Stearns Liquor

GrumpyJunglist

California

5/5  rDev +10.9%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | $$

I was first introduced to this place by a friend of mine who used this site to find a new place to buy beer. Upon my first visit i immediately fell in love with the place. The best part is that they do sell pricey beers, but there is no mark up. I am happy i can find some hard to come by beers and not get stuck paying a few extra bucks. Downer is sometimes they are gone by the time i get the chance to stop by, but thats okay.

I definitely enjoy stopping by grabbing a few bottles and talking shop with the fellas there. If you stop by and get to meet Danny, its worth your time to take a few minutes to either let him help you find a new beer to try or the very least pick his brain about some beers.

I look forward to what lays ahead for stearns with Danny running it. He has some great ideas and has some great beers to be released throughout that future, and it makes me wish i lived close to the store.

05-18-2011 03:55:10 | More by GrumpyJunglist

jmgrub

California

4.86/5  rDev +7.8%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Made my first trip down to Stearns Liquor today and was extremely impressed. I called ahead to see if they had any Abacus left, as I had heard they had gotten quite an allotment, and was told they had sold out. I told them I would come down anyways because I had heard good things. When I got there, Danny, the owner, was waiting for me with an Abacus that he had scared up. The rest of the selection was exceptional as well-Alpine, RR, Drakes, Port, Lost Abbey, Bruery etc. were all well-stocked. Plenty of good sours and stouts. Everything was refrigerated except for a few big stouts which were shelved right next to the beer fridges. Danny was more than happy to stand there and talk beer with me for a few minutes, and made some great recommendations. I look forward to hitting Stearns Liquor again sometime soon.

05-08-2011 23:48:33 | More by jmgrub

gregoryG

California

4.44/5  rDev -1.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Stearns liquor near the 405 and lakewood blvd. they have a really nice selection to choose from all the time. always have good examples of the more popular styles on here such as imperial stouts, sours, barrel aged beers. the guy that owns the place always seems really stoked and has a good attitude about his place and his customers. he also gets some of the harder to find beers at times such as pliny the elder, alpine ipa's, and the limited release firestone walker beers, i was able to get 3 bottles of Abacus from stearns liquor.

05-08-2011 21:52:06 | More by gregoryG

UCLABrewN84

California

4.6/5  rDev +2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 5 | service: 4 | selection: 5 | $$

Visited Stearns Liquor for the first time yesterday. A very nice and organized liquor store/mini-mart. Has a more upscale feel than other places in the LB area. Beer coolers fill up 2 walls in the place. They have a large selection of BMC but an exceptional selection of craft beer from the US and abroad. Everything was fresh and within the dates. All beer that should be in the coolers (IPAs, etc.) was in there, with the stouts and porters out on the shelf. Some rare and harder to find offerings from US and foreign breweries. Cashier was very friendly and helpful. Highly recommended stop in the LB area.

03-20-2011 20:26:25 | More by UCLABrewN84

UnknownKoger

California

4.08/5  rDev -9.5%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Decided to check this place out after reading the BA reviews. Fairly unassuming from the outside...just looks like your average liquor store. But then you walk in, and right in front of along the wall is an absolutely amazing craft beer selection. While there I picked up Drie Fonteinen, RR Consecration, Rochefort 10 and 1809 Berliner Weisse.

Another reviewer said this is the place if you're an IPA or sour fan, and I have to agree. All of the standards were there along with some pretty surprising finds. They had all the current RR beers in stock.

Prices were a bit on the upper end, but nothing too outrageous. You get what you pay for. And 10 minutes from CSULB? I'm sold. Great place

03-11-2011 21:44:25 | More by UnknownKoger

DRGinLBC

California

5/5  rDev +10.9%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | $$$

I've got to take a couple seconds to review Stearn's Liquor. Thanks to my good friend Derrick, I've become quite interested in the craft brew scene. Sorry Coors Light...we had some good times.

This is quite possibly the best hidden jem in Long Beach. One of the co-owners named Danny knows his beer. He's stocking one of the best selections of hard to find brews that I've ever come across. Many beers here you can't find at BevMo. He also posts Beer Advocate ratings for some of his best beers. It keeps you from guessing whether a $10 bottle of beer is going to be a drain pour or not. If the store isn't busy, he takes the time to stand there and chat about his favorites and the different styles. It's nice to see someone who has some knowledge rather than just pointing you to an expensive random bottle.

Store is clean and well taken care of. You can tell they put some effort into this place when they took over. Good to see.

Two thumbs up to Stearns Liquor. My business will continue.

Cheers!

03-07-2011 19:17:52 | More by DRGinLBC

tuffbuckets

California

5/5  rDev +10.9%
quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | $

I've been living in Long Beach going on five years now and I'm gonna say, best beer selection in the city, bar none. Especilly if you are an IPA lover or a sour afficanado. My only complaint is that I didn't find this place sooner.

The owner, Danny, stocks all the best stuff, and keeps it stored appropriately (IPAs in the fridge, stouts on the shelf, etc.) and is extremely knowledgable about the industry, always on top of new and rare releases.

I love it when a fellow beer geek owns his own store.

02-18-2011 16:58:04 | More by tuffbuckets

UncleRev

California

5/5  rDev +10.9%
quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | $

Solid beer store, conveniently located a few blocks off PCH, on Stearns Ave. Parking is great, you pull up curbside to the store, and if it's full, ample parking on the opposite side. Nice first impression, clean store, not cluttered, despite having something for everyone (from bud light to supplication), with about 12 coolers dedicated to ONLY craft beer. Danny is knowledgable about his beers, and can quickly become your "go-to" beer guy, when you're looking for a rarity , latest release, or just want to engage in some beer geek talk. Bottles are reasonably priced, and always well stocked. You should definitely check this place out if you're around, worth the stop.

02-03-2011 03:36:12 | More by UncleRev

fourplayed

California

4.15/5  rDev -8%
quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | $$

So Glad to have another place in Long Beach. Good back wall coolers full of a very good selection of craft and imports.

Owner was on the phone with his beer vendor telling him he'd take all he can get...will have no problem selling it all. They had at least 6 bottles of "Infinium" on the shelf...$19+ very competitive.

Good selection overall, not much to add the others have not mentioned.

Price's are reasonable. Mix and match area to build your own 6 packs are very well priced. I bit farther from Calif Heights liquor for me. But, some selections here are worth dropping in for from time to time to purchase.

01-07-2011 00:04:29 | More by fourplayed

ebin6

California

4.5/5  rDev -0.2%
quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4 | $$

Just went here for the first time yesterday. Man, wish I had known about this place before! Great selection of IPAs...got to try Alpine Nelson and the Mikkeller 1000 IBU for the first time, and they had many other offerings that were not available elsewhere. The guy in charge, Danny I think, was very nice and definitely knows his shit. Although the range of beers was not quite as extensive as Wine Country, they definitely have a different selection here that will keep me coming back. Prices were very fair, in my opinion. My friend swooped in on a wine deal they had (a $14 dollar wine that was $8, buy one get one for $1) and most beer prices were very reasonable.

12-23-2010 21:41:37 | More by ebin6