Ale Yeah! Craft Beer Market

Cloaked_Phantom

Georgia

4.63/5  rDev +4.8%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 4 | $$$

My aunt and uncle live near hear and otherwise I may never have came in, but I am certainly glad I did. The people here are very helpful and incredibly knowledgeable of I'd say almost all their beers. It's a little cramped but the overall experience is great. Some people may compare it to Hop City just up the road but Ale Yeah! has more of a personable touch to me. Can't wait till my next visit!

04-10-2013 03:31:28 | More by Cloaked_Phantom

DoubleSimcoe

New York

3.95/5  rDev -10.6%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4 | $$

It was not planned, I swear, but we just *happened* to drive right by the Decatur location of Ale Yeah!... what could I do? The wife went next door to get some gourmet coffee.

This shop is bigger and cleaner-looking than the one in Roswell, but less interesting. Beers are neatly and clearly divided in shelves by styles (including shelves for Porter and Stout, I love it).

No rare releases, unlike Roswell. Mostly regular stuff. Lips of Faith Imperial Coffee Chocolate Stout was one of the rarer brews I spotted, along with Bruery Smoking Wood. They sell singles and growlers, fifteen taps, and service is super nice, almost unctuous.

They sell local cheese and charcuterie, which is a big plus. Overall, a good stop, but not the best store I’ve been to in the ATL.

01-04-2013 04:51:27 | More by DoubleSimcoe

bamadog

Kentucky

4.14/5  rDev -6.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | $$

Atmosphere: It's a beer store, so it's not like it's got something special going on in terms of atmosphere, but it's definitely cool and dedicated to the craft, so I really dig that. It's clean, well lit, pretty well organized, so it's definitely inviting.

Quality/Service/Selection: Good selection, great variety in a state that's just really starting to amp up its distribution and what it can get, so I was definitely pumped about that; dudes working were really cool and accommodating -- didn't pressure, didn't pretend to know more than they do, didn't talk my ear off (I hate that, let me shop for my beer), so I really dug it. Well worth the drive. I'll probably try to do it every month or so since it's not really near me.

Value: Like most decent stores, you get what you pay for, so you always tend to be a little bit more, but you get what you pay for in the end.

08-30-2012 01:24:36 | More by bamadog

pixieskid

France

3.9/5  rDev -11.8%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 3.5 | food: 5 | $$

EDIT: Went to the location in Roswell had a nice chat with one of the dudes, this was the service I was hoping for. You open a specialty store you expect people to want to talk about their products/have knowledge of them and at this location they did. Bumped the service up to a 4.5.

Honestly, I was a bit dissapointed with my recent visit to Ale Yeah!, probably because of the previous reviews touting a World Class Average and numerous 5's across the board. I've been to a lot of beer stores all over the world and happen to work for one that also has a World Class Average.

Atmosphere:

The layout and appearance were quite unique, much different than any beer shop I have been to. The tiny "style aisles" of beer are a bit strange but I can appreciate organizing the beer based on style. Additionally, I didn't care for the way the prices were displayed for the beers in the four/six pack holders. I'd have to grab the holder and spin it around til I found the pricegun tag on the box and then obviously divide by 4 or 6.
A simple tag underneath each beer with the name and price would avoid all that nonsense.

Quality: I wish that there were more coolers and less beer on the shelves especially IPAs, but I know and understand the reasoning for that (costly in both space and money).

Service: Staff was friendly but I felt uncomfortable asking questions because of the demeanor/responses of the guy I was talking to. I also didnt get a very straightforward answer and I felt as if I had a better answer to my own question, even without having the resources that they do.

Selection:

Pretty standard but limited. Granted, it is much smaller than a place like Greens or HopCity but the way they organized the shop limits the variety of beers they have room for. I do appreciate that they allow you to take singles from any sixpack (which most places in this area dont) but I feel the organization of the shop doesn't allow you to do that as guilt-free as it could.
If promoting a mix-a-six is of importance, set it up so that your customers beer shopping is conducive to that.
I.E. Shelves (coolers would be ideal, but of course more costly) that have everything lined up, with prices, ready to just grab and mix a six. Not making you grab one here and there and then take the remaining sixpacks up to the counter so that you can then stock the "singles shelf".

Food: They do offer meat and cheeses from local producers for sale in their little deli cooler. Granted, I didn't try the products available, but the fact that they offer them is cool and other reviews have indicated they are good products.

Value: Prices are on par with the average prices if not a bit lower and a mix-a-six gets you 10% off which I find is a good practice. However, for some reason it is only specific to 11.2-12 oz bottles. I had 5 beers in the mix a six and then a large format bottle, apparently that didn't make six, so I had to pick out an additional beer to get the discount.

All in all, it was a successful trip, I mixed a six, grabbed a 4pack of Festina Peche, and a 750ml of Saison Dupont all for $35 with tax. Good deal, I was happy with it and with that beer hosted a tasting with some friends that wanted to learn about craft beer.

My overall disappointments lie within the fact that the selection was limited, the organization/pricing/mix-a-six format is just not user friendly and my interactions with the staff weren't worth the trip to Decatur. I guess I was just hoping to have a bit more of a conversation about beer than the same one I usually have at Greens, "hey do you carry this beer" and the response "No, I don't know about that/the distributor doesn't have it".

*(If anyone that works there/owns Ale Yeah! ends up reading this, I just want you to know that it's all intended as constructive criticism and if you've got any interest in talking to me about it, feel free to shoot me a BM).

07-23-2012 16:52:43 | More by pixieskid

promark420

Georgia

4.88/5  rDev +10.4%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 5 | $$

So they've been around a year now, and I haven't reviewed this place. Shame on me.

It's located on one of the smallest strip malls ever built, and parking is just off of a busy street, so that can make leaving the place a little interesting. As a bonus, it's one of the best beer stores within walking distance from a MARTA station as far as I know. East Lake stop.

Inside, it's cozy like an old-fashioned neighborhood store, complete with a refrigerated case. More on that later. The staff is anything but knowledgeable and helpful. They'll even go as far as seeing if a keg can fit in your trunk (it did).

These guys have put a lot of work into the store. There's a growler station now, tons of new customers and a few more beer-centric foods.

I LOVE that they have a sour ale section. It's ballsy, but it tells you they're not messing around with beer. The store itself isn't the biggest in town, but they don't have a single bad beer on their shelves. They definitely hang with the big boys such as Green's or Hop City.

One thing that flies under the radar that needs to be mentioned: they carry Spotted Trotter charcuterie. Don't miss out on this. It's damn good sausage. Same for Sweet Grass Dairy cheeses. Get them both. They're in the deli case.

I had to ding them slightly on selection, but that's only due to size. Like I said, they don't carry a single bad beer.

12-12-2011 22:22:23 | More by promark420

danielofthedale

Georgia

4.86/5  rDev +10%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | $$$

I love this store! The staff is amazing. Eddie knew my name and greeted my by it each time I came in after the first visit. Always helping me out finding a new beer in a style I love or helping me find a first experience with a sour (Duchesse de Bourgogne which was awesome). Some people don't like the layout by style but its one of the best features for me. I want a porter, I go over to the porter section and pick up an old favorite are a new one, easy as it gets. The growlers have been in a while now but now come in a 32oz. size which is perfect for me. I also will be making use of the homebrew supplies here soon. All in all this is the best store I have been to to get my beer shopping done.

10-19-2011 04:38:56 | More by danielofthedale

bigfnjoe

Pennsylvania

4.44/5  rDev +0.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

I visited Ale Yeah a few days after hitting the liquor stores more local to my hotel....that was probably a mistake. They had everything I got at the other places, and were cheaper. Doh. The store is very small, with shelves really only going one or two bottles deep...but the selection is very broad, with a lot of interesting stuff everywhere. Found a few Fantome bottles that I wanted to try which was a nice surprise. They also had some homebrew stuff that I didn't look at, but the fact that it was there is a nice touch. They also had a nice selection of glassware, and I picked up a couple of pint glasses with their logo on it, and a Dogfish signature snifter, which made my day. Prices were very reasonable for everything, and I'd definitely come back again. Service was great too, as the one guy in the shop asked if I needed help a couple of times. I like the organization of the store too...it's done by style. Real easy if you know what you're looking for. Looking forward to seeing what this place can do in the future.

08-18-2011 03:16:02 | More by bigfnjoe

IPAbeerNut

Georgia

4.8/5  rDev +8.6%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | $$

I knew that I had entered into heaven as soon as I walked in the door at Ale Yeah. My first words were probably more like "Ohhh Yeaaa". Like a Kid in a candy store came immediately to mind when I looked around at the selection and really froze for a minute not knowing where to start. My budget was $20, but I kept on finding more brews I wanted to try - left with $100+. After several trips for the bottled stuff, I now go in on a regular basis for the Growlers – you can’t beat the price of a Crafted Brew Growler or the fresh keg taste. Damn why did I not have the idea to open this place! Right time, right place, right products.
Love'em

08-10-2011 16:54:28 | More by IPAbeerNut

TaddyPorter

Delaware

4.03/5  rDev -8.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | $$$

I stopped into Ale Yeah! on a recent visit to friends in Decatur after reading about it on BA.

Great quality with lots of little treats -- some limited releases from Terrapin, a full line of Mikkeller single-hop IPAs, and bottles of Older Viscosity on the shelf caught my eye. Since I'm from out of town, I picked up some southern treats from Terrapin, French Broad, Duck Rabbit, and others.

I was personally not wild about the arrangement by beer style rather than brewery (especially since I'm an out-of-towner and was looking for selections from southern breweries), but I appreciate their uniqueness and I'm sure lots of locals will love that type of organizational style.

Growler selections were nice too, and the people working there seemed friendly, knowledgeable and ready to chat it up about beer. Very nice spot that I will definitely hit up again when in the ATL.

06-21-2011 00:24:12 | More by TaddyPorter

Cyberkedi

Georgia

5/5  rDev +13.1%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | $$$

If there are any beer stores in Heaven (or the Elysian Fields, or whatever), they are like this. Small and cozy, stocked to the gills with outstanding craft brews and imports arranged by style - and there is not even so much as a drop of big-name industrial swill. That is a BIG plus in favor of this place. The people who work there are helpful and friendly, but not in-your-face or obtrusive. Jay, the proprietor, was delighted to see me going after so many fine beers and even helped me look for some. I enjoyed meeting him and talking with him, and I fully intend to go back!

In addition to all the fine beers, they have an impressive array of glassware - not just regular pint glasses, but lots of brand-specific stemware. They also stock homebrew supplies. Their prices may not be the best, but their selection leaves nothing to be desired; they had several beers I have never seen before, including a few from a brewery I had not known of previously. If you live in the Atlanta area, Ale Yeah is a must!

05-22-2011 01:46:48 | More by Cyberkedi