Riley's Wines Of The World

Grinder

Wisconsin

4.3/5  rDev +5.9%
quality: 4 | service: 5 | selection: 4 | $$$

WOW - they are correct when they say it's bigger then it looks. Problem is that 95% of the place is wine.

I would think they would have MORE beer being so close to campus.

A decent enough collection of craft and macro brews. A lot of local Wisconsin microbrews that can be found at most good liqueur stores.

So - yea - good place for craft beer . . .but there are better.

The help was very helpful as I needed a cheep church key and and really did not want to buy a cheap silver sharp one that opens cans (do they still make cans that need and opener like that?).

He must have seen me lamenting over the options and found an old one. SWEET!!!

08-14-2008 20:01:20 | More by Grinder

brdc

Wisconsin

4/5  rDev -1.5%
quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$

This is a lot better than it looks from the outside. The selection is not huge, but it has a decent size, although you have to look around as it is spread around the store. The coolers and shelves mentioned on other reviews belong in the area of singles, but further back in the store there are additional six-packs and other stuff.
You can find just about evrything that is worthwhile from the region, and some good imports. The best feature is a very nice selection of singles, better than most places I have seen. If you need to try a lrge number of midwest beers and do not want to come out with a lot of six-packs, this is your place.

04-28-2008 17:30:49 | More by brdc

drseamus

New York

4.05/5  rDev -0.2%
quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | $$$

Saw it on the way to my sisters and decided to drop in. It is much larger than it looks from the outside but unfortunately about 95% of the place is wine and spirits. All the beer is in one 10 foot aisle and 3 cooler doors. That said, they don't waste the space with crap. Pretty much every beer they had was damn good and even though I went in "to look around" i couldn't help but leave with a 6 pack. The prices were a bit high for singles but not high enough to make me leave. Staff weren't overly helpful but answered questions when asked. Not too shabby but not as good as Steve's.

02-25-2008 21:07:23 | More by drseamus

BoitSansSoif

France

4.2/5  rDev +3.4%
quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Riley's is conveniently located right off State Street, and is a haven for all ages and events: college kids trying to tie one on for less, couples trying to find something nice for the evening, beer and wine dudes looking for something new, or old, good and familiar, and people just stepping in to see how much they have before settling for some JD or a 12-pack. Upstairs they have a nice collection of fine liquors...I've only been up once, but I'm plenty happy downstairs on my paycheck, and I want for nothing. The beer selection is impressive, with a great range of regional and national microbrews, imports, and macros. There are also several aisles of wine, and a good collection of liquor around the south edge. The overall service is mediocre, and I get more tips from distributors passing through than I do from most of the employees. To be fair, a couple of them do know their stuff, but I don't always see them, and the other employees don't seem to know as much, so I don't bother. Prices are good, but not the lowest around.

01-31-2008 08:59:29 | More by BoitSansSoif

NeroFiddled

Pennsylvania

4.35/5  rDev +7.1%
quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$

The first time I pulled into town and drove past Riley's I assumed that it wasn't worth a visit as it seemed like a college beer shop. Boy was I wrong! I drove for miles in all directions looking for a place that sold single bottles and came up pretty dry. Oddly, the other place right near where I was staying (Steve's Wines?) also had a good selection, but I didn't go there at first either. Finally, on about my third trip to Madison, I stopped in at Riley's just to see if they had anything that I'd missed. I started with the coolers of six-packs along the back wall and was impressed, but still left wanting, and then I found the bank of coolers on the east wall loaded with single bottles! Beer nirvana! I took home $80 worth and could easily have done that three times over. They have a great selection of imports, and an excellent selection of local beers! So don't be fooled by the surrounding campus and give it a shot. It's without a doubt the best selection of single bottles in the area!

12-23-2007 15:34:02 | More by NeroFiddled

blitz134

Connecticut

4/5  rDev -1.5%
quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$$

Stopped in while in Madison last week. The place seems pretty nice and much larger than that store front would indicate. A fairly large selection of beers, located in coolers along the back wall and along the right hand wall. Some warm bottle selections as well. Lots of Wisconsin micros with many of them in singles. Didn't talk to the help at all, so hard to comment on service, but the folks seemed nice enough.

Prices seemed off on some beers. The 1L swing top bottles from Sprecher were $17...come on! Founders breakfast was listed for $4 for a 12 oz, no thanks. Most of the other less sought after, but still superb local brews were well priced, even the singles.

11-29-2007 06:00:39 | More by blitz134

wardough

Wisconsin

4.5/5  rDev +10.8%
quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Dropped in there a few weeks back when I was visiting Madison and the university. I was happy from the moment that I walked into the store. The staff was very helpful in directing me and very knowledgeable on their products. Found loads of New Glarus stuff (Mecca for me), including their Unplugged series. Even found 3 Floyds Anniversary X and Gumball, and some Founder's products (yet another Mecca). Good selection of Midwestern beers. Good place to go. There was waaay too much in the store for me to bring back in my suitcase. Warrants another trip to Madison.

11-23-2007 22:23:58 | More by wardough

alexgash

Connecticut

4.15/5  rDev +2.2%
quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Stopped here on the way home to the Twin Cities just to try and find some Central Waters and Lake Louie. Luckily, I found both and much more. Modestly-sized store that was a little messy and cluttered but in a good way. Coolers along the walls housed an impressive selection of WI micros, and other good micros from around the country. Was really glad to see lots of singles! Also happy to find 3 Floyds and lots of New Glarus. The service was good with nice suggestions and decent beer geek knowledge. Was in a bit of a hurry, but easily could spend more time here and will be back.

03-14-2007 20:09:55 | More by alexgash

jdoherty

New York

4/5  rDev -1.5%
quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

If a beer is brewed in Wisconsin, it is sold at Riley's. The place is massive and centrally located, with a very nice mix of imports and Wisconsin's best brews. All the local stuff is really fresh and the Belgians are really well taken care of. The staff pretty much just watches to make sure you don't steal stuff, but at least they check you out very quickly, and are lax towards underage Madison partiers (judge that how you will) The value is a bit pricey for Madison but they also have far more quality brews than any other place downtown.

12-21-2006 23:09:41 | More by jdoherty

emerge077

Illinois

3.8/5  rDev -6.4%
quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$

Stopped at Riley's on a recent trip through Madison, based on Beerfly reviews.

The layout was easy enough to figure out, I made my way to the singles and import cases on the right side of the store. Small selection of glasses in the aisle closest to this end of the coolers. It was nice to see singles of WI micros here, such as Viking, Central Waters, Lake Louie, etc. Plus Bell's and Dark Horse singles. Extra bonus was the 10% discount for the mixed-six. The downside was that there were only one or two of each in the cooler, and I cleaned out several individual selections. This may have just been an in-between day for stocking this particular area, so no points lost there.

Good selection of imports and seasonals on the shelves behind the right end coolers, including Fantome Noel & De Ranke Pere Noel. In the back coolers, many six-packs to be had, focus on domestic micros. Also shelves full of sixes facing the back coolers.

Service was ok, no one on the floor at the time I visited, but staff were helpful at the counter. There were a couple seasonals in the "employee only" cooler that I spotted, that they retrieved for me. They explained that there wasn't room on the shelves for them at the moment. They were also rare, so go figure.

Overall, Riley's is certainly above average in all aspects, and worth the stop in Madison. Traffic was heavy on a saturday morning getting to the area.

2008: On the last couple visits, the import shelf looks almost exactly the same. A little dusty, some singles in the cooler don't seem to move. Be wary of dates, or out of season seasonals, etc.

11-21-2006 16:38:42 | More by emerge077