Ray's Wine and Spirits

BeerBelcher

Ohio

3.85/5  rDev -10.7%
quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | $$

I visited Ray's at the suggestion of a friend who is a long-time Milwaukee resident. It is a well-organized store with an extensive wine and beer selection. The import selection here is much more interesting than the craft beer selection, although there are many varieties of both. Selection of singles is mostly confined to imports...it seemed to me that most of the US crafts were sold in multipacks.

When I first walked through the door, I noticed most of the floor space is devoted to wine, with all beer in coolers along two walls of the store. The store staff greeted me, but didn't bother me as I scoured through the imported single serves.

Unlike some others, this store is clean and well-organized, and in a way, is a reflection of the rather yuppie-schic Wauwatosa neighborhood which houses it (not that there's anything wrong with that).

Overall, I thought the selection was good, but not great and the level of service seemed fine but not great. This is a nice place, but I feel that my mix of Milwaukee liquor stores satisfies my needs. When I want import selection, Discount; when I want US craft selection (stored in dark fridges), then Breeze-Thru; and when I want service, I drive up to Murray's. While this is a perfectly serviceable store, it just didn't identify a superlative that would bring me back to this store.

01-24-2007 19:14:15 | More by BeerBelcher

BeerFMAndy

Wisconsin

3.8/5  rDev -11.8%
quality: 3.5 | service: 3 | selection: 5 | $$

Wow. I've heard much of this "Ray's" and it surely lived up to my expectations. Plenty to choose from and probably the best selection I've seen in Wisconsin, when I walked in around 5, it was already starting to get busy with people just off work looking for a relaxing bottle of wine or a cold beer.

I made my way to the beer section and was just stunned. I needed a dubble and a triple for one of my upcoming beer events but ended up looking for probably half an hour.

I was amazed at the selection of various brew they carried plus things I had never seen before and didn't know were available in Wisconsin!

The place was pretty stuffed with product so space was a bit cramped but it's well worth it. They had a section of a lot of Oktoberfests too. That was nice.

The cashiers were the only people working that I saw and it was typical service. Not great but not bad. Quick check-out and they put my armful of beers into a box for me while I payed.

Good prices on most things but I noticed a few bottles of this and that which could have been lower. Hop Juice was about $1.50 more than normal and some 12 oz singles seemed a bit pricier but I haven't seen a lot of them around.

Also, everything was in open faced coolers. Very nice.

For now, I'll keep the quality at average because I have yet to have any of the 5 beers that I picked up (although the 750 of La Fin du Monde is well within its best by date).

It all boils down to too much sun/fluorescent light ruining the beer? We'll see, but, as far out of the way as it is, this might be my go-to place from now on.

EDIT: I forgot to add in there that they also have a TON of glassware for sale. All above the coolers are glasses galore but mainly a large selection of American Tumbler Pints.

09-03-2009 02:36:32 | More by BeerFMAndy

myspoonistoobig

Massachusetts

3.34/5  rDev -22.5%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3 | service: 4 | selection: 3 | $$$

Visited 4/23 on vacation.

Ray's is the closest good shop to my parents, and where they go to fill their fridge when I come home for a visit. I've been there many, many times over the past several years, and as of late their selection has dramatically improved.

This is a full-service liquor store, having equally solid selections of wine, beer and spirits. I get the feeling that this balanced approach prohibits them from taking risks in beer buying, because the selections on hand were all safe bets. Good beers, no doubt, but I didn't see any rare picks.

Prices were also pretty high for the beers available.

I'll be back here to buy some beers to drink while visiting with my parents, but will go elsewhere to put together a package to take home.

05-11-2011 17:17:49 | More by myspoonistoobig