Coastal Wine & Spirits

mltobin

Connecticut

3.45/5  rDev -11.3%
quality: 3 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | $$

Coastal is in Branford, very close to the East Haven border on US-1. It is a large store overall with a decent amount of space allocated to beer. As other reviewers mentioned, the temperature in the store is higher than it should be. Their selection is better than most alternatives in the immediate area. Coastal carries NEBC, Cottrell, Rogue, DFH, Cisco, St. Bernardus, Orval, Chouffe, others. The staff is friendly. If you find yourself traveling back from a shorepoint, this is an easy stop that is worth it.

08-30-2010 01:42:41 | More by mltobin

sulldaddy

Connecticut

4.35/5  rDev +11.8%
quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$$

Ahh...Since I live so close to this place I have become spoiled with the availability of beers I can bring home to drink in my apartment. Tons of great micros and imports. Dogfish Head, Rogue, Trout Brook, Victory, and lots of others. Always hard to find stuff here. I was able to pick up about 14 bottles of world wide stout here last season and they have told me that they are getting in more this year. Definitely gonna pick some up to age alongside the few I have left from last year. But I digress.

The store is mostly wine and liquor but I have spent 45 minutes just trying to pick a few beers to try. If you are ever on the southern coast of CT you should stop here. It is just off of exit 54 which is the Cedar Street exit.

Definately check it out!

11-15-2003 03:03:28 | More by sulldaddy

goodbyeohio

Oregon

3.05/5  rDev -21.6%
quality: 3.5 | service: 2 | selection: 3.5 | $$

visited this place last week. easy enough to get to off exit 54 of I-95 northbound.. two quick rights off the exit if my memory serves me. next to a bike shop. visited during their shelf-stocking hours, so the place was a little cluttered. no points off for that.

beer selection is set up just as it is in amity new haven (owned by the same people so i hear)... far right side has two long aisles... first one closest to front is american and then imports further back. coolers along the rear wall. shelves are smaller in height and therefore hold more beers. whereas amity boasts alot of belgians and germans, this store focuses on polish beers. small selection of belgians is really unimpressive.. duvel, one corsendonk, some chimay. lindemans, but no cantillon. disappointing. american section is decent.. most victory sixers were as fresh as can be for the area and they carried some of the sought-after stuff locally like river horse, cooperstown, hooker, and dogifsh limited stuff like 120 min and pangaea.

prices were average.

coolers were mostly macro 30 packs with a door or two full of sam smith, sierra nevada, etc. spotted some old liberators on the bottom of one fridge.

came here looking for some old belgians that have been sitting around or some other treasure, nothing. pretty much your average beer store.

oh, and i overheard an interesting conversation between two stock boys.. one said, "you told me to rotate the beers, but it's not my job. you know why it never gets done?" "why?" "because its the drivers' job, and you know them. they're lazy m-f-s and they don't do s-. these beers are never gonna get rotated." "guess not, i aint gonna do it."

i wont be going back. too far out of the way for its neglect and mediocrity

09-09-2005 03:39:35 | More by goodbyeohio

far333

Connecticut

4.15/5  rDev +6.7%
quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5

An oasis for beer in this part of the state. This place benefits from being owned by Amity. They are able to provide good selection at good prices. Great stuff lines the shelves. Tons of delectable macros, plus a huge variety of tasty imports, and many rare items. Lots of stuff that I hadn't even seen before, and I wanted to buy it all. Staff is attentive, knowledgeable, and helpful. Definitely worth the trip if you're even somewhat nearby.

09-18-2003 05:48:41 | More by far333

ferrari29

Illinois

4.36/5  rDev +12.1%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$$

They had Goose Island's Bourbon County Stout, cases of it. Impossible to find back home in Chicago. 2 full aisles of domestic and international beers. Wide range of liquors and a huge wine selection. Service was good, they answered a few wine questions for my wife. We were very please with the wine purchase we purchase based on a few recommendations. They also answered a couple of beer questions I had regarding the status of a sour and how often they were in. The rep knew the beer I was talking about and said that it comes in rarely, and when it does, its off the shelf the same day.

Overall, probably the best stop in Branford, CT. A must if you're in the area.

12-30-2012 03:13:54 | More by ferrari29

Stigs

Pennsylvania

3.6/5  rDev -7.5%
quality: 3 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$

Stopped here to stock up for a weekend long wedding, and maybe bring a couple goodies back home.

First, the place is not very appealing from the outside, and even less so on the inside. The floor was dirty, and there was dust everywhere...even on some fresher bottles. It was also a bit hot inside, probably in the upper 70's.

I had been warned from previous reviews about freshness on beer, so I was sure to stick with things that were dated and/or aging compatible.

There is an aisle and a half dedicated to craft beers, the half containing many six-packs, the rest singles. Nothing too crazy here, but a solid selection of craft staples, as well as some locals which I was happy to try out.

Service was good, out cashier was very fast and offered an itemized receipt, he also boxed all our beers for us.

Overall, pleased with the visit...cant imagine much better in the area. TURN UP THE AC AND CLEAN.

05-31-2010 19:25:39 | More by Stigs

woosterbill

Connecticut

4.15/5  rDev +6.7%
quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$

I finally got around to stopping in here (after living in nearby New Haven for 2 1/2 years), and I was glad I stopped by. There's a decent amount of beer (six-packs and singles) in the back-right cooler, and two aisles full of solid craft/import offerings (well, one full aisle of cases and sixers, and one half-aisle of singles). From what I could tell, they had pretty close to everything that's legally available in the state of CT, minus a couple random things I've seen at the Wine Thief. Marginally better selection than Amity and New England Beverage Company, and comparable prices (although generally a bit higher than the latter). A few bottles were on sale, and I wound up picking up a couple of these as well as two singles that I'd been planning on buying for a while (Gouden Carolus Cuvee van de Keizer and ST Choklat), so overall I was quite happy with my trip. The service was what I'd expect as a large store like this - one person asked me if I was looking for something specific, I said no, and that was that. Fine. This place is definitely worth a look if you're in the area, but it didn't impress me enough to become my go-to beer store.

Cheers!

01-30-2010 21:45:57 | More by woosterbill

RunawayJim

Rhode Island

3.8/5  rDev -2.3%
quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$

I grew up in Branford and lived here until about 4 years ago when I moved to Providence. Visiting family for the holiday weekend, I decided to check this place out to see if they had anything I can't get in RI. I had been here before when I still lived here and they had a large amount of beer, but hadn't heard of the craft beer revolution yet. They're finally getting it and it shows. Upon entering, they had a guy doing a tasting of the entire Harpoon lineup, including the latest 100 bottle series (Firth of Fourth Ale).

As with most large liquor stores, the store is mostly booze and wine. The beer is kept to one large shelf at the end and a bunch of coolers on the back wall in that corner. They had a lot of New England beers (though I didn't notice any of the big Smuttynose bottles). They had a few Belgians (Chimay most notably and 4 packs of Duvel). They had a bunch of English and Irish beers. The majority was American. They had the whole Rogue lineup in 6 packs (I didn't know a lot of Rogue was available in 6 packs). The one brewery I was interested in, but couldn't get in RI, was Stoudt's. I picked up their Fat Dog Imperial Oatmeal Stout and Double IPA. They also had all the CT beers - Hooker, New England Brewing, and Farmington River (and supposedly Old Burnsides, though I didn't notice any). They also had Trout River from VT, something I can't get in RI.

It was pretty well organized and pretty well priced. Being a big store, you tend not to get personalized service, but there happened to be someone organizing the beer at the time and he asked if I needed any help, which is more than I usually get at these large liquor "supermarkets". This store has potential, though I don't know what kind of distribution issues exist in CT. They also seem to be trying to cash in on the craft beer movement, which isn't a bad thing (this is based on a post in the BA forums about a job opening for beer manager there). Please note, however, that my rating is based on my experience today and not future potential, though I do hope this store improves as the nearest big/decent beer store to the town I visit most often is 15-20 min away.

03-23-2008 03:46:05 | More by RunawayJim

Fish113d

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev -10%
quality: 3.5 | service: 3 | selection: 4

Well, this is the ol' staple in my diet when I visit my fellow BA buddy Sulldaddy in Branford on occasion. Since I am from PA, we don't have stores in which hard alcohol is found along with beer! Stupid PA legislature!!!!

Anywho, it pretty much reminds me of an alcohol supermarket which sounds awesome to me! They have a lot of good alcohol selection and an above average beer selection in which you cna buy sixers of your favorite local, domestic, or imports by bottle. OR....you can buy bottles individually and build your beer karma for a good price! I have always enjoyed visiting this store, and they have a nice selection of local and New England micros! Often on weekends they do beer tastings or wine tastings as well. Not a bad stop if ever in Branford!

11-19-2004 01:24:50 | More by Fish113d

arnulfooxblood

Connecticut

4/5  rDev +2.8%
quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$

Stopped in while I was driving through Branford. Lots of signs on the front windows advertising specials.

Beer selection takes up the last aisle on the right hand side of the store. Very good selection of six packs, wide selection of Anchor Brewing that can be harder to find. Rogue, Dogfish, lots of local brews. Found discounted Saranac Nut Brown Lager in "Season's Best" packaging at $3.99 per six pack. Most sixers ran for around $7.99, reflecting the recent price increase.

Decent selection of 750s, including some Belgians and Belgian styles.

Talked to one of the people that worked there, said they would be happy to order anything that they didn't have in stock.

02-09-2007 16:21:22 | More by arnulfooxblood