Bauer Wine & Spirits

Backer2004

North Carolina

3.55/5  rDev -18.9%
quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 3.5 | $$

Recommended via BeerFly and my Forum post, so thank you. For the highest ranked beer store rated here, I was a bit disappointed. Definitely a wine store, though they have a four or five cooler selection in the back. Found a Harpoon Reserve and Smuttynose Big Beer series for $4.99 per bomber, but nothing else really excited me. Just a few singles available. Store employees and other two customers were standing around the counter tasting and spitting wine and barely noticed me. Convenient location.

05-14-2007 02:47:32 | More by Backer2004

SpeedwayJim

New York

3.6/5  rDev -17.8%
quality: 4.5 | service: 3 | selection: 3 | $$

Bauer Wine and Spirits is a mostly wine shop with a small beer section in the back.

Quality of their product was pretty good. They had 1 fridge for six packs and singles and 1 shelf of 750ml and bombers. Beer was kept at a good temperature and labels seemed to up to date and fresh.

There essentially wasn't any service. The place is actually rather small and while there at around 8 PM, there was one clerk attending to the customers. If you needed help, you could get it, but if you're looking for a beer suggestion or just want to talk about the selection, you're pretty much outta luck unless their beer guy is there.

The selection here, after reading all the rave reviews from BA, was a little disappointing. No Founders and only a really limited supply of Lost Abbey. Even stuff from Pretty Thing was pretty limited. Definitely not what I expected.

Value here comparatively to a couple of the other well reviewed places is actually pretty good.

10-18-2009 16:39:13 | More by SpeedwayJim

WanderingFool

Massachusetts

3.7/5  rDev -15.5%
quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3 | $$

Having read many reviews about Bauer I decided to finally pay them a visit. I was looking for the Stone Vertical Epic 7.7.07 which I was surprised to find they had. Many of the larger stores I've been to didn't carry it.

This is mostly a wine store with several coolers in the back filled with beer. Mixed in among the standard fare (Harpoon, Magic Hat, Smuttynose, etc.) are some real gems. In addition to the VE I found a special release beer from Lagunitas that I didn't even know was available. I only wish their selection was greater, however they just don't have the room in the store to expand.

The clerk at the front commented on the beers I purchased and seemed like a friendly guy. He even mentioned that if I wanted any more VE I better come back soon because he didn't think it would last long.

If you're looking for something specific check out Bauer. They just might have it.

07-23-2007 21:31:13 | More by WanderingFool

Lothore

California

3.7/5  rDev -15.5%
quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | $$$

Overall this looks like a cool little shop nestled into a nice area in Boston. There is some glassware at the front and as you move to the back of the store there are coolers full of beer. They have a good, but not amazing selection of Belgians, US Craft Brews and so on. I think their main problem is they try to diversify too much and due to limited space they don't extensively carry a good selection of local east coast brews. This isn't to say that there aren't some great beers here, I just would rather have a more focused selection than "1 beer from every brewery". Prices were a bit high compared to other shops around. Wasn't approached by any staff the whole time I was there but they seemed nice enough when I went to check out.

01-17-2008 21:24:07 | More by Lothore

tikk

New York

3.7/5  rDev -15.5%
quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | $$$

For a tiny hole in the wall shop they have a pretty decent selection of craft brewery. They do focus on wine and some of the employees are not that helpful if you are looking for recommendations. This is one of the few places I know of that carries Dieu De Ciel so I tend to visit them bi-weekly. The selection is good for the limited floor space they have for beer, they tend to carry Great Divide, Pretty Things, Founders, Bear Republic, Victory and many others. They carry a few sours and Krieks, not my cup of tea so I can't say if they are good. I do recommend Bauer Wine and Spirits if you are in the area, but I wouldn't make it the basis of a trip(unless you need Dieu Du Ciel like me)

Edit: I forgot to mention that being in the heart of Boston they are a tad overpriced, but I am willing to spend a little more to get a little more.

01-18-2010 01:35:19 | More by tikk

OldSock

District of Columbia

3.75/5  rDev -14.4%
quality: 4.5 | service: 3 | selection: 3.5 | $$$

Honestly I do not see why Bauer's is the best rated beer store in Massachusetts. Granted that it appears that every beer they have on hand has been expertly selected, and everything seemed clean and fresh. They certainly had a few bottles that I had not seen before, but for the most part most of what they carry can be found at many stores around Massachusetts. Sadly, the selection is so small and the prices were such that I cannot recommend this place over the many other beer stores available to people in the general Boston area. I would love to see what this place would be like if they devoted their entire space to beer, or if they moved into a larger space. It seems to me that people who live in Boston need to venture out of the city and go to the multitude of beer stores that are at their disposal.

08-17-2005 17:28:50 | More by OldSock

tigg924

Massachusetts

3.75/5  rDev -14.4%
quality: 4.5 | service: 3 | selection: 3.5 | $$$

Bauer Wine & Spirits is a neat little hole in the wall on Newbury. The variety is good for a store here, but the focus is clearly on wine. They have five coolers against the back wall, three of which are for bombers. They also have a separate shelf for high end bottles like Deus. A good variety in the bombers. Plenty of Cantillion, AleSmith, and Pretty Things amongst others. Service was friendly but not overly interactive. The prices here were on the high end. Bottles were at least $1 more then what I could find them closer to me. They did have some rarities though. If I had a bit of money, I could see myself popping up here a couple times a year to grab some of these white whales.

09-07-2010 16:43:30 | More by tigg924

LPorter33

Massachusetts

3.85/5  rDev -12.1%
quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 4.5 | $$$

This place has an awesome selection of bombers and singles with a ton of imports and domestics (lots of Double IPAs, Imperial Stouts, Belgians and other high alcohol % brews). Their six pack selection was a little lacking but still had some quality breweries - Dogfish, Smuttynose. This is a nice little gem hidden under Newbury St. Definitely stop by if you're in the area. I did think they were slightly overpriced and I didn't get any type of special service. There was only one employee working though and he might not have been especially knowledgable in beer.

09-08-2005 12:38:08 | More by LPorter33

tempest

Pennsylvania

3.85/5  rDev -12.1%
quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | $$

Nice little neighborhood feel to it, but nothing to write home about. Good service, very friendly. Decent selection, but nothing special. A couple from Heavyweight, some stone, Offshore, generally a little bit of everything that's worth drinking. Some of Belgian's best and Unibroue. Also a fresh case of Old Guardian sitting out... mmm.

I went in with fairly high expectations based off BeerFly, and was kind of disappointed. If I lived in the area I'd shop here, but this wasn't worth my time as a someone just visiting Boston.

03-14-2006 19:10:26 | More by tempest

Trailmix242

Massachusetts

3.85/5  rDev -12.1%
quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | $$$

Bauer is the closet place to my home to get a decent selection of Belgiums and micro brews. The staff is always friendly and knowlegable. The one downfall is their lack of space which does limit the selection and also being in downtown Boston the prices aren't exactly cheap. I frequent the place but wish they were able to carry more beers or at least get rid of the swill and fill the cooler with more good beer. One other nice point is that they do occasionally have tastings with representatives from various breweries or distributors though the wine tastings are much more frequent then the beer tastings.

09-03-2008 13:55:04 | More by Trailmix242