State Line Liquors

ithacabaron

California

3.7/5  rDev -19.4%
quality: 4 | service: 2.5 | selection: 4.5

A place that's grown on me more and more each time I go, but still has yet to blow me out of the water.

From outside, looks like a bit of a dump -- once within, however, it reveals itself to have a very decent selection of brew.

It's clear that this is still primarily a wine/liquor store, but the aisle, three coolers, and the open space in front of them are well stocked, with a special attention to Belgian breweries. I was pleased to see the full DeDolle line, several Fantomes (including Black Ghost), 750s of Piraat, Cantillon (although pretty overpriced) the full Rochefort line, and many others. The 15% discount on Belgians for store members (it's free, so become one) means you'll always get a buck or two off on those beers as well, bringing them back into reasonable price range.

For domestics, it's the usual East Coast suspects, with a lot of DE beers, especially Dogfish Head, being well represented. Other breweries with several varieties on hand included Victory and Smuttynose.

I appriciated the (relatively) good selection of English pub ales, and that several vintages on Lees Harvest' could be found. Additionally, a few surprises stood out for me -- Morimoto Imperial Pilsner, for example, was a neat find...but at 15 dollars a bottle, it had to go back on the shelf.

Finally, glassware in the back is numerous and cheap. I replaced my broken Oerbier glass for only 4 bucks. Score.

All in all, if you're in the area (say, within the hour), it's worth the trip. Those looking for decent wine vintages won't be disappointed either, and I was able to find a bottle of Becherovka, a Czech liquor that I loved in college.

I think my numbers are a little inflated because this is, almost by default, the best store in the Tri-State area.

Among the best I've ever seen, or the best in the country?

Let's not get carried away.

12-29-2004 17:20:56 | More by ithacabaron

pheurton

Pennsylvania

3.85/5  rDev -16.1%
quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 4.5

pretty easy to find off I-95, though there are three liquor stores on that road, so make sure you make it to the right one. beer section in the middle of the store isn't very large, but the variety is excellent. many bottles of hard to find brews, and good variety from our locals (DFH, Victory, Magic Hat, Brooklyn, etc). the service is just average, mosty teenagers working who don't seem to know their ass from their elbow, but I guess that is to be expected from teenagers. prices were fair, but no great deals here. i would recommend the drive to anyone from center city philadelphia southward, b/c you can make it there in about 30min. it was an hour trip for me, and i think that i could have gone to another place closer to home and got a comparble selection and deals. definitely worth a stop if you end up in the area.

03-02-2004 00:28:30 | More by pheurton

ark57

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev -12.9%
quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5

This was the first place I ever found Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA in the 750 mL bottle. They carry an impressive range of beers from Belgium, England, Germany, US, and other various European countries. Another great find for here was Boon Mariage Parfait Kriek. It never hurts to check this place out every so often. They continue to update their selection and they have been growing their selection of glassware as well. The place looks like a dive on the outside, but you know the addage about judgeing a book by its cover.

02-12-2004 19:33:05 | More by ark57

thetachibro

New Jersey

4/5  rDev -12.9%
quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

i decided to head down to this place because it's not that far of a drive from the ol' ball and chain's place in south jersey. very nice selection of singles and a bunch of things i can't get in jersey. i enjoy the mix sixpack option you have which cuts a little of the price off. the service was ok...out of the 3 or so times i've been there i've been asked if i needed help only once but no big deal. as for the 6 dollar charge for the tolls there is a way around it that cuts a couple min. off the trip as well...just post a thread on the site and some one will definatley help you out.

12-15-2005 15:47:03 | More by thetachibro

mobud

Delaware

4/5  rDev -12.9%
quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$

Discovered this place on BA and was amazed that I only lived 15 minutes away. That is what I get for only using Delaware in my search. Nice people who were very helpful in putting together a varied selection of beers for sampling. The prices were fair and the solid row of English/German/Belgium product were a nice change for someone moving away from American-centered beer tasting. You can get carried away with all the choices. If you are going there on a regular basis, join their club and get discounts on all of your purchases. State Line also has interesting taste sessions (some free, some fee based) on a regular basis. They also carry a fair amount of wine if you are looking to make your non-beer drinking friends happy.

10-23-2006 18:59:25 | More by mobud

tugdriver7

Maryland

4/5  rDev -12.9%
quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

What's the old adage about judging a book by its cover? Thankfully I looked to the experts here at BA to determine whether or not it would be worth stopping by. So on the way back from Philly, I pulled off the free way and headed up the mile or so to the store. When I pulled up, it didn't look like much more than some of the multiple "discount" liquor stores that dot the landscape of Maryland's highways. A very nondescript building with the usual macro ads tacked to the walls. Had I not read the BA reviews, I wouldn't have bothered. But I'm glad I did. First you have to solve the maze of shelves. Once you get past the rows of cheap wine, liquor and macro boxes, you enter a literal "beer lover's dream" of craft and import brews tucked singly and in six packs into every nook and cranny of coolers and shelves. I snagged a few great German imports (things you might not normally see) and found them to be reasonably priced and (surprise surprise) well within their shelf life. Well worth the trip and a lot of fun besides.

08-16-2008 03:16:11 | More by tugdriver7

IBUnit63

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev -12.9%
quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

In the middle of a roadtrip back home from Virginia this met the perfect timing for a rest stop/bathroom break. Doesn't look like more than your typical beer barn from the outside, but the inside is a different story. Probably about 35% of space dedicated to beer, with the bulk of that craft. Solid selection of Belgian, German and UK stuff as well as available American micros (Southern Tier, Troeg's, Stoudt and even Brewer's Art from Bawlmer). I guess I expected a little more availability of stuff I can't get in Boston (Bell's, Sly Fox) but I'm pretty sure they may be out of the distribution zone for these, so that's my bad (edit: this was confirmed by another BA - no Bell's or Sly Fox in MD - thanks!). Someone in the beer section asked if I needed help in passing...that's fine. Prices are pretty damn reasonable...Cantillon St. Lam here: $30.99. In Boston: 2 Andys.

I didn't check dates on anything but it all looked like it was moving - not much dust. One drawback - this place reeks a bit of stale macro emptys. That's really my only beef.

Overall, very good store with a lot of variety and decent prices.

02-21-2009 14:21:44 | More by IBUnit63

akorsak

Pennsylvania

4.01/5  rDev -12.6%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 5 | $$

This is my first visit to the most convenient liquor store in the world, located minutes off of I-95 at the Delaware line.

Quality: The quality of the store is top notch. A huge selection of single bottles, sixers (warm and cold), liquor and wine greet you on entrance.

Service: The manager on duty helped me by carrying out a case (while I carried my son), so that was very nice. There were no wandering salespersons though wandering around to talk shop with.

Selection: An impressive array of Belgians, Germans and Americans. I took out 2 bottles of Smuttynose Impy Stout, 1 bottle each of Avery The Czar, Leipziger Gose, N'Ice Chouffe, Saison de la Souer and Liquor de Malt (with DFH emblazoned brown paper bag to boot).

In terms of value, what you pay is up to you. The prices were good to outrageous (depending on size, etc.).

07-15-2006 00:14:03 | More by akorsak

shapudding

Pennsylvania

4.05/5  rDev -11.8%
quality: 4.5 | service: 3 | selection: 4.5

This is so worth the approximately hour drive that it takes me to get there. I just have so much fun with single bottle beer selections. I mean, cases are great, but to play with beer, this is a GREAT place! They have liquor, wine, beer, food, glassware, and a tasting section also.
There is a great selection of single bottles of beer, cases, sixers, then you have the cold cases. Man, is it possible to ever get out of there under an hour or two? Maybe if you live in the area. Great glassware selection, you can find glasses in all styles with almost all the favorite names being represented. Back near the glassware is the tasting area. Today when our BA crew went they were doing a nice tasting of spanish wines. Very cool. They do belgian beer tastings and I was told about a great scotch tasting coming up that I need to look into. Up in the front corner there is a gormet food area with lots of goodies, tons of fun hotsauces, cheeses, etc.
They offer carryout service to the car for you. It sometimes takes a bit of time if you are looking for someone to help you in the store. You can usually get an employee, but to find someone who knows if there is more of any certain beer- or who knows what you are talking about, that takes a bit of time for them to locate the one or two beer-knowing folks in the staff. Make sure to ask for the club card so you can get the discount, it really makes a difference in your receipt, I was told that it was only for the beer and wine, not for my scotches, but hey, I will take it!
-and a good p.s., the Belair branch of DuClaw brewpub is only about a halfhour south of here, so that makes for a very sweet trip!

11-14-2004 04:35:50 | More by shapudding

NolanGTI

Pennsylvania

4.05/5  rDev -11.8%
quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | $$

I am a big, but not a huge fan. The selection is very solid overall, but I was shocked at how badly it lacking in American Craft Beer. They have very few cases of craft and surprisingly did not even carry DFH 90 minute even though it is a local beer.

The belgian beer selection is another story. It is the best I have ever seen. A long, very long, 4 tiered shelf with just about anything you could reasaonably expect to find.

Prices were solid, but not nescessarily cheap. The staff was not in anyway knowledgeable but were nice enough. Worth the trip overall.

07-12-2006 21:15:27 | More by NolanGTI