ABC Liquor

Halcyondays

California

3.9/5  rDev +8.3%
quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.5 | $$$

Found at the corner of Termino and Ocean adjacent to a Jack in the Box and Vons, ABC Liquor doesn't look like much on the oustide, but inside it is a different story. The beers a located in the back. They have a large selection of U.S. micros and imports, and some beers I never seen before in CA, such as Genesee Cream Ale which surprised me. They also had some old bottles of R.R. Supplication, but at $12.99 a pop, I wasn't buying. The only downside of this store is the pricing. The beers there are quite a bit more than what I'm used to seeing in So. Cal. 7.7.7 was $7.99 a pop, and the single bottle of Old Rasputin I bought was $2.99. Other than that it's a good store, they have some stuff that you're not likely to see around here, just be willing to pay.

07-09-2007 22:13:20 | More by Halcyondays

TheLongBeachBum

California

3.7/5  rDev +2.8%
quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.5

Located on Ocean Boulevard, almost on the seafront, ABC Liquor is situated on the ocean-side of the road that runs between downtown Long Beach and Belmont Shores. Next door but one to the local Vons, and just around the corner from the Belmont Brewery, it is easy enough to find, but Parking can be very difficult at times with only a 2 car length 20 minute zone outside, and a Hitleresque mustachioed Security Guard goose-stepping the nearby Vons Car Lot for “non-users”.

An old fashioned Liquor Store, like so many other quality establishments, it is much more than a place to pick up a 6-Pack of you favorite Macro-Lite beer. As well as the beer, it stocks and sells high end Cigars, Fine Wines, Champagnes, fancy Liquors and some specialist food, indeed it has its own Delicatessen just to the right as you enter the store.

The beers are all located at the back of the Store in Coolers as you enter. Usually a few beers are on display in aisles, or nearby on the floor, but if you want a cool version of these they are usually somewhere to be found in the Coolers.

This is more of a specialist liquor store, and as such the beer fights for room with other libations that probably offer higher margins to the Store. The beer range is not huge by any means, but as well as the usual domestic micro stuff, there are many micro/craft beers from the US. It has something from the UK, Belgium and Germany as well as a few other “odds and sods” from around the world. They seem to sell a lot of Bud here, but thankfully it’s the proper stuff, albeit with a different name for the US market, perish the thought people would get them mixed up!! Simply put it has around 100+ beers and there is something here for everyone, but not that many special beers. However, this can work to your advantage, as I have often picked up “seasonals” and “specials” from the Stone Brewery when they have long disappeared off of the shelves of more popular stores. So not being popular is not always bad news. Indeed I picked up a couple more ‘older’ Stones this afternoon including some ‘03 Old Guardian and Double Bastards. Prices are slightly above average and service is friendly.

I don’t come here that often, but I always pop in for a beery perusal when I sometimes go for a walk down the Beach towards Belmont Shores on a lazy afternoon, or just before I hit the Happy Hour in the Belmont Brewery on a Sunday afternoon. Worth a look, just don’t park in the Vons Car Lot if Hitler is there, you’ll get towed away.

12-29-2003 02:28:06 | More by TheLongBeachBum