Bottle Barn

tjensen3618

California

3.9/5  rDev -8.2%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Stopped by on my way down the coast. I'm not familiar with the area and had a bit of trouble finding the place, it was in a industrial type area.

This place has a lot of beer, a good amount of it is coolers, cases are kind of haphazardly located around the beer area. I didn't notice a great amount of organization in the place, but somehow it worked.

They had a bunch of limited and barrel aged bottles that are long gone in Southern California. I could have gone wild in this place but had to pace myself in order to have some cash left for the last leg of my trip.

I'm glad I poked my head in this place, got some great bottles, and will be back if I ever get the opportunity to be back up in this wonderful part of CA.

12-22-2011 00:09:53 | More by tjensen3618

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

3.58/5  rDev -15.8%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | $$

A lot of choice, though to what is hot and fresh it is losing ground to Bierkraft and to Whole Foods(polling among bars done by NYSam).
Fair organization of bottles - on the floor, crowded near the bathroom and stockroom compared to the many wine racks. Old hoppy ales (ie. Lost Continent) among lesser known breweries. Only a small proportion of beers in the narrow cooler.
No single bottles. I asked an owner and he brings me to the Belgiums and bomber selection. Both owners are noteably unfirendly and unsmiling as they go about their business of making money.

11-09-2012 05:07:45 | More by northyorksammy

JosephThompson

New Jersey

3.4/5  rDev -20%
vibe: 2.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 3.5 | $

Stopped by during a trip to Russian River. As written, it's in an industrial park so straight warehouse for atmosphere. The beer area is a little thrown together so it may take a moment or so to grab your bearings and look for everything they have.

Service is non-existent but not in a bad way. They just never approach you but when asked they are helpful. I didn't pick up anything magical. Pretty standard stuff actually. Perhaps I missed the area with the good finds or overlooked them.

One thing you do notice is the ridiculous cheap Russian River on offer. If you're making the pilgramage to the drinking hole in downtown Santa Rosa it may be worth the 10 minute drive out to Bottle Barn first to see what they have and purchase there.

09-16-2012 15:24:33 | More by JosephThompson

Beerandraiderfan

Nevada

4.24/5  rDev -0.2%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $

Roll into an industrial area. I don't really know what you do with atmosphere. On one hand, its just an industrial warehouse type of area, not exactly sexy. . . but do you need that when buying bottles? Plus, the amazingly cheap prices here are in some way connected to the fact that they aren't paying rent at a high end downtown loft in the epicenter of the chic cool chachi tony ravioli puffed shirt fancy hair crowd. So, while the atmosphere isn't much, the amount and price of beer are going to lead to an above average score based on what really matters to me.

Quality, well, they have tons of Russian River. And lots of other good selections. Beyond beer, the hard liquor and wine selection is fantastic, picked up some of the 8 barrel Buffalo Trace Experimental stuff from 1991 & 1993 while I was there, koufax21 said that $50 for them was a steal.

Service wise, everyone pretty much leaves you alone, when I asked for the chicken wire cage to be opened, they were quick to help out. Another bonus, there's some decent looking ladies at the register, big props to the fine looking native girl I'm guessing. Cute, smiley, just what you should be when a dude rolls through spending three digits.

Pretty much a must visit when I'm in the area from now on, thanks Kristalynn for the heads up on this place.

07-20-2012 21:18:33 | More by Beerandraiderfan

Rinkor16

California

4.5/5  rDev +5.9%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | $

Love this place! It's less than a mile from my house... And oh man am I spoiled!

They stock a lot of beers from Moylan's, Lagunitas, Bear Republic, Russian River, Alaskan Brewery, Alesmiths and a few others. Everytime I've been here the staff are friendly. They're always willing to help you find something, incase you feel a little lost. They have an excellent selection of wine if you're into that (not me). They also have a pretty good selection of local brews. They even sell Russian River brews for less than the actual brewery does.

01-13-2012 00:40:10 | More by Rinkor16

regsucks

Virginia

4.55/5  rDev +7.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | $

Very good Beer/Wine/Liquor Store in Santa Rosa.

Layout is similar to most large stores of the like. Nothing particularly memorable.

Very good selection of beers, including a bunch in the coolers. Added bonus of carrying shipping/packaging material and glassware.

Prices are outstanding. This applies to the regular, everyday offerings, as well as the special releases. FW 15 for $17.99, yeah I'll take that.

The beer guys that I've talked to there have always been very helpful and responsive to questions about particular special releases that might be coming in.

12-28-2011 22:47:37 | More by regsucks

johnmichaelsen

Oregon

3.6/5  rDev -15.3%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | $

Located just a half mile from my hotel, hard to beat that for convenience. However, I'm not sure I'd want to go too far out of my way to come here, as the beer selection here is pretty comparable to your standard BevMo.

From the outside BB doesn't look like much, but once you walk in, you encounter a sizeable, warehouse like store, primarily focused on wine and liqour. However, straight back to your right upon entering is a decent size beer selection, with 7 or 8 cold boxes holding beer and wine. There are also several display areas of craft beer and imports, but as others have noted, this isn't really the place to come to find any hard to find, obscure items. They did have bottles of elder in the cold box when I stopped by, though it's my understanding that this is not all that typical, as apparently they run out pretty quickly whenever they get it in stock. Otherwise, they had a nice selection of beers from Alesmith, ballast point, RR, speakeasy, Big Sky, etc.

As for service, I'm not really sure how to gauge it. Not that I really needed any help, but no one came by to see if I needed any either. Prices, on the other hand, were quite good. Bottles of pliny were $3.99 and my bomber of Black Xantus was $11.99.

Despite how it might sound, I liked this store and would come again if I happened to be in the area. However, this isn't the sort of place that I'd drive to if I happened to live in Healdsburg or Rohnert Park. The local total wine and/or bevmo has every bit as good a selection, and so I'd go there if they were closer.

10-10-2011 17:49:35 | More by johnmichaelsen

floraday

California

4.47/5  rDev +5.2%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | $

Bottle Barn is my favorite spot for beer and wine in northern California. The beer buyer, Zack, is fantastic. He is always helpful and greets you with a smile. If there is a special beer you are looking for he will do his best to have it available on your next visit.

Most new releases can be found here, atleast what can be pried away from San Francisco. Prices can not be beat. Awesome service. A must stop of you're in the area!

Also, phone calls are encouraged. So if you are looking for something specific or new you can call and they will happy hold the brew for you.

10-06-2011 20:34:49 | More by floraday

avaldivia

California

4.6/5  rDev +8.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 5 | service: 4 | selection: 5 | $

Bottle Barn is the least expensive bottle shop I have ever been to. They constantly have Russian River options on the shelves as well as a very good selection of other local and imports. The prices here are awesome! They have PTE and other RR beers for less than you would pay at the brewery. The only downfall to this place and that is that they do not allow you to break up 6 packs and the beer guy is usually busy, if he is even on the floor. Aside from that however, this place is a must visit for anyone in the North Bay.

07-27-2011 14:34:10 | More by avaldivia

BigB415

California

4/5  rDev -5.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$

Always a nice selection at Bottle Barn. A little off the beaten path in my opinion but once you find it it's worth to cruise around for pretty much any kind of alcohol. I always go for the beer of course and they always have something I haven't tried and even seen before because I now recognize all the beer in the shops I frequent. I am happy to find that they are now allowing you break apart select 6 packs or 4 packs so I was able to get a single of Ten-Fidy, Adam and Ruth from Hair of the Dog for 2 to 5 bucks. Being that I have never had any HOTD I was pretty excited. They have a nice selection that I always go back to cruise and they have a nice glassware section and if you're interested in the wine check it out since that is about 75% of the store and I'm guessing sales too.

04-13-2011 18:45:49 | More by BigB415