Tipple's Brews

Jdmpolk

Florida

4.5/5  rDev -0.4%
quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Tipple's is my go to beer location in Gainesville. They constantly look for new beers, and keep their patrons in the loop as to what has come in. Their selection is sold by the six pack, but each options are available as well. They have two taps in store that constantly switch out with a new craft brewery.
The owners are very active in promoting beer in Gainesville. They will regularly have the local brewery, Swamp Head, on tap or an offering form Cigar City. They host a beer tasting almost every month, which aims to expose and educate their patrons in new styles of beer, as well as instruction on how to taste it.
On top of the great beer selection they also have offerings of wine cheese, and their own hot sauce. Overall it is a great place to go with knowledgeable and friendly staff with a great selection.

12-30-2010 01:36:31 | More by Jdmpolk

awsmith4

Georgia

4.5/5  rDev -0.4%
quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4 | $$

Needed a beer store while heading to Ocala from Atlanta two weeks ago and saw this place listed here on BA. Stopped in looking for beer to bring to a cookout/herf and also to see if there was anything rare or not available in GA. The selection was not extremely vast but it did appear to be carefully thought out. The prices were reasonable but what really made me dig this place was the friendly atmosphere and helpful staff. These guys seemed to want to talk beer as much as I did and had someone else not needed assistance we would have probably talked all afternoon. I will be stopping there again anytime I am headed down to FL.

11-29-2010 21:57:54 | More by awsmith4

milkbaby9

Florida

4.7/5  rDev +4%
quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 4 | $$

I'm a big fan of Tipple's, especially since they are just short jaunt up the street from home for me. As you enter the store, you find the store about equally divided up with the beer on the left hand side of the store, while the wine is on the right. There is also a small selection of cigars, cheese, chocolate, and hot sauces available.

In the corner, they have two rotating taps so you can enjoy a nice draft beer as you do your shopping. This is one of my favorite things about the store as there is oftentimes something nice on tap, and I'll hang out there with a buddy or two drinking as we peruse the selection. If what's on tap doesn't thrill you, then they are happy to open up any of the bottles for you to enjoy in the store as well. There's a marble countertop at the checkout, but no stools for you to sit and linger there -- you just have to stand or lean as you enjoy your beer!

Another thing I like is that all the beer selections are available as singles, so I'm not stuck buying a whole six pack of a beer I just want to try. You pay a bit of a premium for singles, but it is a great option in my opinion. They have a nice selection from US craft breweries available around here, most notably Cigar City, but also carry Georgia breweries like Sweetwater and Terrapin. There is also a nice selection of imports from Belgium, Germany, the UK, Italy, and other parts of the world. This is the only place in town that I've found Italian brewery Le Baladin's rare Xyauyu. And if you need some horse pee for your pee swilling friends, they even have Bud Light and PBR available! :-)

The shelf space and selection has exploded here in the last couple of months with a ton of new shelves having been built, so if you haven't been by recently, you may be surprised by how much the selection has grown. The prices are usually pretty good, and they typically charge less here for beers you might find in the local supermarket (Sam Adams, Sierra Nevada, Dogfish Head). For example, the SA and SN 6 packs are usually $1 to $1.20 less than what they are at the supermarkets down the street from here.

I enjoy the occassional glass of wine with friends, but don't know enough to comment on their wine selection, though it appears to be fairly good. There are also some nice local and imported cheeses available; I quite enjoyed the local Wainwright dairy's sharp cheddar.

There is a small selection of branded beer glassware, probably most notable being the famous Duvel tulip. Most tend to be of the stemmed tulip or stemmed chalice variety. Additionally, they've gotten in a number of gift packs recently probably in preparation for the Christmas gift giving season.

Every now and then they host a beer or wine tasting that always sells out. They've also randomly had free beer samples sometimes, usually announced through Facebook.

The owners are friendly and always happy to help. I think I've lost count of how many free beers I've gotten from these guys, and I'm sure I'm not even close to being their best customer. Hmm... after writing up this review, I'm jonesing to head over there and do some shopping...

11-16-2010 03:58:01 | More by milkbaby9

MarcGetty

Pennsylvania

3.85/5  rDev -14.8%
quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | $$

As I was in Gainesville for the weekend and needed to stock up on beer, I visited Tipple's Brews as it was the # 1 rated beer store on BeerAdvocate. Tipple's Brews seems to be divided up 1/2 wine and 1/2 beer with very good selections of each.

Arriving found a good selection of craft beer, both domestic and imported, both cold and not, and in everything from single 12oz bottles to plenty of 22oz, 750ml, and even a few 3L jeroboams behind the counter. Most of the brands I sought were available and I walked out with over $100 in 750s over two trips.

I had a few questions about selection, which were answered with stares as if I were speaking another language, so I'm not sure what is up with the service.

While Tipple's Brews is definitely a great place, and a place I'm sure to visit if in Gainesville again, I'm not sure it deserves the "A+ World Class" rating it current has on BA.

10-05-2010 14:33:32 | More by MarcGetty

GatorBrew

Florida

4.85/5  rDev +7.3%
quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

I go here fairly frequently. They have an Excellent selection of beer with most all of the seasonal and special releases from breweries that distribute in the area. You'll find what you want here for sure.

The guys that work there seem really nice and always will answer questions you have about anything. No complaints whatsoever about the service.

The prices of everything are very good. The nice thing about the beer is that it is all sold as singles too, so picking up one or two of something new is very inexpensive.

Parking is great, no bums to harass you like at different local beer store! It's in a very nice area, which is likely out of the way for many Gainesvillians.

Love it, need more stores locally like it.

09-29-2010 20:39:37 | More by GatorBrew

GGuzman

Florida

4.65/5  rDev +2.9%
quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Small building about 1500 sq ft where the two owners, Matt and Cale, have maximized the usage of all they have. Brand new building that has windows everywhere, is well lit and very clean. Wine, beer and cheese on sale here so the crowd is slightly mixed. Its near where I live and definately offers Haile/Gainesville its closest and best craft beer store.

The store is new and the two owners are daily fixtures there. They are polite and know most of us regulars by name. It's nice having a familiar face everytime I go in personally and I rate their customer service as exemplary.

Keep in mind that Florida is one of the more limited states in terms of selections available to it....a victim of the distributors and the 3-tier system to say the least. Tipples has easily one of the top 3 selections of beers in the Gainesville area. Their selection is limited by the square footage of the building they are in. (Just like at The Alcove) They have the rarer finds to be had in the area undoubtedly.

The store, not in business for one year yet I don't believe, is about 1/3 used for beer by my estimate. The store has two taps on premise and they sell $3-4 glasses (18 ounces) of whatever is on. Tap items are usually local from Craig Birkmaier (Swamphead-Gainesville) or Wayne Wamble's stuff (Cigar City-TPA) It's nice to get a glass to drink on premise as one talks with the occasional fellow BA'er on site. This store has more of a white collar demographic (Haile) than others.

07-20-2010 18:54:54 | More by GGuzman

aepb1

Florida

4.85/5  rDev +7.3%
quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

I've been shopping here from near their begining (as soon as fellow BA vapodge told me about it) and still have a couple growlers waiting for the stupid laws in Florida to change... I go a few times a week.

The price is in line with other places around Gainesville but the service is second to none.

Half the store is devoted to wine and cheeses, their own hot sauce and the other half is beer with a wall pretty packed with coolers. There are also two taps stocked with a bunch of local stuff and whatever else they can get their hands on!

If you're in town and want more than the typical college packie, head on over to Tipple's, it's totally worth the trip to Haile.

06-29-2010 03:43:25 | More by aepb1

jf60657

Florida

4.35/5  rDev -3.8%
quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | $$

Wow...Cool Place. Visited with 3 other BA's on a trip from Jacksonville to Gainesville. The store is a little out of the way from the college and climbing gym we were also visiting. Due to the rain, being tired from climbing and traffic, we were all getting a little cranky. When we arrived and walked in, our spirits changed for the better! First thing I noticed was how clean and well lit the place was. Then I noticed the beer, lots of rare Belgians I never see and plenty of one-offs and rarities from the breweries available in market. Then, whats that?....GORDON!! I've been looking everywhere for it and now I've got it, yay! You can mix a six and they the display beer with the sixer price as well as the single price, very helpful and leads to no surprises at the checkout.

The staff was very helpful and nice. The prices were very reasonable. Cigar City brews on tap (Maduro and Jai Lai). This will be a stop every time I am in Gainesville.

06-18-2010 17:01:40 | More by jf60657

flinch

Florida

4.85/5  rDev +7.3%
quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

The guys here are extremely nice, and very helpful. Seem to always have good answers to my ever-burning questions. The prices are pretty good, and the selection is definitely one of the better in this area. Things I haven't seen at other local shops, like the Rogue SX collection and carried Rochefort Abbey ales when they came through. They had growler fills but got shut down for state reasons (not their fault), but now serve Swamp Head on tap. A little out of the way of my house, but work near. It's worth the trip!
Also have a good selection of wine!

05-23-2010 20:55:44 | More by flinch

mullenite

Florida

4.3/5  rDev -4.9%
quality: 4 | service: 5 | selection: 4 | $$

Stopped by today after seeing it pop up on BeerFly. (Yes, I randomly check BeerFly for new places.)

Great location in west Gainesville/Haile Plantation. Much closer to my house than any of the other beer stores around, which probably doesn't matter to most people.

The store is nice and has a good, high class look to it. I was greeted as soon as I walked in with a whiteboard featuring new releases and their overall ratings on BA and/or RateBeer.

Service was great, and they were very helpful by telling me about upcoming events and their rewards program.

They do sell all beers in singles but with prices just slightly higher than the other stores in town that do, but still not too bad.

They do have a great selection and have a lot of beers I have not yet seen in my two years here in Gainesville (Traquair, DeuS, Fuller's Vintage, Coppers Vintage, Dark Island etc.)

02-04-2010 17:18:16 | More by mullenite