Gator Beverage

beeratlanta

Georgia

4.85/5  rDev +36.2%
quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

I read the reviews on BA prior to going to Gator Beverage and expected a good beer selection but an apathetic staff with little to no craft beer knowledge. The beer selection was as described, better than you would expect for small package store, across the street from University of Florida. However, the guy working that afternoon not only had great knowledge of the beer that they had but knew his craft beer in general too. I'm only giving the selection a less than perfect score because they didn't have any Avery in stock.

11-28-2010 11:55:38 | More by beeratlanta

idb2002

Florida

4.45/5  rDev +25%
quality: 4 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

This place is a beacon of light in a sea of Gainesville Natty. A friend introduced me to this place recently and I'm thankful for it. I had driven by it numerous times and never noticed it because 1) it's set back from University Blvd. slightly in order to make room for parking and 2) the place admittedly looks like any other dump in a college town where you can find cheap beer. It sells its share of Bud to be sure, but after just a few minutes of walking around and talking to the knowledgeable staff, you realize that this place is committed to selling craft beer. It has two full aisles of beers you wouldn't expect to find in many places in Gainesville - Dogfish Head (including some I had never seen before), Rogue, Stone, Victory, Chimay, Westmalle, Ayinger Celebrator, Imperial Series Sam Adams and a host of others. They've also got a refrigerator for singles and cut you a deal off of the singles price if you want to make your own six pack. The staff was so friendly and enterprising that one of the guys even asked my friend and I what beers we would like to see offered as singles in the future. All in all an important place for Gainesville beer.

04-28-2010 05:18:08 | More by idb2002

mullenite

Florida

4.3/5  rDev +20.8%
quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Everyone else has pretty much said it all, it is a very small store with very little shelf space but much of that holds an excellent selection of beers. They have a lot of the standards and a good variety of harder to get beers. They also sell with enough volume to request hard-to-get beers, though they may not always be able to. Be sure to check dates on rare brews as some may be out or close to it.

While most of the employees don't care, if you go in and speak to Ryan my experience has been he will help you as much as possible, even going as far as to take my phone number and call me when he got an answer about adding to their Brooklyn lineup.

Update to change my review a little:

Since posting this I have noticed that the staff has been much more helpful all around and has really gone out of there way to make me happy on multiple occasions.

08-22-2008 12:39:31 | More by mullenite

flahuskie

Florida

4.3/5  rDev +20.8%
quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

I drive sixty one miles each way for their selection. It is Gator Beverage or a longer haul to Tampa St Pete. The clerk is always helpful (I am fairly new to craft beer) and the selection is great. Prices are comparable to other stores (who have poorer selections). They have Bells, Stone and Dogfish and more, so what else do I need. They also have singles which helps me find new favorites. Only problem is visiting Gainesville, as I hate the Florida Gators but for the next year I can fly my Seminole/Huskie car flags.

11-30-2010 19:27:31 | More by flahuskie

cubanbeerguy

Florida

4.16/5  rDev +16.9%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4.25 | $

Ok Gator beverage. So the staff is usually very knowledgable and will locate beers for you. They wrote down my info and called me when a beer came in. There is one guy that looks like a burnt out druggie and I dont care for him, very removed and antisocial and hates his job. But as you can see from the pic its a corner convenient store that gets homeless people buying fifths. But the selection is great. they always get all the rare stuff in and I frequnt this shop quite often as they have some of the best prices in town.

03-26-2013 15:49:21 | More by cubanbeerguy

babaracas

Florida

3.74/5  rDev +5.1%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Very nice selection of domestic craft, German, and Belgian beer. They will typically have everything that makes it out here, but occasionally one of the other stores in town will get certain releases before gbev does. Prices are good too. Employees are nice enough, but most aren't particularly knowledgeable. They will give you a heads up on upcoming releases though, which is great.

They recently revamped the store layout and stuck the Belgians in front of a window that gets bright light much of the day. (Of course a bunch of those are in green bottles). Bummer about that; gotta get Dupont, etc somewhere else now.

09-26-2008 04:02:45 | More by babaracas

brewingmonk

Florida

3.7/5  rDev +3.9%
quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | $$

Even though this place looks like a crack house from the outside, and most likely one would be acosted for a few bucks when entering the store, what lies inside may surprise you. There are not many good places to find good beer in Gainesville, so this store is much appreciated. The selection is usually good (although St. Bernardus ABT 12 has been missing for quite some time). You can find a good selection of Unibroue, Rogue, Dogfish Head, Lost Coast. Their Belgian selection is usually hit or miss. I normally don't even bother talking to the help as they have not been much help in the past.

12-22-2005 16:17:58 | More by brewingmonk

drabmuh

Maryland

3.65/5  rDev +2.5%
quality: 3.5 | service: 3 | selection: 4.5 | $$

This is a tiny liquor store near kind of a bad neighborhood. It is not uncommon to get harassed by a homeless person looking to score some liquor. Inside the store is crowded and seems dirty. About 2/3 of the store is devoted to beer though (not counting the pornography). There is a wall of coolers where you can get your standard mass produced fair of crap. About 1/2 of the cooler are craft beers or imports like Singha or Carlsberg.

The beer aisle, not refrigerated, is filled with interesting bombers and six packs of beer from Belgium, Germany, Great Britian and the United States. The staff doesn't really want to help you. The beers are roughly organized by style and region, but the organization is often in great flux. The selection and diversity has been increasing. I would estimate that there are maybe 200 different beers available at this place. I would definitely check it out if you are into beer.

08-28-2009 18:00:54 | More by drabmuh

cirtap

Florida

3.64/5  rDev +2.2%
vibe: 2 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | $$

I've been going to Gator Beverage for more than 5 years now. From the outside the building is pretty run-down and they get some shady customers coming in, especially late at night. The beer selection is very impressive though, and prices are in line with the best in Gainesville. They also have a good selection of refrigerated beer, including some refrigerated 750s and bombers which can be hard to find. Service can be hit-or-miss, a couple members of the staff are extremely knowledgeable with beer while others are apathetic. Still, it's one of the best places for craft beer in north Florida.

05-31-2011 19:25:40 | More by cirtap

cjgator3

Florida

3.55/5  rDev -0.3%
quality: 4 | service: 2.5 | selection: 4 | $$

I'll admit, I did not go into the store at the best possible time for browsing. It was a Saturday in Gainesville which means FOOTBALL and many students picking up cheap kegs and cases of Natty Light. However, I was impressed by the selection, especially being located in such a small college town right across from the University. Rogue, DFH, Ommegang, Unibroue and some belgian singles are some of the standouts. I am lucky to have a couple absolutely stellar stores in my hometown of Orlando, but when I am in Gainesville Gator Beverage will surely do! Service was not that great, but then again there were tons of people in there so I cannot be too upset.

09-11-2006 05:27:26 | More by cjgator3