Port Jefferson Beverage Center

RedDiamond

Oregon

3.8/5  rDev -10.8%
quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4

I can remember stopping in here with my dad in the late 1960's for full cases of Schmidts and Rheingold. At the time beer wasn't even sold in aluminum cans. Hard to believe this place is still selling beer and pop in good old Port Jeff, but there it is. In my mind it was (and is) known as "The Pop Shop". I never did catch a formal name.

Oddly enough it's not much different than it was 35 years ago. You can still get full cases of crappy beer or pop, and the guy behind the counter is still bitching about the Mets. But they have made overtures towards contemporary tastes and have enough beer choices to keep avid fans happy. There's a very respectable selection of beers from Germany, Belgium, England, and regional northeast brewers. The growlers of Blue Point are notable and I found a few unexpected offerings such as a beer from Israel called "Layla" featuring a mutant guitar on its label.

What makes this place unique among beer retailers is that it actually harks back to the days before mega-marts, strip malls, and one-stop-shopping when you went to a produce stand for your veggies, a butcher or fish mart for your meats, a drive-thru dairy barn for milk, and "the pop shop" for beer and pop. Modern conveniences and corporate franchises have long since supplanted whatever personal charms these mom'n'pop retailers may have once held. But the ethic of small-scale local character is what craft brewing is all about and the pop shop falls in line with this ideal at the retail level.

Places like this wrote the soundtrack for my adolescence and I know I shouldn't indulge my nostalgic leanings. But it's hard to believe the old pop shop has survived four or more decades of social and economic transformation. And check out the hand painted murals of "winged kegs" on the exterior walls. Nice touch.

09-01-2004 18:07:01 | More by RedDiamond

Porkfist

New York

4.3/5  rDev +0.9%
quality: 4 | service: 5 | selection: 4

I might be biased on this review, because of I live in the area. This is definataly the best of the local places to buy beer. Nice selection of domestics and imports. Went to the place the first time today, never noticed it before since it's a little set back, and I'm a cop in that area! The owner, Bruce was fantastic, he was really helpful in helping pick out somthin for the week and knows his product. Made me feel very welcome. He was thrilled that he was listed on BA. If you live in the area or visiting Port Jeff via ferry, stop by and check it out.

04-27-2004 00:28:42 | More by Porkfist