Plum Market

Shumista

Ohio

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

Plum market is my new favorite place to go grocery shopping because I get to spend 15-20 minutes perusing the beer section each time. It's a lot like Whole Foods with less of an arrogant uppity feel to it in my opinion.

Overall the quality and selection is pretty good, and great for a grocery store. Lots of local Michigan Microbrews (Founder's, Bell's, Dark Horse, Arbor Brewing, New Holland, Arcadia etc. and even some Dragonmead, in both six packs and in the singles cooler. Behind you on a warm shelf is an excellent selection of single bomber and magnum bottles including all the usual suspects. One that really stood out to me here was that they had North Coast's Brother Thelonius, which I have not seen anywhere else in town.

One of my only complaints is that I wish the singles cooler had more to choose from. It's a quality selection of singles, don't get me wrong, but I would like to see more of the 6 packs they sell represented.

The service is excellent, each time I've been in there, the beer guy at the store has noticed how much time I spend in the beer aisle and asked if I have any questions. One thing that impressed me on our last visit was when my girlfriend accidentally knocked over and broke a bomber of ST Choklat Imperial Stout (I had a serious talk with her later about what she had done) they were totally cool about it and cleaned it up without charging us for the bottle. On a side note, it smelled so good I decided to pick one up next time I go in.

Prices are great, especially if you look for the deals. The last time I went in they had Brooklyn BCS at 6.99 a 4 pack, SN Anniversary Ale at 12.99 a 12 pack, and DFH Indian Brown, 60 minute and 90 minute for 8.99 a sixer and 4 pack (the 90), respectively. To be fair these were all sales but still, I've never seen prices like those for DFH or SN anywhere really.

Overall definitely worth checking out if you are in the Ann Arbor area.

Edit 10-30-09: The last time I went in they had expanded their singles cooler to include almost all of their six packs, an excellent decision in my opinion. Plum market is quickly becoming my go to beer stop.

04-15-2009 01:24:58 | More by Shumista

emerge077

Illinois

4.05/5  rDev -2.4%
quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | $$

This is a well-designed newish supermarket, similar in feel to Whole Foods Market. Beer is past the registers, center aisle to the left, then mostly on the right-hand side with warm shelves and micros in the cooler. Imports were in a separate cooler, near the wine. The beer aisle was clean and well lit, with a humongous fan rotating overhead. This seemed to be one of the better micro selections in the area, with full lines of Jolly Pumpkin, Bells, Dark Horse, Arbor, Founders, Arcadia, etc. Even some limited Arbor beers and JP/Stone/Nogne bottles. Focus on local and organic products. Some interesting Belgians on the warm shelves, typical imports in the cooler. Even some interesting locally produced meads from B. Nektar (buckwheat, vanilla cinnamon). Prices were about the lowest of the 3 stores we visited in town. Cases of fresh 2 Hearted were stacked on the floor, on sale for $8/six, were too good to pass up. A clerk was on the floor and asked us if we needed any specific help. Checkout was fast and friendly. Recommended stop, close to 94.

01-04-2009 00:12:33 | More by emerge077

botham

Illinois

3.7/5  rDev -10.8%
quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | $

possibly a diamond in the rough, this upscale-ish grocery hides a decent selection of good beer, clean conditions, and modest prices. the shelves are nicely organised and clean, with minimal dust on low-selling bottles, and quite a few local offerings from the area.

service is what one would expect from a grocery store; the occasional clerk with the standard inquiries.

selection is good for a grocery store, with attention paid to local offerings and a nice selection of Belgians, as well as English brews.

overall, worth a stop for people in the area, or those looking for local offerings.

01-03-2009 17:28:54 | More by botham

alexgash

Connecticut

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

Plum Market opened in February 2008, and I have probably visited this upscale grocery store at least 25 times. It helps that it is only a 3 minute walk from my house! So very glad to have this place close by. Great grocery store features lots of organic, local, specialty, and gourmet food. Large wine and cheese selection, and a pretty decent sized beer collection as well.

They have two aisle-length, open coolers devoted to beer, and 1 room-temp. aisle-length shelf. The good cooler is filled with lots of Michigan six and 12 packs (Bells, Founders, Dark Horse, Atwater, ABC, MBC, New Holland, Arcadia, etc.), and also a decent selection of other American craft brews (Victory, Clipper City, SN, SA, DFH, etc.). The other cooler has some US macros, and a bunch of Euro macros (Guiness, Newcastle, Carlsberg, etc.). The room-temp. shelf has a lot of nice single bottle varieties, ranging from Jolly Pumpkin, Stone, Rogue, ST, Allagash, to a good number of Belgian, German, and English imports (Rochefort 8, 10, Plank, etc.). Unfortunately, they do not break up six-packs, but the service is pretty friendly and helpful. They seem to get most of the special releases in (for the breweries they carry). Decent prices for Ann Arbor.

11-17-2008 19:05:25 | More by alexgash