Wine & Cheese Cask

Nice looking store right on a busy street corner in Somerville. I was visiting my sister in law and she was leading us around so I actually had no clue where I was, but it seemed relatively easy to find. When you first walk in you are surrounded by breads, cheeses, and non-alcoholic drinks. Friendly folks behind the counter. Couple of shelves of bombers, 750ml, and 500ml bottles not too far into the store. Farther in the back are a few big coolers with lots of six packs. The beer selection was nice, but nothing beyond your standard imports and some of the bigger US micros. Saw stuff from Chimay, Smuttynose, Rogue, Southern Tier, Hitachino, etc. I picked up a bomber of the Southern Tier Creme Brulee. Not a store I would go out of my way to visit, but a nice place to stop by if you are in the neighborhood. Everything looked fresh and was well organized. Friendly staff.

Reviewed on: 07-30-2008 13:37:30

While on my way from Porter Sq. to Inman Square (to my normal beer stop), I came across this and took a few minutes to peruse. Stopping in was a good call. The Wine Cask is huge. A massive collection and large quantities, really impressive size and overall quality. As mentioned, there's a nice selection of gourmet breads, chocolates and breads, with fresh shipments apparently daily (from what I overheard). One decent sized cooler and another racking are filled with a decent selection of maybe 50 different singles. Ranging from Youngs, Stones to Avenitus, Unibroe etc. Good selection of trappistes as well. Nothing too limited, but a very nice selection. An upper level is filled with 6-packs and cases of american and european macros, local and more micro brews. Large quantities of all on hand. The beer coolers split their space with a good selection of liquors. Two huge rooms are filled with well displayed, well sorted wine offerings. Some are available by the case. I didn't ask the staff for any assistance or suggestions, but it was well staffed and they all seemed pleasant.Prices were in line with other stores. A pretty impressive quality from such a large store.

Reviewed on: 11-24-2007 13:05:45

This place is on the corner of a major intersection and has a nice facade with a painted sign. You walk in and see two employees behind the counter. In this part of the store the cheese, bread and non-alcoholic beverages are kept. Walking further into the store, you arrive at the first room of wine.

Past that is the first beer cooler and set of shelves with beer. This is a solid selection of 750mL and 22oz bottles. Two Chouffe varieties, some Rogue, some Hitachino Nest, some Cantillon, some DuPont, Corsendonk, Chimay, Ommegang, Orval and others. Also in this section were all the top hefe-weizens (we got a bottle of Schneider). Then, progressing up a flight of stairs, there is an inbuilt shelf system containing the trappist brews. Solid selection here as well with a Westmalle, Rochefort and others. Also on these shelves were Thomas Hardy and J.W. Lees Harvest Ale barleywines.

At the top of the stairs is the bulk of the beer selection. About four coolers full of 6-packs and some 12-packs stacked in the center of the room. Here we come to the weak point of this store -- the selection of domestic micro-brews. They had the regional stuff such as Magic Hat, Smuttynose, Shipyard, Tremont, Geary's and then for the well-known further away micros, they usually had only one style. For example they had Rogue Dead Guy and Victory HopDevil. An exception was Dogfish Head, which had three varieties in stock. Solid, but nothing too exotic here. Also in these coolers were an above average variety of German 6-packs, Fuller's, several English ales, Scotch ales. A glaring omission, in my eyes, was Smuttynose big beer series.

Prices are listed on a wall in between the coolers. There is at least one helpful salesperson. Overall this is a neat store, with a solid selection considering it's not a very large store, and what space they have they use efficiently, and that includes their selections for what to stock. You can pick up some bread and cheese while you're here. Prices were reasonable, maybe a bit higher than other stores, but nothing crazy. I got a six-pack of Fuller's ESB for $8.50, which I thought was a good price. I recommend checking out this store if you're in the area, you might find something good.

Reviewed on: 01-28-2006 21:10:52

The Wine and Cheese cask is located on Washington St, almost dead center between Harvard Square and Union Square Somerville.

The store is quite small. Although on 2 different floors, it’s spread out over a few different areas. One half, more like an old bookstore, with the focus entirely on wine. The other half of the store is split between beer, liquor, cheese and cheese accessories.

The beer selection is decent. It mostly focuses on macros, common imports and your basic micros. They have a separate cooler and shelf nearer to the front of the store with a nice selection of common Belgians, German, English and other more obscure 750ml’s and whatnot. Chimay, La Chouffe, Samuel Smith, Fullers, Unibroue, etc. Not a wide variety, but a good mixed bag of beers. The only thing that stood out to me was that they seemed to have a wider selection of beers from Rockies Brewing Company than I’d seen in the Boston area, but beyond that, pretty standard.

If it weren’t for the fact that I live around the corner from the Wine and Cheese Cask, I probably wouldn’t go out of my way to come here. If you’re in the area and looking to pick up a quick 750ml of Duvel, it’s the place to go, but beyond that, it’s nothing special.

Reviewed on: 12-13-2004 08:10:44

This place is just a notch above your average packy or grocery store. One wall of coolers, marbe 8 doors, somewhat of a selection. Nothing really "jumped" out at me, but if I was in a pinch, there were a few decent labels. The had the Smutty IPA, so there's a begininning. From there there was Concord, Tremont, Guinness, all the usual suspects. Prices were standard. Overall, if it's a five minutes until the store closes, you'd find something for your thirst. Plus, there's plenty of parking!

Reviewed on: 08-09-2004 14:53:38

This place caught my eye as a possible source for hard to find beer. The main focus of this store is obviously wine & cheese but they have a small but decent selection of the usual finer beers. I have a feeling they do not get a lot of turnover of their beer(one purchase I made was a little passed its prime). The ambience is very nice and the staff were very attentive, worth stopping in.

Reviewed on: 03-04-2003 18:00:24

Decent selection of imported beers, particularly Belgians; the domestic selection is lacking by comparison but has some bright spots. Prices aren't bad for Boston, and the staff is pleasant and helpful. The focus of this store is really more on the wine end of things, but it's worth a stop to see what they've got in the beer section.

Reviewed on: 10-10-2002 19:57:28