La Bodega Wines & Spirits

PeprSprYoFace

California

4.3/5  rDev -2.5%
quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$$$

This store is a regular stop of min being that it is the closest place for me to get good beer that is not regular and it is also close to my school as well. That have a pretty good selection that tends to rotate alot (almost something new every week). They have a good selection of Belgians, European beers and locals as well separated by region. I stop in every once in a while to see what they have and come home every time with at least something new. It is a good change from your average bevmo since it tends to cary the less distributed beers. They don't have a ton of beer but what they have is good. Nice staff and willing to help/order different stuff upon request but not extreemly knowledgable in the area of beer.

Update: ever since they have been getting in more limited release beers it seems their beer prices have gone up a lot. They wanted $20 for Abyss when bevmo had it for $12:99. And all of thie limited beer seem to have at least $5 more than everyone else tacked on to them. They also had Utopia for $250 when most places had them for about $180. I have started to buy from them when I can't find the beer somewhere else.

02-02-2010 14:15:06 | More by PeprSprYoFace

DanielDavis421

California

4.15/5  rDev -5.9%
quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$$

I stop in the store pretty often, it is a bit pricey and when you get a professional opinion on certain beers it seems as though they push the most exspensive ones on you, the prices are a bit higher then most places such as a stone pale ale costs around 5 dollars for a 22oz, I would understand if it were the double bastard or something but that is not the case.

The staff seems to know their stuff but it seems like any beer you ask about "sells well", and they encourage you to buy it, maybe it is just me but it feels like they are more like car sales man! aside from that the selection is by far better then anywhere else in a 20 mile radius.

another issue I had was that they dont have enough cold beer, GREAT selection but almost anything you will be looking for is going to be warm, I only saw really common beers in the cooler in witch I could go anywhere else to buy, things like sierra nevada, Stone IPA, Rouge dead guy, just all together easy beers to find around here.

I love the selection for a small shop, but the staff can seem a bit pushy and I felt that they were always standing behind me to try and compare what I was selecting to something along the same lines but a bit more pricey, but I will be stopping in today to get my holiday favs. so I cant say to many bad things about it, plus it is the only place within distance that I can grab my favorite beers at! another good thing is their holiday hours! cant beat it!

12-24-2009 21:32:33 | More by DanielDavis421

vacax

California

4.15/5  rDev -5.9%
quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$$

I have heard of La Bodega from my friends in the Inland Empire, and stopped in today as a diversion on the way home from Palm Springs.

All of the beer is right in the front of the store in a small wing to the left. I like how there is a nice little beer section, but I also noticed this section of the store was about five degrees warmer than the rest of the store with the wine in it. There was a cooler with Pliny and Blind Pig and a few selections (props for sticking locals like Krash and Hangar 24 in the cooler) but it was only about one door wide. One mentionable item was a list they had posted in the beer section of rare and barrel aged beers they had available.

As far as service goes, the only employees I noticed were behind the registers, so they were not on the floor asking if I needed help. They did make a comment that the Nogne-O Sahti I had selected looked good.

Despite the relatively small beer area, the selection was impressive. Good selections of Belgian, German, Scandinavian and a few up and coming Japanese breweries I was excited to see. Unfortunately I didn't find any Belgian sours, but they had an expansive American craft selection with some nice items such as Bruery Papier, Russian River Temptation, Port Older Viscosity, and the entire New Belgium Lips of Faith series (La Folia, Biere de Mars, Transatlantique Kriek, and Le Fleur Misseur). I was actually most pleased with their support of local beer including relatively unknown Krash Brewing, to Hangar 24, The Bruery (had a case of the brand new bottles of Hottenroth), and Mission.

Prices were slightly more than average. The more a beer costs, the more they marked it up. For instance, Temptation ran $26 vs. $21 in a store close to me.

09-02-2009 03:01:05 | More by vacax

crazeguy

California

4.35/5  rDev -1.4%
quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$

The store has a nice feel to it with friendly staff. If you're not paying enough attention, you'll miss the beer section to the left of the entryway. At first it can look a little disappointing but upon closer inspection you'll see a ton of gems scattered through out. Also, don't miss the refrigerator section. My haul literally double after I saw that.The parking is located in the back of the store, with a decent sized lot monitored by cameras.
Overall the store seems to focus on quality more than quantity. This store made my day and I'm looking forward to going back.

03-31-2009 10:10:51 | More by crazeguy

DoubleJ

California

4/5  rDev -9.3%
quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$$

La Bodega is clean and well organized on the inside, making the search for good beer a little easier. They sell a good collection of glassware to go along with the artisan beer, whether it's German, English, Belgian, or American you're getting. Interesting selection of beer, here they had Echigo, Wells, Fullers, Delirium, Russian River, The Bruery, Sam Adams Hallertau Pilsner, Allagash, of plenty more. Prices were a little higher than your typical store, and the service was warm and friendly. If you happen to be in the Inland Empire, this is the store you want.

12-27-2008 01:13:36 | More by DoubleJ

Avryle

New York

4.35/5  rDev -1.4%
quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | $$

La Bodega has been a Riverside landmark for years & I make a point of stopping in whenever I go "home." They carry lots of west coast brewers including Ale Smith, Lost Abbey, Stone & Russian River, along with a pretty decent selection of Belgians. The prices aren't bad on the "rarer" brews though you can probably pay less for six packs of many micro-brews at Ralph's or Vons. However, the staff here is very helpful and will special order if possible.

LB also carries a large selection of hard alcohol and wine with tequila being their forte.

03-01-2008 22:05:03 | More by Avryle

Floydster

California

4.05/5  rDev -8.2%
quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | $$$

Located on Central Avenue across from the new Riverside Plaza (Chipotle, Active, Islands, etc.)

Looks like a normal liquor store from the outside but actually has some good stuff

Had cool specialty glassware from Stone commemorating their Double Bastard Ale and Imperial Russian Stout

Beer standouts were Trappistes Rochefort, 4 different Lost Abbeys, lots of Stone, Thelenious Monk, Anderson Valley bombers, and Russian River Damnation

Guy was helpful in trying to locate the new Pyramid Imperial Hefeweizen and other Russian River bottles

Prices are a little high, about 1 or 2 bucks more than usual for most 22 ouncers

Will be going back because close to my apartment

09-09-2007 01:11:30 | More by Floydster

Greenfloyd

California

4/5  rDev -9.3%
quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

This is an incredible all around liquor store, and the beer selection is pretty decent to boot. As you walk in, the left side of the store has a little beer cove..three walls, about six feet long, with five or six shelves filled with beers that are harder to come by in most of Riverside County. Plenty of great imports- Orkney’s SkullSplitter, several good English brews, a decent amount of Belgians (including a few hard to find saisons) etc. There is a nice domestic craft section as well, and you can usually count on them to have the latest seasonal brews, especially the Samuel Adams lines (triple bock, chocolate bock, etc). The cold beer doors have a great selection for that quick cold beer fix as well. Well worth the trip.

02-04-2007 08:29:22 | More by Greenfloyd

Phocion

Minnesota

4.15/5  rDev -5.9%
quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$

I took a couple extra credits at RCC this Spring, and one day driving home from school I noticed this place, so I decided to stop. Since then I've made it a point to stop by every time I'm in Riverside. Although the place seems to be geared more towards wine, they had an excellent selection of both imports and local micros. They had an entire section dedicated to Belgians, and I picked up a few Rochefort 10's last time I was in. I also noticed the last time a fairly impressive selection of British imports, and I made sure to stock up on some Fuller's and Samuel Smiths as well. Their local selection is large, but nothing out of the ordinary. However, like someone else mentioned in another review, because of the fairly light traffic it's a good place to find some of the annual Stone releases after they've sold out elsewhere.

05-31-2006 20:09:38 | More by Phocion

PuckLSHS

Iowa

4/5  rDev -9.3%
quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$

La Bodega is a great place to stock up on stuff that might be unavailable at other places. Since they don't have the same amount of traffic, they tend to have the Stone releases way past the dates that everyone else is out of it. La Bodega is a favorite of mine if I am in the area. I wouldn't go out of my way to go there though...long drive and it's not that amazing.

They have a decent belgian selection, but La Bodega is much more geared to American Craft Beer (see Hopjack13's list) and the standard English/Irish stuff.

Also, was able to find the 3L Stone Double and Oak-Aged Arrogant there for a little more than other locations. Also, was able to get the Sam Adams Triple Bock and some Rogue Ceramics that were not available at the places closer to LA that have more beer traffic.

04-23-2006 21:09:37 | More by PuckLSHS