The Craft Beer Outlet

deapokid

Pennsylvania

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

Just checked out this brand new six-pack store in Philly's Northeast last weekend:

Inconspicuously located in a neighborhood shopping plaza, this spot is definitely a diamond in the rough and a great spot to stop at on the way home from The Grey Lodge.

Staff welcomes you right when you come in and their enthusiasm for beer is obvious from moment one. Warm selections in 22 or 25 ounce bottles are featured at the front entrance and a wall of coolers takes up the entire left side of the medium-sized store front.

Beers are broken up by nation of origin, with US beers broken into two sections; craft and macro. Selection is quite respectable, covering all bases concerning PA craft brews, while hitting up national favorites (Stone, Rogue, etc.) and boasting a few up-and-comers (Saint Somewhere, The Bruery). The international section focuses mainly on Belgian and German imports (which is just fine), but includes a few interesting picks from the Spanish-speaking nations (Estrella Damm Inedit!).

I made my own six-pack (which is a huge bonus), grabbing bottles of Weyerbacher Zotten (a new Belgian-style Pale), Piraat, St. Bernardus Wit, Monk's Flemish Sour, Cooper's Extra, and Young's Double Chocolate. I also picked up two deuces; O'Hara's Celebration Stout and Saint Somewhere's Lectio Divina.

All-in-all, a great beer-buying experience and a nice addition to the NE.

06-19-2009 21:18:20 | More by deapokid

onix1agr

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev -11.9%
quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$$

Glad to see a beer spot with a good selection open up fairly close to me. I have a feeling im gonna love this place. It sure beats driving to and in New Jersey.

Quality- A nice clean looking store with a wall full of coolers that stretches a bit. Some tables to sit down and enjoy a beer. In the back it seems that there is some equipment to make food, hopefully in the future this is true. Everything's laid out nice, not to cluttered. The only downfall is that prices are not listed on everything & you have to ask. Some things are a tad overpriced, I picked up a Long Trail DIPA and they wanted $8 for it before tax. I put it back down.

Service- I think this place has been open for three weeks & the staff is very eager to assist you, always asking if you need anything. They said they would special order anything they could aquire that was not there at the time. Seems like a friendly group of people. A quick easy checkout.

Selection- Not too huge but they do have some lovely beer here and it's thought out well. American Craft, locals, Imports (de Dolle, others) West Coast (RR Damnation, LA/PP beers). I was surprised to see two bottles of Sculpin sitting on the Shelf. I yoinked them up with the quickness. If they have Sculpin, they have some pull, let's see what the future brings.

06-27-2009 06:35:12 | More by onix1agr

micromaniac129

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev -11.9%
quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $

A good seclection of micro's along side the other junk. Go early in the week to browse, it's hard to do on Friday.
They make an effort to have a good selection of seasonals on hand. A good selection of Beligums in stock, English and German beers. Plenty of big bottles too.
Also, any beer that is in the store there you can get just up the road at the distributor.
Just go out of the shopping center make a left and take it to r 63,make another left follow to Franklin Mills.
It's by Dicks. Never been there myself, this is from the old man.

10-05-2010 00:08:22 | More by micromaniac129

claspada

New Jersey

4.06/5  rDev -10.6%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 3.5 | $$$

Not as big as I was expecting from the high reviews but a nice clean establishment with above average selection but apparently this place is popular and sells out of popular stuff rather quickly. (They had Founders Bolt Cutter but were sold out of the Great Lakes Christmas beer which is one of things I was hoping to find.) Plenty of beers I cannt get in Jersey like Bells, Dark Horse, Great Lakes and even some CIgar City.

The prices were a little steep (around $22 for a mixed 6 pack) but they were all above average beers. The 2 people working were very helpful and nice and knew their inventory well which was nice. They also have a growler station apparently which is nice for locals.

12-03-2012 16:07:37 | More by claspada

Soonami

Pennsylvania

4.14/5  rDev -8.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$$

Craft Beer Outlet is one of the better stocked bottle shops in the Philly area. They get all the big releases from Russian River, Lost Abbey, Voodoo, etc. The pricing is a bit on the expensive side compared to what I think is reasonable considering what they pay wholesale and the pricing at Whole Foods and in Jersey. The staff beer knowledge runs the gamut from highly educated to proficient. The store is clean and nicely laid out, most of the beers are kept cold. Highly recommended for those around NE Philly and driving from the north on I-95

08-06-2011 18:35:59 | More by Soonami

corby112

Pennsylvania

4.14/5  rDev -8.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$$$

A large retail space in the middle of a shopping center in NE Philly. They have a large selection of bottles, magnums and glassware as well as a growler filling station with around six rotating taps.

The place is long and narrow with the growler filling station on the right hand side immediately upon entering. Above the station there is an impressive selection of glassware but they are crazy expensive. An Orval glass was $22! To the left there is a nice selection of seasonals and room temperature bombers/750mls. The cashier counter is straight ahead on the left and the opposite wall is lined up with several coolers with a very nice variety of craft offerings. There is a space in the back where you can sit and have a beer which they also sell by the galas at the growler filling station.

I'm not often impressed by selection but the variety was shocking. They had some cool magnums as well as singles, six packs, bombers and 750ml bottle from a large selection of breweries. Plenty of Russian River along with Ballast Point, Bruery, Evil Twin, Mikkeller, Terrapin, Maine Brewing Co., etc. Not too many rarified but there is a wide variety of great beers. Unfortunately, most of the beers range from pretty pricey to outrageously expensive. You can make a mixed six pack but there is no discount. RR sours were in the $18 range and many of the 12oz bottles of interest were close to $8. Similarly priced to competitive stores in the city but still beyond a reasonable budget to leave with more than a couple of bottles at a time.

Overall this place was pretty impressive with a nice clean space, interesting beers on draft and a huge inventory of good beers. The prices will keep me for stocking while there but this place is a hidden gem in an area of the city that has little to nothing to offer in the way of craft beers.

11-11-2011 08:29:09 | More by corby112

acurtis

New Jersey

4.15/5  rDev -8.6%
quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$$

I stopped in recently for the first time. There were 5 or 6 taps for growler fills. Nothing on tap excited me, several ocktoberfests. There was a kid working, he told the other customer he didn't know anything about the taps so I didn't even ask if they filled outside growlers. When you first walk in there are a lot of gift packs. Mad Elf in abundance. Some rare warm 6 packs and tons of cold singles. Impressive selection. Most of the prices were slightly higher than what I've seen around but not bad at all. Except this is what confused me about some of the prices. My local store sells all Founders 4 packs for the same price, yet here the porter was $2.49 a single but the breakfast stout was $4.49 a single! The porter was priced very fair but the bs was crazy high, I had just picked up a 4 pack for $9.65. I picked up a few other singles. The had a nice selection of AleSmith. 2 Lost Abbeys. I didn't see any Russian River but lots of other great stuff.

11-21-2010 21:11:09 | More by acurtis

joeebbs

Pennsylvania

4.3/5  rDev -5.3%
quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

This is a six pack and singles store opened up by the same people who run The Beer Outlet. http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/11740

There are about 20 or so refridgerators full of beer. The first fridges are filled with local brews. (Victory, Yards, Flying Fish, etc) From there the fridges contain other US craft brews, World beers and lastly Macros.

The selection is very nice and the employees will offer you an empty six pack right away after saying "hello." They are as excited about beer as you are and are up for having a chat.

There are a few tables set up for sitting back and enjoying your selections. They also serve bombers as well. Prices are reasonable and the location makes it perfect for someone in the Northeast who does not want to take the trip into Center City or New Jersey.

06-05-2009 20:33:08 | More by joeebbs

papat444

Quebec (Canada)

4.3/5  rDev -5.3%
quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$$

Visited Oct. 10, 2010.

This place looks relatively new since it looks very clean and well kept inside. Same issues as with other stores in regards to freshness though it seemed less prevalent here. Mostly all beers were refrigerated except the seasonals in the front and the rare beers in the back. Very good selection, the best in the Franklin Mills area. There seemed to be what looked like a bar area in the back as people were enjoying a brew while watching TV. The staff was clearly well informed and able to make recommendations based on people's tastes. Worth the detour for sure.

10-12-2010 19:58:54 | More by papat444

LSUExplorer03

Pennsylvania

4.35/5  rDev -4.2%
quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$$

The Craft Beer Outlet is great! Just what this area needed! Sad news for me is that I moved out of the area last year, right as they were opening. Now I live in Manayunk and still make sure to get up to the CBO atleast once a month. Amazing selection and very reasonable prices! The only reason I didn't give the "value" section a better review is that I am spoiled with Jersey prices (since I work over there) and anything I can get either in Jersey or the CBO, is a few bucks cheaper over in Jersey. Again though, for PA prices, the CBO is very reasonable!

I think my favorite aspect is the environment in there -- very chill and relaxed. You can go in and peruze around for as long as you'd like, then you can grab a bottle and drink it right there at the tables they have set up towards the back. They even have a few magazines/newsletters you can read or a big flat panel TV you can watch while you're sippin on your craft beer.

I highly recommend making a trip up there!!!

04-30-2010 17:47:40 | More by LSUExplorer03