State Line Liquors

slander

New York

4.65/5  rDev +1.3%
quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | $$

Having done lunch at the Iron Hill in Wilmington, you know, the one on the other side of the big bridge, State Line is a convenient 15 minutes in the opposite direction of the 2 and a half hours I already am from home, which is fine, you know, as I enjoy the excursion, the fact finding mission, and it's always good to see who's got what...
First exit in Maryland, and a half mile or so down the road. It's looks, well, not very asthetically pleasing and when you get inside, your greatest macro fears are realized in stacks and in piles and in mountains. I was a-scared, it's true. But you close your eyes and run blindly through (screaming) and when you come out the other side, you're in a better place. You'll find a handful of coolers and some mini aisles with some good micros, and then you turn the corner and you see a bunch more coolers and all the kind imports.
There is a most extensive selection of American micros, from the New England states, through NYC tristate, and well through the mid Atlantic states. Starting up North and moving South... Geary's, Seadog, Allagash (Curieux), Shipyard, Smuttynose, Magic Hat, Otter Creek, Cisco, Mendocino, Brooklyn, Heavyweight, Riverhorse, Flying Fish, Weyerbacher, Victory, Troegs, Lancaster, Yards, Stoudts, DogFishHead, DeGroens, Clipper City, Wild Goose, Old Dominion, Weeping Radish and on and on. And of course, micros from beyond... Spanish Peaks, Anchor, Sierra Nevada, Flying Dog (Wild Dog Double Pale Ale), Avery, Rogue, North Coast, Anderson Valley (Abbey Ale), Pyramid, ACME, Three Floyds, etc. Large collection of Rogue bombers, and Avery, and more.
Imports... A nice assortment of Belgians, first and foremost. Yeah, yeah, Germans and English, too, but Belgians... Chouffe, Tripel Karmeliet, Caracole, about a half dozen beers from Brasserie Des Rocs including the Brune and the Triple Imperiale, Cantillion, Fantome, De Dolle (Oerbiers galore), Bon Secours, Brouwerij Verhaeghe Vichtenaar (Flemmish Red) and Echt Kriekenbier, Liefmans (Gluhkrieks).
To the rear of the store is a good glassware display in an area where they were doing a wine tasting with cheeses on the day we were there. In the front corner near the registers zone are cheeses, hot sauces, BBQ sauces, mustards, jams, syrups, crackers, pickles, peppers, olives and more. Go see!!! Up at the register, I'm told that right now, it's 15% off all Belgians. Whoop de do!! Good damn beer store. Worth the 15 minute drive.

12-27-2004 01:03:31 | More by slander

Billolick

New York

4.35/5  rDev -5.2%
quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$

VERY convenient stop of off rt 95, first/last exit in maryland. Going north its to the left of the highway about 1/4 mile on the right. After you get past all the macro banners and displays, you quickly come accross a very nice supply and selection of high quality brews. Avery galore, tons of domestic micros, excellent selection of Belgians/Germans/Brit imports. Lots of chilled/lots of room temp. Picked up my first ever Three Floyds Dreadnaught. Also good prices on Magic hat's Thumbsucker etc etc, well worth a stop.

06-18-2004 02:20:31 | More by Billolick

NeroFiddled

Pennsylvania

4.35/5  rDev -5.2%
quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 5

Although it may not look like much from the highway (in fact it looks just like the discount liquor store two blocks down), inside a plethora of good beer awaits you. The store is fairly clean and well organized; and there's alot of staff around even on weekdays. There's 72 feet of cooler space that houses six-packs and singles (although there's roughly 18 - 20 feet of macro brew and some malternatives included in that number), and 16' feet shelf space that accomodates Belgian singles. There are also the free-standing displays that house Russian, English, and Unibroue beers. Cases of micro brews are stacked in a roughly 10' by 10' area but the selection is limited compared with what they've got in 6'er or singles. Interestingly, they handle growlers for De Groen's. The prices are good (Fantome Noel 750 ml @ $9.98, Achel Trappist Extra 750 ml @ $11.69, Artevelde Grand Cru 750 ml @ $6.29, Leipziger Gose 16.9z @ $3.32) but some of the stock can be out of date. Check your codes!!! If you have specific questions about the beers you won't get real far, and you'll probably have to wait while they look up the prices on some of their more unusual beers; but they'll carry it out to the car for you! So service is here and there. Still, it's definitely worth the trip if you're anywhere in the area (just 45 minutes south of Philly at the Elkton exit of I-95).

01-18-2004 03:44:24 | More by NeroFiddled

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

4.3/5  rDev -6.3%
quality: 4 | service: 5 | selection: 4 | $$

Less than 30 minutes from Wilmington, a $3 toll each way on the I-95. Easy to get to, a very good selection of belgiums. Good but not exceptional variety,with some very good 750 selection such as the Three Flyods, on US microbrews. Excellent on meads, I picked up the Tower of London Whisky mead. Outstanding service, I had my own personal shopper and everyone was always friendly attentive and patient all the time, which helped me find a couple of bottles buried into the cooler. Also exceptionally pleased that every bottle you can buy a single.

08-29-2006 15:04:02 | More by northyorksammy

Gavage

New Jersey

4.8/5  rDev +4.6%
quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | $$$

Made sure to hit this place on my trip north from Baltimore going to Delaware Park for a day of simulcast betting. Just a few miles off I-95 at the Delaware - Maryland border exit 109. The building is unimpressive from the outside, and my wife commented it looks like a store that wouldn't sell good beers. We walked in, grabbed a cart, and went to the refridgerators.

Being from Jersey, I am searching for beers I can't get there. Lo and behold, the first beer I see is 3F Dreadnaught. Pick up a few bottles. Then I see many styles of Great Divide, Jolly Pumpkin, Avery, Rogue, and a large collection of Belgian beers I'm not used to seeing. Sensory overload. Next thing you now my cart is full, needing another one.

The help was friendly, asking if I needed any help finding anything specific. I asked for Urthel Hop-It, and there was one bottle left. Nice grab. Overall prices were about $1-2 higher than I expected to pay per sixpack or bomber, but the overall selection made this more palatable.

This will require a revisit in the near future, since there was many beers here I wanted to buy but needed to keep it under $200. Not as clean and organized as Half Time in NY, but this place scores very high in my book.

02-21-2006 13:31:16 | More by Gavage

johnmichaelsen

Oregon

4.85/5  rDev +5.7%
quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | $$

Had occasion to stop by here a week or so back. I stopped in with the intention of buying a bottle of Panil, but ended up dropping close to $100 on some other goodies there.

This has to be one of the odder wine/beer/liquor stores I've ever come across. The place is out in the middle of nowhere, just off the interstate in Elkton (right at the border of Maryland and Deleware). The whole area looks kind of run down and dumpy, and State Line (at least from the outside) doesn't inspire much confidence either. Until you walk in.

This place has an excellent selection of just about everything (beer, wine, liquor) and is very good size. It appears they have a separate area for craft brew and imports, and I have to say they have a particularly outstanding selection of imports.

The folks there were quite friendly and helpful, and it was apparent that they are used to assisting beer geeks like myself. The place had an altogether excellent vibe to it. Prices seem reasonable, and if you join their "club," you get an additional 10% discount on bombers and a 5% discount on 6 packs. Prices are not all that high to begin with (they were pretty comparable to prices at Well's, for instance), so this ends up being a pretty good deal. There is no charge to join this club, and if you fill out the paperwork at the store (takes about a minute - or you can fill it out online and just mail it or bring it in), you get the discount right there on the spot.

The only problem with State Line, at least for me, is that it's about an hour drive from where I live in Baltimore. Also, you have to pay the stupid Maryland Interstate $5 toll just before you arrive in Elkton, which is another annoyance (and pretty much wipes out whatever savings you might get as a result of the club discount).

It's a pity this place is not closer to Baltimore. It would quickly become my beer store of choice for pretty much all purchases. Oh well.

Update from 1/1/09.

A lot of time has gone by, and I've frequented many outstanding liquor stores throughout the country. Seen from that perspective, I feel as if I have to upgrade my score. The only place I've visited that comes remotely close to the selection at State Line is John's Market in Portland. John's has a slightly better selection of craft brew then State Line, but State Line is the winner when it comes to Imports and service. This is as close to perfection as any place I've ever been to. Plus, I've figured out how to avoid the stuipid $5 toll.

Yes, it really is that good.

05-10-2007 13:48:24 | More by johnmichaelsen

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

sholland119

Pennsylvania

4.85/5  rDev +5.7%
quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

An outstanding beer store. State Line is located just over the DE/MD border. Even on a summer Saturday with lots of shore traffic, it is reachable in about an hour from the Philly suburbs.

The beer selection is outstanding, especially in the international area. Lots of Belgians, plenty of English beers, (including JW Lees vintage '97, '01 and '02), more Italians than I have ever seen. The domestic selection is also very good though not as mind blowing. Lots of Southern Tier big beers, Brewers Art and Bear Republic (including sixers of Racer 5 which we don't get here).

Someone came by every 3 minutes or so to ask if we needed help. Best of all, the prices here are very reasonable.

HV

07-27-2008 14:58:20 | More by sholland119

blackie

Virginia

4.45/5  rDev -3.1%
quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | $$

stopped by State Line on the way back to DC from Wilmington - at most a couple miles off the highway, it's well worth your time

ignore the fact that from the outside, SL looks like every other liquor store in Maryland, once inside, feelings of apprehension give way to dumb awe as I browse an aisle of foreign imports loaded with obscure beers from all corners of the globe - Belgium of course, Japan, Brazil, Scandinavia, New Zealand, and so on - pretty impossible to navigate without a computer at hand, but some names do stick out

located separate from the imports is an aisle and row of coolers dedicated to American and Canadian craft brews, with an impressive range of 750s, bombers, and six-packs, mostly pretty common stuff but with a nice smattering of semi-rarities, hadn't seen Saint Somewhere anywhere else, also found some Brewer's Art beers, most of the Dieu du Ciel line, quite a few Jolly Pumpkins, selection gets a wholehearted 5.0

some stuff appeared to be on the old side - packs of pale ale with dusty shoulders, obviously outdated beers tucked underneath the shelving, but the issue seems to be pretty isolated

service was helpful, and any questions were quickly and accurately answered, love the fact that you can take a single of anything in the store

09-19-2009 14:07:06 | More by blackie

Deuane

Pennsylvania

4.8/5  rDev +4.6%
quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | $$

Right off of I-95 on US 40 just outside of Elkton, MD, right near the MD/DE line west of Newark, DE.

A large store with beer, wine and liquor. The beer selection is crazy good with just about ever beer available in MD here.

Prices seem as good as or cheaper than other stores I've been to. Their service is very good; their employees are friendly and and don't ignore the customers. I was asked three different times if I needed help and was offered personal service when I inquired about two different beers. They even box up and take your purchase out to your vehicle for you!

They also have a nice selection of glassware at very reasonable prices. I bought two half pint snifters for $2.95 each!

A great go to place that almost always has what I am looking for. I wish they would get the ablity to fill growlers back, now that would be the icing on the cake!

This place is without question one of the best beer stores in the country.

01-13-2009 15:21:09 | More by Deuane