Save On Craft Beer

merc7186

New York

3.53/5  rDev -25.8%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 3.5 | $$

When I pulled up to it, my first impression was 'What a dump'. But upon entering you soon realize that you can't judge a book by its cover. The place is all focused around Good Beer, Some Liquor and Smokes. The atmosphere is decent, not a total beer snobs haven, but okay. The quality of beers are decent, they get some heavy hitters on their shelves but lacks in any rarities or extreme rarities. The service is average, there were two people working who knew what they kinda had but couldn't really help you. The quality of their selection is decent, they draw a lot of brewers from Ohio and surrounding states but that's about it. I think the locals scored this place so high because they havent seen better but this place is the 4th best beer retailer I've been inside the past 7 days. (Beers of the World, Rochester NY...Half Time in Poughkepsie NY...Premier Gourmet, Kenmore NY)

To quote Ogre from Revenge of the Nerds...Its good, here why.

08-16-2011 23:27:46 | More by merc7186

Morey

Pennsylvania

4.3/5  rDev -9.7%
quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

I've been to this place twice now (I live about an hour and 15 minutes away) mainly to purchase Hopslam.

Lots of beer to chose from. Mostly warm, but plently cold as well. As far as the quality goes, there are some beers that are past their "enjoy before" and "best if enjoyed by" dates, but you'll have that with such a big selection.

Run by an Indian couple (at least I think that they're a couple) with decent beer knowledge, and they're certainly friendly enough.

Here's some of what you can find...

Smuttynose
Stoudts
Weyerbacher
Dogfish
Heavy Seas
Lagunitas
Avery
Victory
Troegs
Bells
Ommegang
Founders
Pyramid
Arcadia
Abita
Alesmith
Hoppin' Frog
Great Lakes
Southern Tier
Boulder
Breckenridge
Bluepoint
Ithica
and lots of Belgians.

I'm not used to the tax being that I'm from Pa, but it about evens things out to what I would pay here in Erie.

03-13-2010 23:50:16 | More by Morey

beerdrifter

Germany

4.3/5  rDev -9.7%
quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | $

Found this gem of a beer store while visiting my brother-in-law who lives in Mentor. Very unassuming facade, but once you're inside it's all beer. Great all-around selection. Since I live in Europe I was more interested in the domestic craft beer, but checked out the imports and was very impressed. Probably the best part about this place is the fact that they sell singles that are not overpriced like most places. Most beers are under $2.00. The selection was incredible. Lots of west coast stuff to include Rogue, Stone, Bear Republic and Alesmith. Other mentionables included Founders, Bells, Southern Tier, Brooklyn and Avery. The lady at the counter was extremely friendly and fairly knowledgeable. She turned me on to some Founders Devils Dancer that she didn't have displayed. Had planned on visiting some other beer stores in the Cleveland area but there was no need after stopping here. Great store!

07-27-2010 16:13:29 | More by beerdrifter

bigbubba

Ohio

4.5/5  rDev -5.5%
quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

This place is incredible. Everything is available in singles, and not at inflated prices like many other places. The selection is great in all categories. And the beers I've purchased were always fresh.

The staff is very friendly and helpful. And there is almost never a line to pay.

This is a beer store with wine unlike the wine store with beer down the road.

The only downside to the place is the location. It is a busy corner, and nearly impossible to turn left into or out of. But a couple of u-turns fixes that.

05-06-2010 22:16:50 | More by bigbubba

TheSevenDuffs

Ontario (Canada)

4.5/5  rDev -5.5%
quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Stopped by on my way to Cleveland after reading about this place on BA.

A very impressive selection of craft beer, including a good variety from Founders, Bells, Hoppin' Frog, Great Divide, Breckenridge, Flying Dog, Thirsty Dog, New Holland, Avery, Troegs, etc. Also a good selection of Belgian beer.

Another plus was the very large selection of make your own six pack beers. Almost every beer that they had was available in single bottles.

My only complaint was that some beers were ONLY available as singles (with onlt 2 or 3 on the shelf) and I would have liked to buy a 6 packs (Founders Porter, GD Yeti, Bells Double Cream Stout, etc.).

I also managed to find one bomber of Alesmith speedway Stout, which was a welcome find!

Service was very friendly and helpful.

I would definitely go back here...

05-13-2010 13:04:08 | More by TheSevenDuffs

JamnesCameron

Illinois

4.5/5  rDev -5.5%
quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | $

Visited on a recent business trip. Very close to a place I visit for work at least 5 or 6 times a year. Convenient to get to off of Route 2 going eaat from Cleveland.

Very small store, but packed with some very nice brews. Picked up 14 bottles of beer for about $60, not bad. Prices are very reasonable.

Good selection of Avery, Troegs, Weyerbacher, New Holland, 21st Amendment, and Otter Creek. Plus some good imports, but nothing too far from the mainstream, although there was a Gose beer.

Not sure how the service worked out for others, I didn't have a need for anything special or have any questions. Stock looked like it got a decent rotation. I'll definitely make it back next time I'm in the area for work.

12-01-2010 01:36:46 | More by JamnesCameron

BB1313

Ohio

4.58/5  rDev -3.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | $

This is definitely a diamond in the rough. From the outside it appears to be your average convenient store, NOPE. This place focuses clearly on craft beer and imports. There are always new beers coming in and the selection is outstanding. The best part is you can grab a single of any beer they sell. There are aisles loaded w/ singles and 6 packs. They have a decent bomber selection and very nice Belgian collection. This place is pretty big and is stocked. This is pretty much my go to place if I want to stock up. If ever in the Mentor area, this is a MUST! I try to make an appearance at least once a week.

The owner is also very nice and knowledgable.

06-19-2010 07:36:15 | More by BB1313

adamette

Ohio

4.65/5  rDev -2.3%
quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | $

I added this place to Beer Advocate so I will be sure to represent it well here. First learned about this place while at Ballantine's in Willoughby by its owner/operator as it had just opened at that time. It has been open since approximately the beginning of October, 2009. During my first trip I met and spoke with the manager, Wally, who is middle eastern and a very approachable fellow. I found it interesting that he was managing this place with so many incredible beers but he himself had not sampled very many of them at the time. During that first trip I recommended that he try all of the trappist beers (they have each of the trappists represented except for the Achel and Westvleteren) as well as Old Rasputin.
I returned there earlier tonight, spoke with Wally and he was glad that I had made those recommendations. He reported that he really liked them. He also indicated that he liked several others and recommended those to me.

Quality. American Craft beers greet you as you enter, probably 150 different varieties with six and 12 packs below and singles ...of every available beer... displayed on the top shelf at eye level. Big signs throughout the store encourage "mix six packs" and this is very nice for a shopper such as myself since I enjoy tasting a lot of different beers. Anyway, three rows of American Craft, one whole row of Belgian, one row of German and most of a row of English and Scottish beers with some "wildcard" American craft to finish out that row. There are easily 500 different craft and imports in this store. That is just the "shelf" beers. The coolers that exist on the right and back wall are filled with 12 and 24 packs of a wide range of craft, import and, yes, a few BMC beers. In case you wondered, there are also 6 rows of wine and a huge supply of pipe tobacco, cigarettes and all manner of cigars. The place is clean (It is only a few months old now) and everything is displayed very nicely. Oh, they currently have gift sets from Samuel Smith, Corsendunk, Troegs, Brewery Ommegang and Petrus. 4.5

Service Well really very good. See comments above about Wally, the operator who was very patient, engaging and enthusiastic about his store. 4.5

Selection The best in the area. World Wines and Liquor in Mentor used to have this honor with honorable mention going to the various Heinen's but this place surpasses both of those. See some of my comments above for more details. 4.5

Value They break up any six pack and simply divide the price of the 6 pack by six and that price goes on the singles. That is rare as far as I have seen and it is very much appreciated.

Addendum 1 11 10: I went there for a fourth time last week and Wally gave me 4 New Glarus beers that he said that he could not sell due to not having distributorship in Ohio. He said that he was keeping them for his good customers as a thank you. I am certainly increasing my "service" rating from the previous 4.5 to a 5.0. What a great move, one that I wanted to share with others.

12-01-2009 05:31:36 | More by adamette

beergod1

Ohio

4.65/5  rDev -2.3%
quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Thanks to Adamette for telling me about this place.
For starters, It's clean and organized, and you can mix your own six pack with almost any sixer they have, and for a very reasonable price. The owner was very knowledgeable and helpful even though he was very busy. Just the selection of Seasonal "winter ales and Lagers" was better than any place I seen that day...I went to 5 different places. This is definitely my new Go-To spot when I go to Mentor. Can't wait to go there in the spring for the next wave of Seasonal's.

12-27-2009 00:49:34 | More by beergod1

schoolboy

Ohio

4.84/5  rDev +1.7%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | $$

I'm not sure how long after Sammi and her mom started running this store that I found it, but it was a great surprise. This corner used to be a 7 Eleven and then a dumpy cheap beer store. I stopped in for doughnuts next door and I noticed some quality beer through the window. What a nice surprise it was to find a huge selection of singles.

It's been about a year,year and a half since then, and this is the closest real beer store to my house (but there are others near by too). Within 1 to 5 miles there are probably 10! But Sammi is great and her mom is sweet. They always wear a big smile and keep the selection first rate. They will make an effort and obtain special orders fo you.

Highly recommended.

11-17-2011 01:19:20 | More by schoolboy