Binny's Beverage Depot

taez555

Massachusetts

3.85/5  rDev -5.6%
quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 4.5 | $$

I live in Boston, my in-laws live in Illinois. For the past 5 years I thought the best you could do outside of the Chicago was maybe a 6 pack of Goose Island at the local Jewel/Osco, that is until I did a BA Beerfly search and found Binny’s located only a few minutes down the road from there house.

Binny’s is a typical Warehouse style liquor store. High ceiling with shelves of liquor and wine as far as the eye can see. You can’t miss the beer section as it has an entire side of the store (half shelves, half coolers) dedicated to beer with a huge sign overhead reading “Specialty Beer”. Selection isn’t the Holy Grail, but is easily up there with some of the best liquor stores I’ve been in. A full selection of all Belgians including Trappists, Lambics, etc. Crafts running the gamut from Unibroue, Bear Replublic, Ommegang, New Holland, Three Floyds, Founders and most everything else in between. Plus all your typical macros and basic micros. They also have a nice selection of gift packs with glasses: Ommegang, St. Bernardus, etc.

It’s hard to gauge prices as I’m not from around the area, but prices seemed up and down. Some things were a dollar or two more than I was used to paying and others were equally cheaper.

On my most recent visit I left a happy camper with a wine box full of New Holland and Three Floyds 22oz that don’t export to Massachusetts.

I can happily say that on every future visit I will be visiting Binny’s for all the crafts that don’t export to Boston, which means my luggage will be sure to be searched every time I get on an airplane.

01-03-2007 22:35:37 | More by taez555

dhannes

Wisconsin

4.35/5  rDev +6.6%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4.5 | $$$

Visited on 1/21/13.

A=First impression--clean, organized, and inviting. Organized well, with great signage. I found that the beer section was a bit difficult to navigate a first, due to the large number off offerings. I would estimate 200+ 6-packs, plus another 200 singles.

Q=I haven't sampled any of the purchases, but they carried a wide variety of local and regional brands. The one big negative for me was that only the BMC's and a few others were refrigerated, while the crafts were not.

S=I had two people ask to assist me....but one was in the wine section, while the other was in the humidor. There was no presence in the beer section, but it was 10 a.m. on a Monday morning, so I can understand why there wasn't anyone there.

S=Excellent selection...over 400 brands of beer, with about 75 local crafts, 100 imports, and crafts from Wisconsin, Oregon, and New York. Still, I was looking for a Okocim Porter, and they only carried their lagers.

V=A bit higher than Wisconsin, with most 6-packs between $8.99 and $10.99...some values, but no spectacular deals.

I will definitely return, but wish they would chill the crafts.

01-22-2013 04:18:39 | More by dhannes

baker2gs

Illinois

4.58/5  rDev +12.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

I've been stopping in here weekly for over the last year and at least monthly since I began working in the area. Compared to other Binny's the selection is about the same, they do get smaller quantities of some of the harder to find stuff though which causes them to get run out a bit faster. They seem to have a bit more of Belgian and German beers than what I've seen at some other locations. Nothing wrong with an excellent Belgian selection, right? Since the store has been updated to the new look it's a lot nicer inside, very modern and welcoming.

Both Pat and Jamie are equally helpful and knowledgeable. Since they tend to get smaller allotments in comparison to some of the locations in the city, they're very good about keeping a limit on some of the more limited brews so someone doesn't come in and clean them out. I like that everyone has a chance to get a bottle when a new beer with a high demand hits their store. They even did a release for the Bourbon County Stouts (with 3F Behemoth raffle!) that came out earlier this year and it worked out wonderfully.

08-30-2012 17:40:28 | More by baker2gs

AleWatcher

Illinois

3.6/5  rDev -11.8%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | $$$

This store looks HUGE fromthe outside, but not as big as I expected when I got inside.

The store has virtually the same selection and pricing as all other Binnys with the wonderful exception that they have Daisy Cutter cans!!
That made my visit worthwhile.

I was hoping for some nice sours, but there were none.

The beer is all along the right wall-- with domestic beer running the length of the wall itself, and imports on the facing shelves.
The staff seemed busy and I was offered no help.
Oh well. Maybe it was an off-day.

07-17-2012 17:51:00 | More by AleWatcher

SpdKilz

Illinois

3.84/5  rDev -5.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$

Have been here a few times but am yet to review. Walking in this appears to be a bit less than the Glen Ellyn Binny’s which is five minutes from me. The atmosphere was nice with plenty of people offering me help and lots of customers. The quality was okay – similar to other Binny’s. I guess I use the Algonquin and Glen Ellyn Binny’s as benchmarks since I visit them often and they are quite nice. The selection was decent – they had some good 3F stuff there, Daisy Cutter, and a few other odd selections (though nothing “rare” per say). The value was on par with other Binny’s. Not one I’d seek out, but when I am in the area I’d for sure stop by.

12-07-2011 03:57:33 | More by SpdKilz

cosmicevan

New York

4.41/5  rDev +8.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Was in Schaumburg for business not too long ago and this place was recommended to me. I was pretty impressed with the store in general (the hard alcohol selection was VERY impressive and I managed to find a rare bottle I had been looking for but couldn't find anywhere in NY). The store is well laid out and has a very nice selection. There were plenty of brews that were unavailable to me in NY and there were even a few brewery only locals that seemed to make it to shelves in this store (Half Acre, Flossmoor Station). I got to talking to the manager and he was very knowledgeable and an extremely nice guy. Ended up buying more than I could fit in my suitcase for the flight home.

Looking forward to another shopping spree in this store next week when I'll be back in town for business again.

06-23-2011 14:29:03 | More by cosmicevan

Duffman929

Illinois

4.28/5  rDev +4.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 5 | selection: 4 | $$

Not sure what others do when they are in here, but I go in all the time and get most of my brews from Jamie. He is well-versed in most beers and hooked me up with an Abacus when I first went in there. They have an above average selection and I enjoy going in there to just talk beer. They don't always have the more rare beers, since it is a popular area, but for most of my daily pleasures, this is the best place in the area. If you want some of the more rare, but popular beers, I recommend going down to the Hyde Park Binny's Express, since they tend to last a bit longer.

06-06-2011 01:44:49 | More by Duffman929

BullDurham

New Mexico

4/5  rDev -2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$

Well lit, clean, and well set-up store.
As you enter the beer section is the first thing you see along the right side of the store. American bombers and sixers first along the wall followed by belgium, german, then asian closer to the coolers.
Coolers have a bit of everything,founders, three floyds and others.
The employees are polite and more than happy to help you find what you need or make suggestions on what you may like.
This is my go-to store, and I end up at this Binnys once a week, worth the stop everytime.

05-05-2011 03:02:54 | More by BullDurham

crossovert

Wisconsin

3.85/5  rDev -5.6%
quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | $$$

This Binny's is one of many on Golf road. It is fairly large on the outside but doesn't house the largest selection out there for Binny's

The English beer selection particularly was sparse. They seemed to have about 75% of what the big Binny's have.

It only had one row of beers, usually Binny's has 2, but it was alright. There was a discount bin with nothing real interesting in it.

There didn't seem to be any beer guy walking around.

There are a few Binny's not too far away form here that I would choose instead.

01-16-2011 21:43:14 | More by crossovert

TMoney2591

Illinois

4.5/5  rDev +10.3%
quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

I first stopped in here looking for some BCBVS, and have made it a point to return since. Once you get past the slightly wacky parking lot, move to the right of the store for the beer. As per usual for the chain, there's plenty of great beers to choose from, both domestic and imported. The prices are pretty good, not amazing, but definitely not too high, either. The service is pretty damn good, with the guys working the beer section very amicable and up to answering queries (even for BCBVS for the thousandth time of the week). A great place to stop at if you're in the Schaumburg area.

12-19-2010 22:55:12 | More by TMoney2591