Best Damn Beer Shop (Krisp Beverages + Natural Foods)

mactrail

California

3.05/5  rDev -31.9%
quality: 2 | service: 3 | selection: 4.5 | $$$

This place is rightfully esteemed as a place with a remarkable selection of California and Belgian beers. There is a fair amount from other microbreweries around the country though they tend to be the widely distributed ones like Allagash. But short on common ones like Dogfish Head. They do specialize in the strongest, rarest, and most expensive, so if you are swinging for the fences this is the place.

On the other hand, this is definitely not my favorite place due to the ever-present bums. You have filthy guys wandering the aisles, odiferous punks ahead of you in line buying wine or half pints, schizo maniacs glaring at you over their shopping carts at the door, and festive winos hanging on the sidewalk with bags and bottles.

03-16-2010 06:10:01 | More by mactrail

easong

California

3.15/5  rDev -29.7%
vibe: 2 | quality: 3 | service: 4 | selection: 3 | $$

I don't like to give beer places bad reviews, but I have a responsibility to fellow BAs who might inconvenience themselves, as you guys always do it for me. Went here when I stayed in the neighborhood recently during a Giants-Padres series. Looking for an Alpine IPA or maybe another great local product I can't find in the Bay Area. Damn, actually, none. Settled for a Pliny from back home and an Avery Maharaja from Boulder. Yes the one in Colorado. Gave the Pliny to my brother-in-law to take back to NC. The Belgian section looked better stocked. But still, San Diego, this is Not Really the Best Damn Beer Shop, simply average in the context of a great American beer town.

07-31-2011 20:38:51 | More by easong

Driver8rws

Ohio

3.49/5  rDev -22.1%
vibe: 1 | quality: 4 | service: 2.5 | selection: 5 | $$

AMAZING selection of WORLDWIDE beers.
Stuff I have NOT seen elsewhere for sale.

Not that great of a Southern California selection but pretty good.
Prices were a few cents more or a few cents less than BevMo.

TOTALLY "gangsta" area of town though (at least after dark)...

The beer area takes up about HALF of the supposed "grocery" store.

Staff was fairly knowledgeable about the beers they had and even ones they did not (Heretic).

Worth a trip (in the daytime) if you are in the area.

02-27-2012 21:11:40 | More by Driver8rws

Bobbo330

New Jersey

3.76/5  rDev -16.1%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | $$

This was the first shop that I visiting on while on vacation last week. For reference I was there early in the morning on a weekday. As others have stated the area did have a large number of homeless people and while unsightly I did not feel like I was in harms way at any point. Onto the beer... Their selection was solid with a good amount of Russian River and Lost Abbey. I must say that I was not blown away by the overall selection and after having gone to 4 bottle shops in total I would rate this in the bottom half of the regional shops. While still having a solid selection I was able to find many more 'harder to find' beers at other shops. Perhaps I came at an odd time but honestly I would not go out of my way to re-visit this shop in the future.

07-23-2012 21:53:35 | More by Bobbo330

DrJay

Massachusetts

3.83/5  rDev -14.5%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | $$

I'm glad I stopped in during my most recent visit to San Diego. As others have mentioned, the beer is tucked away in a grocery store - kind of cool to find such an awesome selection in such a place. Much of the beer is kept in coolers, particularly anything that requires drinking fresh. Plenty of bottles suitablr for aging, big beers and Belgians primarily, were stored at room temp. Lots of singles, including some limited releases, as well as a decent six pack selection. It's not the largest selection that I've seen, but just about everything on the shelf was something worth drinking. I didn't experience the same service others have apparently had, but had no issues either - about what I expected for a grocery turned beer store. Definitely stop by if you're in the area.

08-22-2011 20:30:31 | More by DrJay

corby112

Pennsylvania

3.88/5  rDev -13.4%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Medium sized food market in the downtown area with a large beer selection that takes up almost a third of the store. They have a nice selection of local and other domestic craft as well as a large selection of imports and glassware.

The vibe of the place is odd with a mix of beer geeks, city workers and homeless people walking around. While I was in line waiting to pay a homeless man who was clearly mentally ill was screaming and threatening to fight everyone. Nobody said anything to him and he finally walked out. I'm used to living in the city so this wasn't a problem for me but I can see how this could be a turn off or really bizarre for others.

Although this place doesn't have the nicest atmosphere, they have a good selection at reasonable prices. Tons of imports including Mikkeller, Drie Fonteinen, rarer Fantome, etc. along with a lot of quality locals and a few east coast offerings. Normally I would give the selection a four but the ridiculously large selection of glassware bumped it up for me. All kind of cool glasses including Russian River ation glass, collectors edition Duvel tulips, Lost Abbey tulips and many others. Really nice!

Not the nicest place but perfect for stocking up on good bottles and cool glassware. Check it out if you are in the area.

01-19-2012 00:57:24 | More by corby112

sholland119

Pennsylvania

3.96/5  rDev -11.6%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3 | selection: 4.5 | $$$

An interesting combination of bottle shop / homebrew shop / bodega / homeless shelter. We visited on a Sunday morning while strolling the Gas Lamp area after our arrival in town.

There is a very extensive selection of bottles on the right hand side of the store, with a heavy emphasis on locals and big ticket Europeans like Mikkeller. The homebrew section at the front of the store was cool as well, with a good selection of base and specialty malts, yeast and basic supplies.

The neighborhood, and the area right around the front door, were rather more heavily populated with homeless folks than average for San Diego. I have never really had a difficult encounter with homeless anywhere but it is a bit more off putting for me in a strange town.

We were planning to return with our rental car to make some purchases but then we hit KnB and blew our budget. Worth a stop for sure.

HV

02-29-2012 19:10:01 | More by sholland119

tobelerone

New Jersey

4.04/5  rDev -9.8%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

This store is in a somewhat sketchy neighborhood with some addled vagrants wandering around but it's not dangerous per se; you're not gonna getted jacked going in here. It's just not as lovely and pristine as much of the rest of town is. Don't let that stop you though, they have a truly tremendous selection of singles, sixers, and large format bottles, make your own six, etc. Lots of rare and hard to find bottles. It's kind of a weird store because it's just a kind of average food market with an aisle of ridiculously good beer. Apparently they have a great homebrewing section too, but I didn't check it out because that's not my thing (yet). Nice glassware choices as well.

Service was decent enough although I've heard the guys here can be great, I just don't think they were in attendance when I stopped in. As an Easterner it was great to come here because there was more stuff I can't get at home than I could possibly begin to try. Scored myself some Russian River, Kern, Alpine, New Belgium, Port Beers. As someone else mentioned, they have a sign limiting you to 2 a piece Pliny and Blind Pig but didn't have any bottles of either, oh well. Got 'em elsewhere.

Definitely worth a stop. Don't let my opening paragraph sway you; just wanted to distinguish the hood from the rest of town; this was the only place in the city I actually saw panhandlers and homeless folks, etc. Being from NYC it didn't bother me but if you're not used to seeing that don't let it dissuade you. Metered parking on the street, I was able to pull right up in front of the store and park for a quarter.

01-06-2012 13:12:01 | More by tobelerone

Siggy125

California

4.05/5  rDev -9.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 5 | service: 2 | selection: 5 | $$$

Visited this spot for the first time yesterday. I bit embarrassed since it's been under my nose for quite a while and I didnt know it. What kind of BA am I??? Oh well, nevertheless...

Nice little store in an odd place. Downtown SD with a challenge with parking depending on time of day. Great beer selection right as you walk straight in the door. Just about every west coast beer you can think of on the shelf with a nice selection of beers from other regions and countries. One of the best selections I've seen in SoCal.

Pricing is mediocre to high but not ridiculous. Make sure to check shelving endcaps. I found stuff "around the corner" from the main corner and shelving.

The help on hand the day I was there seemed clueless when asked beer questions. Hopefully this isnt the norm.

I will definitely recommend this to others

07-12-2011 21:10:04 | More by Siggy125

Rhettroactive

Virginia

4.14/5  rDev -7.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | $$

Stopped in here on Halloween night '11 to pick up some suds to bring back east.

First of all: beeline it when you get there, as there's always a hoard of homeless folks begging out front. When I was there, this was most certainly true, as we got approached the moment our feet hit the sidewalk.

Once you're in, the shop looks ok. I wouldn't say it's on par with Whole Foods or anything like that, but it's a decent shop with a nice selection of foods, snacks, etc.

The service was really on point. The beer buyer approached me pretty quickly, and was extremely friendly and helpful. Once I told him "I got this" he smiled, walked away and left me to my business without hovering.

I'd been told that this is "the place" for beer in SD. Though it has good selection, I can't say the shelves were stocked with mondo-rarity. Being an east coaster, I was a little dissapointed not to find the treasure chest of amazingness I'd hoped sat on their shelves 24/7. Maybe they keep some stuff in the back, I don't know. But don't get me wrong, the selection was still pretty solid, as I easily found ten day old Pliny and Blind Pig in their fridge.

You know, maybe I'm being a bit tough on 'em. But you've gotta understand that when I see an A+ rating, I tend to think it a life changing place. Everything was good, really good. Would I come back and shop again? Absolutely. Just keep your expectations in check.

*A BIG thumbs up and thank you for selling styro bottle shippers, both one and six bottle packs!

11-26-2011 22:23:01 | More by Rhettroactive