La Bodega Wines & Spirits

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

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

UCLABrewN84

California

4.21/5  rDev -4.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.75 | $$

I stopped in at La Bodega recently as I was in the area for business. It's a fairly historic looking spot with an old school vibe inside. The beer area is fairly small compared to the rest of the store, but what the have is absolute quality. They had lots of hard to find bottles and beers I had never even heard of before. They also had a lot of local breweries represented with Hangar 24, Ritual, Packinghouse, Craft, and Black Market bottles for sale. The prices were reasonable for things compared to other SoCal stores. I highly recommend a stop in here if you are in the area, and I know that I will for sure be coming back myself.

04-21-2013 21:07:52 | More by UCLABrewN84

Dukeofearl

California

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

La Bodega is the best spot in Southern California's Inland Empire that I have found for quality beer. It does not have the size and selection of some of the more famous Southern California establishments (such as Hi Times) but the selection is more than I can drink at any one time (good enough for me!), and they are constantly changing to get new and different things. I came back from Belgium with a wish list longer than my arm, and they have been more than happy to help me work my way through it (up to their ability to get things through their distributors).

About half the square footage is given over to wine, with a couple of walls of a very nice selection of spirits (I always went there when I was trying to be a Tequila snob!). Only about 1/3 of the store is beer, and they have a good, but not huge, selection. As stated, I am currently in my Belgian research period, and they typically have aboout 20 or so different Belgians at any one time. But they also have equal representation of Germany, Great Britan, and elsewhere around the world. They are on top of things,and I have seen new brews there before they were discussed here on the site (such as the Sam Adams Chocolate Bock). They also have a decent American selection, but it really isn't much bigger/better than the import selection (which is kind of surprising).

Staff is friendly and helpful (they are very good at helping me spend my allowance).

Currently, they have two 3-liter bottles of Corsendonk Pater for about $55 each, if anyone wants to get me a belated Christmas gift!

02-01-2004 21:30:49 | More by Dukeofearl

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

ChappyCubsFan

California

4.5/5  rDev +2%
quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5

Located off the 91 freeway at the Central Avenue exit in Riverside, CA, about a block north of the offramp. This place rocks. And they listen to their customers. Just recently, in fact, they started stocking the AleSmith line. But you can find a wide variety of beer and wine and cigars. Other notable products include Ballast Point, Marin, Victory (including Hop Devil), Rogue, Lagunitas, several lines of Belgian beer (Ommegang for one), Stone Brewing Company, a good selection of English ales, Sierra Nevada, Nude Beer, Speakeasy, and the list goes on and on. A friendly service and people who know the business and know the customer.

01-20-2004 00:20:40 | More by ChappyCubsFan

GRG1313

California

4.5/5  rDev +2%
quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$$

A very high end "liquor store" with a relatively small beer area that manages to fit in one of the greatest selections of beer in Southern California. Lots of California and even some Riverside local things. Tons of American craft; lots of Belgians although most, if not all, are the standard fare. Lots of English and German. All in all a wonderful selection from all over the world.

Some items are seen nowhere else and one must review and scan the shelves with care; lots of stuff in a small space. Staff is very knowledgable and friendly.

Top notch all around. One can almost be assured that you will see at least a few beers that you've never seen before. RateBeer ratings/scores are set forth on the shelves.

06-24-2010 06:29:21 | More by GRG1313

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

rayzorwit

California

5/5  rDev +13.4%
quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5

True, they don't have everything. I'd lsure like to see the place that does. When I lived in Riverside this was the only place I'd go to buy a brew. They also have a good wine selection. The staff is knowledgeable. I still go there when I go visit my folks. They'll do special orders and they also do kegs.

07-05-2003 00:19:24 | More by rayzorwit

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