on a tap beer then forget it.

01-24-2012 21:16:43 | More by shueyy

abriggs1

Connecticut

5/5  rDev +14.7%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | $$

Excellent selection and great staff. People here really know their beer. Not a huge place, but they make great use of the space they have. It's obvious the owners of this place take great pride in beer culture and finding stuff that you don't see everywhere. A beer mecca in Albany.

Of course there are a lot of New York beers, but also a great selection of British and German beers that you don't see many places. Of course the Belgians are well represented. You can find some pretty good aged stuff on the shelves too. I picked up a sixer of Stoudts Belgian Triple that had 3 years of age, and it was great. Lots of good beer in the cooler too if you're impatient like I am.

12-02-2011 23:35:03 | More by abriggs1

PBoegel

New York

4.58/5  rDev +5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Westmere is my store of choice in the Capital Region at this point. the staff is smart, informed, willing to talk to customers, and dedicated to craft beer being a showcase of what they do.

They have a really good approach to their Growler system. They have begun cellaring at the establishment which is a nice plus. They make good use of digital media to keep customers aware of what is happening with tastings, new arrivals, new kegs on tap.

Nearly impossible to leave empty handed. Check it out if you are in the area.

11-15-2011 20:00:11 | More by PBoegel

merc7186

New York

3.58/5  rDev -17.9%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | $$

I always look for reviews from out of towners as I believe that locals tend to over hype places. I live outside of Buffalo so I am not a local.

The place looks like a mini mart from the outside and has a lot of BMC neon and BMC beer in the front windows. When you walk in, more than half the store is filled with craft beer. They have a better than average selection and it seems they get a mixed distribution of downstate and upstate distributors but don't really have any special or rare that I can't get back home. The guys working there were friendly and willing to answer questions. Their prices were mixed, some things high, some things were average. I would not return here myself and not because of service, selection, or price..because I can almost of the beer they carry at home.

09-21-2011 22:28:25 | More by merc7186

BrewCrew2010

New York

4.01/5  rDev -8%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | $$$

This store is very close to Crossgate Mall and the interstate, so when I'm down there for shopping or passing through, this one is easy to stop at. From the outside, this place kind of looks shady and very small- wasn't too impress by the outside and almost didn't go in. However, once inside, they had a huge selection of beer. Not the cleanest place or the best organize (I know some wrote it was divided a certain way, but I couldn't tell), but they had a solid store and a nice growler set up as well as individual bottles you can buy.

Service was great as well. I probably had 2-3 people ask me if I needed help and there was always someone around- they didn't just offer help and then disappear behind the counter. The selection was great too. Some beers were slightly pricey, but some of them were worth it.

Great store. If you're in the area, you should stop by. I think next time I'll go to their sister store, but I was already at the mall. I did get some great beers and plan on going again.

07-20-2011 11:58:40 | More by BrewCrew2010

rlee1390

Indiana

4.58/5  rDev +5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Just realized I had never reviewed the sister store to Olivers.

To my knowledge Albany has two great beer stores, Olivers and Westmere.

Westmere may not have the same size of selection, don't know why I think this but Olivers seems to be a bigger store, but for all I know they could be the same size. However most people go to Olivers rather than Westmere.

There is an ever rotating list of growlers to go, every now and then Westmere will even age beer. For example recently they aged a keg of Ten FIDY for a year. Aged beer, on tap. Wonderful.

Although a small item, I really enjoy it, that they sell glassware. I've picked up a Chimay goblet among the other glasses I've gotten there. I love glassware and they sell it.

Singles are available.

Service though is exceptional. They frequently update their facebook page letting you know of recent arrivals. Every time you walk in someone asks you if you need help. However the best example I can give of great service is the following; I asked on their facebook page about DFH Hellhound coming in. A prompt response said that they are looking into it. Two days later another response saying they will be getting it and are all ready reserving me a bottle.

I love this store, now if only I could live there.

04-27-2011 00:55:58 | More by rlee1390