101 Bottles of Beer on the Wall

Bowman06

Ohio

4.23/5  rDev +1.2%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

This place is pretty awesome. 101 Bottles of Beer on the Wall always has an absolutely stellar tap selection. Constantly rotating kegs. You are bound to find at least a few brews you enjoy on draft. A few perks... you are able to have a drink while you shop, and you can buy and fill a growler or just simply have your $4 Acme growler filled while you are there (that's me).

Food? OK, so they don't provide food at this place but there is a penn station right next door and a heated patio to enjoy a few beers and sub in the fall/winter time (or spring / summer).

The bottle selection is unlike any other in the area. They have some of most rare beers you could ever imagine (from a local shop). They have all your regular big name beers but so many beers that I almost guarantee you have not tried or have not been able to find (bold statement, I know).

They also have a cooler filled with with Kegs. Anything from your typical BMC beers or the more rare DFH 90 Minute kegs (again, sure there is something to spark your interest).

If you or someone you know is not a beer drinker, there is plenty of wine to choose from as well!

101 Bottles is about a 30-40 minute drive for me and I never leave disappointed. Service is hit or miss. They people that work their know beer! They love to talk brews and suggest beers you might like. Other times, they simply don't want to talk to anyone (I'll leave it at that :) ).

Also, they often have beer events including brewery tap takeovers. Recently they have had Bells Brewery, local winter / Christmas beers, and Three Floyds (in a few weeks) tasting/ tap takeovers.

12-28-2012 03:20:48 | More by Bowman06

asigler

4.66/5  rDev +11.5%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Bottles is pretty consistent with a good variety of beers to try. The bar tenders are all pretty great folks and always provide a nice and much calmer atmosphere to any other bar in Kent. I find myself always looking forward to checking their listing each week for what new beers were added to the draught list. Most of the bar tenders there are also extremely knowledgeable and offer great insight. I definitely appreciate that. They provide a lot more than a bar with a billion IPAs on tap and for someone who isn't a big IPA fan, I like that.

11-26-2012 03:31:15 | More by asigler

cooncat

Ohio

4.8/5  rDev +14.8%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | $$

A most impressive collection of brews. Fully stocked shelves AND coolers. You can also mix/match your own 6 pack. I've been to a LOT of beer stores, and this place can hang with the best of them. Personnel were knowledgeable of the beers. Being able to have a great draft and walk around the place whilst shopping or browsing a nice plus. Clean in the store, at the bar, and even in the men's room. This place is definitely worth looking up. Its not in a prominent place, but you won't be disappointed if you look it up.
Cheers!

06-06-2012 11:16:56 | More by cooncat

stouts4me

Illinois

4.64/5  rDev +11%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | $$

A: Wow ! Shop for great beer and drink great tap selections while you shop ! Awesome !

Q: top notch quality all-around at this place, plus a nice patio, and if you like order a sub from next door and they will bring it over.

Serv: The guy knew his beer, and had his favorites to reccomend as well, pretty steady stream of customers and he knew alot of them by name, very good service, plus he threw in a couple of the store pint glasses in !

Sel: Wow ! top-notch selections ! Coolers all along the walls, snelves of beer, boxes, displays, walk-ins, tons of beer. I found the Alesmith family and scored Horny Devil, Old Numbskull, and Speedway Stout. Then I see Nightstalker in the cooler, 4 of them, plus 6 on the shelf ! Crazy !Found a Las Vegas Imperial Stout - Tenaya Creek, Epic Brainless on Peaches and Cherries, Troegs Doublebock and Flying Mouflan.

F:n/a unless you order from next door.

V: I think the prices were in line, no gouging here.

06-02-2012 22:57:48 | More by stouts4me

Schmotz411

Idaho

4.5/5  rDev +7.7%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 5 | $$

Why do half the reviews of this place mention Riverside? Interesting.

Anyway, this place has gotten 10 times better since the addition of the bar. There are over 20 tap handles to choose from, and it's all craft; no macros here. They also have a good assortment of flights, and from what I've heard, they have a good stock lined up for when kegs blow.

The atmosphere is quaint, since it's tucked to the side of the store. You can enjoy a beer without bothering the customers, and vice-versa. The crowd seems to be mainly beer geeks, with a few college kids coming over to try something new, which is always nice. I'd rather have a frat boy drinking Scrimshaw rather than Natty.

Service is pretty good. You get your beers quick, and the bartenders are pretty knowledgeable. They are the same guys/gals from the counter, so its a familiar face in a new role. I have one complaint about this, but I'll get to that later.

Selection, like I said earlier, is awesome. They have the standard fare for this area (Great Lakes, Thirsty Dog, Brew Kettle), along with some things that are pretty rare for the area (Alpha Klaus, Rogue Imperial Stout,). They've really done their homework on this.

Overall, it's a great place to hang out, have a beer, and relax. Some of the bartenders could be a little less "beer-snobby" and not show off everything they know, and the music selection is pretty bad, but overall, it's a great place.

12-28-2011 00:11:09 | More by Schmotz411

Spider889

Ohio

4.14/5  rDev -1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Anymore this is my preferred place to buy beer to go in Kent. Their selection is much better than Riverside, and prices are fairly comparable. While most regular options (sixers and the like) are average in price, many of the more limited offerings and singles are $1-2 more expensive than some other establishments.

I have seen the likes of BORIS Royale and Naked Evil here, they still had numerous bottles of Life and Limb as of November, and many other local niceties.

The service is subdued - they tend not to bother you or offer help. But when I have had a question or two for the girls behind the counter she could immediately answer the question and follow up with appropriate beer banter, recommendations, etc.

Rumor has it that they installed a bar in the last few weeks. I will try and verify this along with selection when I am up north again for New Years. In any case, according to my brother they have a small bar with about 9 tap handles which are likely designed to be in direct competition with Riverside. I welcome this as one can never have enough places to grab a fresh craft beer, and I would wager that 101 Bottles would offer better draft beers than Riverside whose selection is often stagnant or boring.

The main downside is that this is essentially a liquor store that sells a ton of beer. No food, and it doesn't have the charm and class of Riverside. For every two craft drinkers I see walk in a dozen college students make 45 second fly-bys through the walk-in cooler to the register and back out again to stock up on their favorite macro lagers. The plus side of this, is that it seems to help keep most offerings in stock longer than similar establishments.

Recommended.

12-26-2011 07:30:56 | More by Spider889

Ohiovania

Ohio

3.9/5  rDev -6.7%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Six packs are right are about even as far as other places around. Bombers are the same to a bit pricey for the same stuff you'd get down the street. Great selection though. All beer is kept in coolers.

Sometimes it's hard to not get annoyed at the 15 college kids waiting to buy cases of bmc light pong beer that are in your way but who cares.

Great place, employees will literally call the distro right when you're there to answer questions for you.

Great shop that I try to go in ever ytime I'm in the Kent area.

10-22-2011 02:52:42 | More by Ohiovania

youngac

Iowa

4.64/5  rDev +11%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

I don't live near Bottles 101 anymore, but whenever I'm in the area I always make a stop. Their selection is terrific. Find a lot of beers I can't find other places. I haven't been to other beers stores in the immediate area in in some time so I can't compare, but it would be hard to believe that Bottles 101 doesn't have the best selection. The only minor complaint about the selection is that it is all in coolers, no beer on shelves. Some may think that is a good thing, but I'm traveling long distances with my beer generally and would prefer to buy it at room temp most of the time. Pretty minor though. And they have a ton of yellow fizzy swill but they are in a college town and have to in order to stay in business.

As far as the service goes, I'm not really sure what the people who have rated this place's service poor are thinking really. It's been great for me. They leave you alone, unless you have questions or ask for their opinion. And if you ask for their opinion, they give you an honest answer as to what they think. They don't try to push any certain beers on you just to get them out the door and make a sale. They tell you what they like and what they think is worth trying. Isn't that what they should do?

Personally, it's one of my favorite beers store to visit. I'll be back again for sure.

10-20-2011 18:16:23 | More by youngac

JakeFrancis5150

Ohio

3.73/5  rDev -10.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | $$$

Visited this place for the first time since I moved away from Akron 5 years ago on 10/14/2011. Honestly, not much has changed, which is both good and bad. This place easily has one of the best selections of singles in Northeast Ohio, which features not only Ohio brewers, but also many other prominent craft breweries; however, singles are sold at inflated prices (about 25% over their 6 pack cost). Their selection of 4/6 packs is also quite good, but really did not contain anything that I cannot find elsewhere; however, considering that Kent is a college town, 101's selection is quite impressive while still paying homage to the walk-in of Natty, Keystone, and Beast.

101 has an extensive wine selection, if you are into that sort of thing. If anything, this appears to be more of a wine shop than a beer store, which is interesting to say the least. Glassware was non-existent, or at least I did not see any. Service was so-so. I did not want or expect to be helped, which is good because the staff seemed more interested in eating lunch than helping. Overall, not a bad shop that is about as I remember it, but not necessarily worth going out of the way to visit.

10-17-2011 18:44:42 | More by JakeFrancis5150

tbone69

Ohio

5/5  rDev +19.6%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | $$

I would like to update from my previous review. Quite frankly, 101 Bottles probably has the most discerning selection of craft beer in Ohio. I have been to most of the other worthwhile beer stores in the state and I would argue that they still have the best in terms of quality inventory as opposed to any of the other premier beer stores. Some customers may complain about reserving product that they feel should be available to the general public, but I have never noticed this to be an issue. Additionally, they are in the process of installing a bar specializing in 16-20 tap handles only pouring exotic micros and imports with growler service available. I believe this will catapult 101 Bottles into the premier beverage consortium in the state of Ohio at the very least. Furthermore, 101 Bottles has expanded their capacity to carry even more varieties of Belgian beers, craft beers, and other imports. The owner and management team is always willing to spend time with the customers and assist in the selection process. I would be hard-pressed to find an establishment that has the selection and quality that 101 Bottles carries. They have an excellent selection of fine wines as well, even though this website is dedicated to great beer.

10-08-2011 00:28:01 | More by tbone69