Belmont Party Supply

jrallen34

Illinois

4.15/5  rDev -8.8%
quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 5 | $$

On our way to Jackie O's Alex had us stop by this highly rated place to see if it lived up to the hype. Driving through the area and pulling up the place I thought we were in for a huge disappointment. A drab and dreary town, the store looks like a local liquor store. As we make our way in and find the beer we find about 6 rows of beers. The selection is really good with great quality. Most foreign staples but super light on Cantillon and other lambics. The local selections is great, even had Weyerbacher Reserva. They easily had about 200 beers and the highlight is the tons of singles pulled from six packs. The service was non-existentant as they were really busy. Annoyingly, they had a delivery and they had a back door buzzer going for about 10 minutes and it was really annoying.

You aren't going to find anything super rare here but if you are in the area its worth the stop if you want to tick a bunch of local singles.

12-05-2010 22:50:02 | More by jrallen34

mondegreen

Georgia

4.15/5  rDev -8.8%
quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 5 | $$

Wow. You will miss this place if you aren't looking for it. However, the selection is second to none. I've seen warehouse liquor stores with less beer. I went late at night (10pm), and the staff was not very knowledgable. However, I had to return to the store the next day because of a bad charge that I noticed on my reciept, and the daytime staff was awesome. It turns out there was an entire shelf of 750s that I hadn't seen the night before. Oh well, another $75 in the cellar, lol. One of the workers saw my haul and figured I was from out of state. He asked where I was from and we had a nice, brief conversation. My only critique of the selection is their glassware. It is a pretty small selection, and many of them are badly scratched. Still, the sheer amount of beer warrants a 5.

The temperature the store is a concern. I'm not sure of the turnover, but there is a ton of beer on warm shelves, and I actually broke a sweat in the store on my first visit. Maybe it was the load of beer in my basket, but I swear it was at least 80F in parts of the store.

I appreciate that anything in the store can be bought as a single. I got lots of new beer on my road trip thanks to the single selection.

05-28-2010 02:34:38 | More by mondegreen

LeperJim

Ohio

5/5  rDev +9.9%
quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | $$

This is a special place. Don't be fooled by the uninspiring exterior and lack of good signage. There's magic inside this little Brew Mecca in the heart of Belmont in Dayton Ohio. It's owned and staffed by dedicated and knowledgable people. If they don't have it they will do their best to get it and tell you when to come back...and I always come back. One of my favorite places on the planet, and it will make any quality ale drinker smile. The smiles are free and the selection is great! Not the biggest, but certainly one of the best.

02-14-2010 11:59:20 | More by LeperJim

HopHead29

Ohio

4.8/5  rDev +5.5%
quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | $$

I absolutely love coming to this place as often as possible. One of the best beer selections I've seen in Ohio. An above average selection from lesser seen countries like Italy, Estonia, Latvia, and France. Lot of Belgians and Germans, as well as a great selection of singles and a lot of broken down six packs, no make a six pack required which is a big plus. Biggest problem is that most of the beer is unrefrigerated, and as it is a big selection, some of the lesser known beers might not get touched, but with a selection as great as this, it's all worth it. Highly recommend this place.

02-08-2010 09:56:58 | More by HopHead29

Obenour

Ohio

4.7/5  rDev +3.3%
quality: 5 | service: 4 | selection: 5 | $$

The only draw back with Belmont Party Supply is that no other place really compares to it. I know it sounds sensationalistic but I'll be in a different part of town or even a different city - want to go check a new shop's beer selection out - and then think to myself, "Yeah, but is it really going to be any better then Belmont?" The answer's almost always no (not that it ever really stops me from checking anyway).

Multiple isles divided between national and international offerings and then an entire isle of single bottles to mix and match. That can get a little pricey, but for those interesting beers you aren't quite sure of (and there are a lot), it gives you a chance to sink $2 instead of $10.

All of your normal characters are there (Founders, Rogue, Great Lakes, Southern Tier, etc) but they also have limited and rare releases from the big and small brewers alike. If you live in the area you really should sign up on the mailing list so you can be the first to know what comes in on any given week. Or better yet - don't. Some of those beers are hard enough for me to get already!

01-06-2010 21:37:50 | More by Obenour

damndirtyape

Ohio

4.8/5  rDev +5.5%
quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | $$

I used to always go to Jungle Jim's down in Cincinnati for beer and then I discovered this place. It has the best selection of beer in the Dayton area and I would say that it just about beats Jungle Jim's too in overall selection. They continue to expand their selection and have now added a store next door for the home brewer. Not only do they have a large selection of 6 and 4 packs, but they also have huge sections of single bottles by country, special release and size (seasonals and 22oz/500ml/750ml bottles). I often pick and choose so I can try things out before I get a six pack. So selection is definitely exceptional.
Quality - Every now and then I find a beer a bit past its date, but it's rare. Other than this though, everything is the store is the good stuff.
Service truly is exceptional - they'll go out of their way to give me a box if I'm picking up a motley collection of single bottles, and if a single isn't on the shelf they'll let me grab a single from one of they packs on display if I want to try something out.
I can't recommend this place enough - truly amazing for such a hole in the wall place.

11-15-2009 15:21:58 | More by damndirtyape

TurdFurgison

Ohio

4.2/5  rDev -7.7%
quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

One hell of a selection, this store. You wouldn't know it from the outside but this is definitely worth a stop. I didn't make an actual count but I'd estimate there were about 500 different beers here. Separated by country, and filling about 1/4 - 1/3 of the store, mostly shelved but very few are refrigerated. The prices are about the same as other places in OH (Cleveland, Columbus). No brainer to stop here if you're in Dayton. Funny thing, with all this selection the lady in front of me bought a 6-pack of Bud light...

11-13-2009 05:06:24 | More by TurdFurgison

Lolli1315

Illinois

4.65/5  rDev +2.2%
quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Hands down the best beer place that I have been to in my beer explorations. Tons of different beer to choose from with a great selection of singles. Website weekly sends out updates on what beer has just came in so you can be updated on a daily position and will never miss a beer you are looking forward to. Those that work there make sure that you get everything that you need and are glad to check their database to make sure that they have the beer you want in stock. Plenty of homebrew supplies (Opening up an accompany store that specializes in homebrew supplies) and host a homebrewing event at the back of the store every month. I would like if some of the beers were a little more fresh, but usually everything is fine (A little hard to keep everything fresh with so many beers and in a town that isn't known for drinking good beer). Make it to this place if you get the chance.

09-29-2009 01:55:00 | More by Lolli1315

KBrady487

Wisconsin

4.45/5  rDev -2.2%
quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | $$

This is my number one place to go when I get beer. They have the best selection by far in the area. The beer is from all over the US and all over the world. They also sell bottles individually so you can try one without having to commit to a whole six pack. I have found some of my favorite beers here. The only think I have a problem with is sometimes I question the age of the beer. I sometimes worry the beer has been sitting on the shelf to long. All in all a great spot to buy your beer. If you are looking to try a beer that you have never even heard of, or one of your favorite, good chance this is your place. Prost!

09-13-2009 01:22:04 | More by KBrady487

sohio

Ohio

4.65/5  rDev +2.2%
quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Belmont party supply is in a lower, (poorer) part of Dayton and like whats been stated, the outside, especially the parking lot, looks like shit. Oh, but thats just the wrapper on the candy...

Inside, walk to your left and you'll see a cornucopia of micros and imports, with a Beer Advocate and/or Beer Rating for the prizes. They take what they do seriously, it seems this is more of a beer stor than a liquor store.

Look around. If it's available in Ohio, you'll see it here. If not, the great sales team would be more than happy to find and order it for you.
A fantastic home brewer supply source, as well. I spent an hour in here just B.S.ing making beer. Very cool people.

I have to say, if you are in the DYT area of Ohio, drop in and make some friends.

06-29-2009 07:17:44 | More by sohio