Wakefield Liquors

angrybabboon

Rhode Island

4.14/5  rDev -1.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$

I must admit that I have had somewhat of a love/hate relationship with Wakefield Liquors. There are some good and bad things about the store. In the past year and a half, I have ultimately decided that this is, in fact, a good store...

The atmosphere is pretty good. The beer area is nicely organized, and I really enjoy the mix-a-six option. Generally the beer is of good quality (not too old), but I have certainly encountered some dusty old bottles.

There are a lot of options for beer, and it ranges from "sold at gas stations" to "what the hell is this beer doing in this little place." One of my gripes with this store has been that the non-rare stuff (Stone, Allagash, etc.) is sometimes poorly stocked. Sometimes a certain beer will disappear for weeks without any explanation. However, the reason I keep going back is because this store pulls in some unbelievable stuff. Brooklyn Black Ops, NEBCO Imperial Stout Trooper, Ithaca Brute, and some other notables have appeared in the past.

Another reason I keep going back is that the staff is very friendly. They aren't all very knowledgeable, sadly. When I asked about Black Ops being available this year, the response I received was, "Wait, did they brew that beer for that Call of Duty game?"

In the end, this place is really worth checking out. They have a really big wine selection, too.

05-03-2011 19:34:38 | More by angrybabboon

mostpoetsdo

Rhode Island

4.15/5  rDev -1%
quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$$

Quality and Service: It's a nice place with a good layout. A wall of warm six packs when you walk in, and an aisle shelf of singles and bombers, neatly arranged by style. They have weekly tastings, as well.

Selection: One of the best, if not the best in the area. Obviously Stone, Rogue, DFH, and then pretty much all New England brands. Have a lot of North Coast, several brands from Colorado breweries, and a even some good craft imports. This is the place to come if you want to mix a six.

Value: It's probably the most expensive store in the area, but has the best selection. I personally mainly only use it for grabbing singles in a mix-a-six.

03-13-2010 21:17:39 | More by mostpoetsdo

ErockRPh

Rhode Island

4.65/5  rDev +11%
quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | $$

Simply put, Wakefield Liquors has one of the best beer selections I've ever seen. Even though I'm from the northern part of RI, I have been known to make the nearly hour-long drive down to South County just to pick up some beer. On top of their beer selection, their single-malt scotch selection is the best around as well. The majority of the staff tends to be pretty knowledgeable about beer. I've been pointed to more than one "new arrival" by the staff there when they notice me spending 10 minutes putting together a couple of mix-a-six packs. Prices are decent as well. Well worth the trip.

02-12-2010 03:45:17 | More by ErockRPh

roopy40

Rhode Island

4.65/5  rDev +11%
quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | $$

Prices here are reasonable in comparison to other stores with similar stock. They have a wide array of beers that will blow you away and of course the mix-a-six deal that most stores carrying craft beer offer. The first one around here to carry Moylan's Wet Hopsickle Triple India Pale Ale that I know of. I bought one in the summer and got hop rocked! I visit there frequently throughout the year and I am always pleased with the update in stock and the wonderful way it is layed out. The help is knowledgable and friendly and they have tasting (wine and beer) often.

01-16-2009 19:02:59 | More by roopy40

Jwale73

Rhode Island

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

Visited Wakefield Liquors on 8/29/08 while on vacation in Narragansett. I typically hit Schwabby's or O'Neill's, but found the place on Beerfly and figured it was worth a trip. The store is predominantly dedicated to wine but they definitely do a nice job with stocking craft beer, which basically consists of an entire aisle that is straight ahead as you enter the store, as well as some cooler space. The right side is broken down into predominantly export beers from England, Belgium (Chimay, St. Bernardus, a couple Kasteel, etc.), Scotland, Germany, etc. The left side was organized by beer style and consisted predominantly of American crafts (e.g. DFH, Smutty, Flying Dog, ST, Hooker, Harpoon, Heavy Seas, Magic Hat, SA, Stone, etc.), as well as some of the Unibroue beers. Top shelf stocks bombers; most of the ST, Smutty, Stone, as well as the Newport Storm special beers (03', 06' & 07). End of the aisle had a few different Hitachino brews as well. Good selection of NE craft brews as well as many of the Berkshire bombers located in a cooler in the back right of the store. Of note was they had several JW Lees Harvest ale, as well as some of the Ola Dubhs. Cooler stock was thin, but had a good selection of mix packs (Brooklyn, Heavy Seas, Magic Hat, Saranac, Smutty, Harpoon, Hooker, etc.). Counter service was friendly. Prices were a bit higher than I'm used to, but not gougingly so. As far as I can tell, Wakefield is pretty much the only craft beer haven in the area, so definitely stop in if you need a fix. You'll be pleasantly surprised.

08-29-2008 19:32:09 | More by Jwale73

SteveO1231

Connecticut

3.85/5  rDev -8.1%
quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 4.5 | $$

I've been working out of Wakefield this summer and decided to check this place out.

It is easily located on main street in downtown Wakefield.

The building is divided as you walk in the left side is entirely wine, looks to have an extensive collection.

On the right is the beer and the booze.

As you walk down the beer isle; Warm singles separated by style on the left, imports by country of origin on the right.

A few Gift packs on the back endcap.

The back wall is filled with beer and the back right cooler contains chilled bombers.

Directly as you enter there is a small display featuring the latest seasonal/big beer release equipped with a BA rating and description. In the display were some Stone brews, Avery, Southern Tier, etc.

This place has a better New England regional selection of beers from Mass, CT, and RI than I have seen anywhere else.

Wakefield Liquors also gives a 10% discount on mixed 6 packs and mixed cases.

Prices on individual 12 oz. bottles range from $1.00 - $3.99 the bombers seem a little expensive but by only a buck or so.

Good stop if in the area or looking for southern New England brews.

Cheers!

07-27-2008 12:49:56 | More by SteveO1231

bjoyce12

Massachusetts

4.35/5  rDev +3.8%
quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$$

Wow. Who knew that in litlle ol' Wakefield, RI there's a place worth driving miles out of your way. Landed some Old Rasputin, Unibroue Terrible 500 ml, Aventinus(also had 2 other Schneider & Sohn ales there). I rarely see Aventinus, let alone others from the same brewery. Also had Bernardus 4 pack mixers with a chalice included for $20. Nice pick up for a gift.

Otherwise you see your usual high quality lineup; Rogue, Stone, Belgians, Flying Dog, etc.

Place is small but packs a nice large selection.

06-09-2008 19:21:14 | More by bjoyce12

Alexmc2

Rhode Island

3.6/5  rDev -14.1%
quality: 3 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$$

I shop here because selection-wise, it can't be beat in South County. The staff knows a fair amount about wine, but beer, well thats a mixed bag as far as staff knowledge goes; some could tell you a couple things, others not so much. I have two negative things to say however. First, there will sometime be out of code beer, which is a bit annoying after you realize that this place is a bit overpriced. They do discount mixed 6ers though. Just make sure that the beer you're getting isn't past its "Best By" date.

08-18-2007 20:33:10 | More by Alexmc2

auxiliary

Rhode Island

3.9/5  rDev -6.9%
quality: 4.5 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | $$

Drove down just to see what this place was all about. They have one large wall full of beers. I would say 70% I can find elsewhere so that means I'll be back to check out that other 30%! I mixed a 6, of some things I wanted to try. I can't even remember what it was lol. I'll post him under the "report" section here. We wanted something cold so we picked up a 12 pack of Brooklyn Beer. It included the 55' Pennent!
Best Wine Shop In South County in 06. Overall the store is a good size, but I would say 50% Wine, 25% Beer, 25% Liquor.

07-28-2007 20:29:22 | More by auxiliary

UnionMade

Colorado

4.55/5  rDev +8.6%
quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | $$

Drove out here with my girlfriend (sorry Kristi!) trying to pick up some 3 Floyd's goodies. We got lost twice (once due to Google Maps ineptitude, and once because of the toothless gas station lady), but eventually got there.
Located in a busy commercial area, this place is located in a plaza with an easy to notice sign out by the intersection. Pulling up the place, I notice wooden signs proclaiming both "beer" and "ale" plastered in multiples in the outside windows. Walking in, you're immediately greeted by an impressive beer selection. Spartan arrangement, but it's function over style here. If this were my local place, I'd be thrilled. A vast collection of singles (amazingly, all I checked, which was most, were within expiration, unprecidented in any store I'd been in. If that's not quality, i don't know what is) as well as a modest, yet inspired collection of imports. Cantillon Kreik, Liefman's Goudenband, and other connoisseur's delights. The staff managed to answer all of my questions, and were quite accomodating. I know i shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, but the guys at the registers looked like typical college meatheads, usually the kind of guy that loves his Bud Light. However, they were able to answer all my questions about obscure microbrews that weren't even on the shelves yet (what I actually drove there for. Yes, I've learned to always call ahead). Impressive. My only complaint is that I bought two armloads of beer and they didn't offer me a case to box it all up, even though there was a stack behind them. Very minor, as they were a bit busy and it was probably just an oversight. Decent prices, especially with a 10% discount over six beers. The singles are fairly priced, $1.50 average, but some of the imports, especially the pricier, more esoteric bottles, being a dollar or two more than I expect. No matter, this is a great place to shop in the URI area.

12-21-2005 07:13:42 | More by UnionMade