Sun Devil Liquors

ronniebruner

Arizona

3.76/5  rDev -13.8%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4.5 | service: 2 | selection: 5 | $$$

From the outside this place looks a bit rundown. First of all, the neighborhood is a bit sketchy, especially if you do not speak Spanish. But once you get inside you know why you are there; the selection. These guys have everything you are looking for and also stuff you never heard of. The problem is the employees are very unhelpful and do not care much. The majority of the bottles are dusty and Ive even encountered several bottles past their expiration date. The place is severely cluttered and dingy, but you're here for the selection. There is a cellar where you can taste HopSlam on tap and once I even got some Bigfoot Stout. So if you're in Arizona and you're seeking selection and service is not a concern, this is the place to go! Or you can drive on over to Total Wine at san Tan.

10-23-2011 02:29:28 | More by ronniebruner

Phelps

Arizona

3.16/5  rDev -27.5%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3.5 | service: 1.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$$

Sun Devil's selection cannot be argued against. They get every sought-after beer, and every other beer besides. With entire sections of the store devoted to Belgian and Eastern European brews, there's always something new to find.

What can be argued against is the place's service and business practices. A story: around the time Parabola was first released in Arizona, I went on a search that brought me to Sun Devil. I had already bought a pair of bottles at their sister store, Tops, for $14 each. The single case of Parabola at Sun Devil was kept behind the counter -- I had to point it out before they would acknowledge they had it -- and cost $18 per bottle. I begrudgingly forked over the money for a bottle, knowing they were the last ones in town who had it in stock. I return a week later and they have one bottle left. I ask the clerk to ring it up, and he says the price is $22. I tell him I paid less than that just a few days earlier. He just shrugs and says, "It's a popular beer."

Sun Devil has good stuff in stock, but their price-gouging practices have kept me from going back since that day. If you want a sought-after brew, use this bottle shop as a last resort.

05-12-2011 21:55:40 | More by Phelps

Beerandraiderfan

Nevada

4/5  rDev -8.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Roll up, this place is a dive on the outside. Inside, its a little clustered, but you gotta appreciate trying to carry as much product as possible. Downstairs there's a serving room w/ tons of wine. Hopslam on tap, and available in bottle for purchase. Sweet.

A weird collection of stuff. All kinds of different Bell's beers. In Arizona. Nice. Even the major stuff like Pyramid, they had a variety I've never seen. Tons of Rock Art stuff from Vermont. . . just mind scratching the geographic reach this place has. A little worried about freshness here, lots of dust and damaged labels. Good variety of six pack stuff and stuff in the coolers. What is in the cooler may not be on the shelf.

Employees ask real quick if you need help and then leave you alone. Take care of your stuff when you're downstairs. Prices are decent.

03-30-2011 21:16:20 | More by Beerandraiderfan

Allpe45

Arizona

4.36/5  rDev 0%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$$$

From the outside this looks like a typical seedy arizona liquor store, it even has the classic drive through window. Even the entrance area looks like a typical liquor store if you just look at the counter / cash register area.

Once you glance farther inside, or just breathe some of the air inside, it's obvious that this is not a normal liquor store. The contrast makes this place that much more interesting.

It smells like a wine cellar, in the best way possible. You can feel the humidity in your lungs when you breathe, brings back memories of my late grandfather's basements in Europe.

The inside is peaceful and dim. Gotta let the eyes adjust to the lack of light for a few seconds after escaping the Arizona sun. I normally bring a hoodie, even if it is warm outside, because they keep the temperature fairly low in the building. This is a must if going downstairs. It really is cellar temperature, which honestly isn't THAT cold, except on days when it is comparatively hot outside (meaning almost every days in this city).

I have been there several times and it's always almost empty aside from 1-2 workers and maybe 1 random customer who enters, buys something, and leaves, all before I even finish deciding which beers I want to buy. This may be related to what time I choose to shop here. It seems like I come here at roughly the same time of day, regardless of which day it is.

The staff is very knowledgeable and helpful. If there is something specific I'm looking for, they can usually find it for me or give me a valid explanation of why it's not available, and give me a rough idea of when it will be back in stores, if ever. I don't mean typical BS excuses you hear from random employees in various stores. These guys actually know what's going on in the beer world, especially with regard to beer distributed in AZ. I always see the same 1-2 guys working there, so I don't know if all the staff members are all like this, or if I just come at the perfect time of day every time.

They have an unparalleled selection of European beers, but their American stash is nothing to scoff at either. There is a side section of the store devoted almost entirely to Belgian and Belgian-style beers.
They have racks upon racks filled with 750s and bombers of varying age, style, and availability.
Lots of their selection simply cannot be found in any other local store. Harviestoun Ola Dubh series? no problem.

They even have several of the Mikkeller single hop IPAs in stock, but I can't speak for the freshness as I haven't asked about it or tried them yet.

I feel bad giving this store such a high score even though I shop at other local stores WAY more often than I come here. The price is the only issue with this store. Don't get me wrong, they aren't as bad as whole foods, the prices are usually at least reasonable, but still more expensive than totalwine/bevmo.
They also split up 4packs/6packs by the bottle, and if you want to buy a full pack, they will probably charge you for 4 or 6 individual bottles instead of the normal 4pack/6pack price.
Definitely not cool.

I would shop here exclusively if their prices were more in line with other local beer stores, or if their policy of breaking up 6-packs into individual bottles was an option instead of a requirement.

Unfortunately, the way things are right now, I only come to this store if there is something very specific that I want and other stores don't have it in stock.
I really like coming here, it's a great experience every time, until checkout.

03-03-2011 14:21:59 | More by Allpe45

jale

Michigan

4.5/5  rDev +3.2%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Traveled from Michigan to the Arizona Strong beer festival and had to stop here. From the outside you may think this is an older average liquor store. What a great surprise to find a great selection of hard to find beers. The hidden gem here is the basement. They have several taps with good local craft beer. You can also buy anything on the shelves and drink it there. There are several tables and an area with a number a couches and comfy chairs. The feel is intimate and a great place to share great beers with friends. The owner (Lori) is the sweetest woman you will meet. Friday nights they have beer tasting and live music. This place is a must stop when visiting and the first place I will head to when in Phoenix.

02-21-2011 23:59:25 | More by jale

allforbetterbeer

Colorado

4.35/5  rDev -0.2%
quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$

I live in Colorado and have visited this store over Christmas holidays on a few occasions, and very much wish that this store was closer by! The selection is the best I have seen, and they have an impressive vintage beer selection in the basement tap room. I saw older vintages of J.W. Lees, Thomas Hardys, Fuller's Vintage Ale, and others. They have an interesting mix and match policy where you can take bottles out of six-packs and assemble your own from their entire inventory. Usually stores have on cooler than can mix and match, but my understanding was that the rule goes for anything in the store. Pretty awesome! They also have an entire room called "The Iron Curtain", which is dedicated to beer ( and maybe other beverages?) from Eastern Europe. Overall this is the best store I have visited yet for selection (maybe they just have what I can't find in CO). I have not interacted with the staff much, but they seemed nice enough, although the clerk told me that they were getting some more Thomas Hardy's in soon... and I just nodded and smiled.

02-05-2011 21:47:24 | More by allforbetterbeer

jeffaz02t

Arizona

4.05/5  rDev -7.1%
quality: 4.5 | service: 3 | selection: 4.5 | $$

This is my favorite bottle shop in the Valley of the Sun. They have much more open space than Tops (same owners) and the Tempe ASU crowd does not pick away at the selection here like they do at Tops.

They have the largest selection that I know of in the state and feature a small taproom with a few gems on tap.

This place gets many special releases and offer a 10% discount if you buy by the case.

I have not been exactly impressed by the beer knowledge of some of the staff, but whatever. I do not need a clerk to help me out here, I know my way around a bottle shop.

02-03-2011 01:29:57 | More by jeffaz02t

leedorham

Washington

3.75/5  rDev -14%
quality: 4.5 | service: 2 | selection: 4.5 | $$$

Visited this place on a couple occasions while visiting friends & relatives in Mesa.

Quality - Lots of world-class beer here from all over the world. Great to find some beers I can't get in my area and see more than just the usual suspects from Belgium and the like. There were some dusty bottles but I guess that's to be expected with so much selection.

Service - Maybe I just caught them on a bad day (both times) but each time I've been to this place they guys working there have been total tools to me & my significant other. On one occasion we went to an open register while one of the clerks worked behind the counter eating an abba zabba or something. When we finally asked for his attention he picked up a register closed sign, plunked it down in front of us, then walked away without saying a word.

Selection - Very wide variety of choices from not-so-craft to world-class.

Value - I found the prices to be a bit higher than what I am used to in my area.

01-15-2011 16:13:16 | More by leedorham

chaase44

Arizona

5/5  rDev +14.7%
quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | $$

as a new transplant to Mesa, i was looking for a local watering hole that served more than budwiser when i figured out that sun devil liquors has a bar in their basement. now, i've been going to sun devil since i got here, because of their exceptional selection of beer, but never had the chance to go into their downstairs bar. well, i finally got a chance, and it is amazing! wicked small bar without the frills, but still done up enough to make you feel comfortable. and the star of every bar is their beer choices. they have between six to a dozen rotating beers along with a cask going, all of them local or regional crafts. i'm so excited about this place. i am able to stop by after work, enjoy a new beer i've never had before, walk upstairs and grab something to take home, then be on my way. top notch place in a town were good beer and good bars are few and far between.

12-20-2010 15:17:24 | More by chaase44

DPFRD

Arizona

5/5  rDev +14.7%
quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | $

This place is the sister store of top's liquor in tempe.

They have an egregious selection of wine and booze, complimented by the best selection of beer known to an arizonan.

This place basically stocks the same stuff tops does, huge belgian selection that will blow your mind, german, asian... they even have a section called the iron curtain.

I love this place cause it's in mesa which isn't the high society of beer, so when tops runs out of something, they have it still... I found the yulesmith summer variety here, sculpin when it was near impossible to find and the Houblon when I thought it was completely depleted in az.

The place can get you a keg of anything, and will give you 10% discount if you buy in cases.

They also have a downstairs wine/beer bar that is killin too.

12-20-2010 07:50:05 | More by DPFRD