Wine Gallery

OldSock

District of Columbia

4.2/5  rDev -4.8%
quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$$

Quality – Seems clean with a nice open feeling. Dust free in my experience with plenty of cooler space for the craft beers. I've never gotten a bad bottle there.

Service – Pretty standard, generally you get a “Can I help you find anything?” and at least one positive comment about a beer that you are getting. However, I've never had a long solid conversation with anyone who works there.

Selection – Lots of good stuff, In particular every time I go in they seem to have a couple of bottles that the stores in my metro-west rotation have not, last time I went in I picked up the new beers from Southern Tier. They have a nice mix of locals, regionals and imports, but most likely nothing that will make your head explode if you regularly visit other stores around the state.

I often stop in when I visit The Publick House as it is pretty close by.

05-15-2006 02:08:36 | More by OldSock

errantnight

California

4.85/5  rDev +10%
quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | $$

Just a fantastic beer store that keeps getting better.

I visited for the first time last year when they were doing a tasting of last year's Stone's Russian Imperial Stout (and the rest of the line of Stone beers...) and was floored. But they keep refining and expanding their selection.

Beers are divided by region and sometimes by style. There's Belgians, Belgian-style, International, German, England, and a whole slew of American beers. Today they were featuring Founder's Brewing Company (none of their stouts, *insert frowny face*) and I was lured into picking up a couple sixers of their black rye and IPA. They've got a run of AleSmith beers, there's bunch from Avery, all of the Stone Brews that will travel to the East Coast (i.e.: everything that's not Levitation and Pale), including some 9th Anniversary ales still kicking around (a month ago they still had some 8th Anniversary and some Vertical Epics). There was 2004 and 2005 vintage World Wide Stouts from Dogfish Head (as well as this year's Raison D'Extra and some Golden Shower), a bunch of North Coast offerings, Thomas Hooker brews, Ayinger Celebrator, the Rapscallion 4-packs with free glasses, Unibroue and Ommegang selections... Two Brothers, Left-Handed, a fine selection of Rogue (all bombers).

And so on and so forth. Next pay check I'm returning to create my first beer cellar stock. And hopefully they'll have this year's Stone Russian Imperial in by then.

I love my convenient (and slightly less expensive) Blanchard's, and my extraordinarily convenient (and overpriced) Harvest Co-op, but this is where I go when I'm looking for quality brews at the right price. And to get lost browsing.

04-17-2006 20:57:32 | More by errantnight

bignick

Massachusetts

4.65/5  rDev +5.4%
quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

This is the best liquor store for beer on the Western outskirts of Boston including the areas of Allston, Brighton, Brookline, Watertown, etc. The selection is pretty extensive. I wish there were more cooler space for six-packs, but there are many rows of warm beer. The focus is clearly on quality; unlike many of the other liquor stores in the area, they do not have a great quantity of students buying 30s, so they can utilize their space for craft beer. The layout of the store makes it just a pleasure shop here. It does not feel cramped at all. I highly recommend this store.

Edit:
Ask for Kai, the beer manager. He knows his stuff and very helpful.

03-01-2006 19:05:17 | More by bignick

Prufrock

Massachusetts

4.65/5  rDev +5.4%
quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | $$$

Visited March '06.

For those that haven't been in a while, you need to check it out again. Expansion of the beer selection is now complete. Selection, which was very good before, is now great; some examples: Thomas Hooker (barleywine, imperial porter, doppelbock), Bear Republic, Cisco, Nantucket, tons of Belgians (Delirium, Rochefort, De Dolle, Het Anker, et al.), Peche Mortel (although there was only one on the shelf), Sinebrychoff, Aventinus, and tons of others.

Regular tastings (I think beer is usually on Thursdays), great service and recommendations.

Only complaint is that prices are slightly higher than what you'd find a little further outside of Boston, but I guess that's the price of convenience.

01-09-2006 21:38:53 | More by Prufrock

Lnedrive14

Massachusetts

4.3/5  rDev -2.5%
quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

A pretty good place to find some great brew. A lot of Belgians (including a bottle of scaldis prestige for like $40). A nice selection of British and German beers as well. The American micro selection was interesting. A lot of bear republic and great divide. A lot of stone. And even some AleSmith (although the guy told me that is probably a one-time offering). The day before I went here I spent about $80 over at Bauer Wines so I was broke and only able to afford a bottle of Liberator, which Bauer had sold out of.

Prices seem pretty good and as people have said, the store is really nice. Spend some time talking to the beer guy, Mark. He's quite helpful. Also, ask him what's he has in stock in the back (that's how I got the Liberator). I hear he has some Decadence hiding back there.

They do have tastings almost every thursday, and if their annual grand event is any judge, the tastings are probably pretty good. Check out their website to see when the events will be going on.

All in all, a great store, and definitely one my top few places to buy alcohol in Boston. So take the time to make the trip out to Brookline Hills - it'll be worth it.

N.B. - I havent been to the Kenmore store, which I hear is much smaller, but Mark told me that they do tend to carry different stuff in each store, so it might be worth it to check out both places.

10-23-2005 15:19:48 | More by Lnedrive14

rousee

Massachusetts

4.45/5  rDev +0.9%
quality: 4 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Too bad this place is off the beaten path because it is a beautiful store. Its as clean as can be and they do have a very nice selection of beers. They also use the BA shelftalkers which is cool.

I recently got some cave-aged Ommegang there. I havent been able to find that beer since May. They also have plenty of Allagash Curieux and Odyssey left. Some people had been looking for that too. I was also told by their beerguy Duncan2112 that if they have something that you want and you cant get out to route 9 in Brookline, they could send it to their Kenmore square store and you could pick it up there. I say very cool and what a great store.

09-07-2005 16:54:08 | More by rousee

Todd

Massachusetts

4.44/5  rDev +0.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4 | $$

For a place that focuses mostly on wine and spirits, it rocks. The beer selection is quite diverse, covering a wide-range of styles from breweries around the world + a lot of the "what's hot" beers. Quite a few Belgians and local/regional craft brews. Could use a bit more work to flush out the "why bother" selections, like most places, but what they do have will not disappoint - the selection is thoughtful and presented nicely. Prices seemed fairly reasonable. Service was very attentive and highly professional.

The tasting room is the bomb! It's a small side-room, that's open-ended towards the store and has a large table and kitchen complete with glassware for tasting beer, wine or spirits. This would definitely be my local if I lived in the area, and I can only imagine that they are going to continue to grow their beer offerings.

Tastings most Thursdays ... check 'em out. Green Line - D train - Brookline Hills stop.

05-18-2005 19:50:59 | More by Todd

danadeny

Colorado

4/5  rDev -9.3%
quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4

I decided to check this place out and also check out Off Shore Ale that was doing a tasting, so I got to kill 2 birds with one stone. Pleasantly surprised by the selection, they seem to cater to the usual macros, as well a few well-known micros. Their selection of higher end, new to this area, and limited release stuff is great, and I was told by the beer buyer that he was going to be given more shelf space to expand the selection. There is a small amount of parking behind the building. The tasting area is cool, instead of the tasting being done between cases of beer, there is a room for tasting with a big wooden counter top area. The atmosphere of the whole place is clean and bright.

01-14-2005 13:51:14 | More by danadeny

Jacobob10

New Jersey

4.55/5  rDev +3.2%
quality: 5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5

I just got back from an Ommegang tasting at the Wine Gallery in Brookline, MA. All 5 styles (Ommegang, Witte, 3 Philosophers, Hennepin, and Rare Vos) were all available for tasting. They also had Duvel available for tasting as well which I was very surprised (and pleased!) to experience. 750 ml bottles were available to purchase and you got to take home 1 free glass per bottle purchased. I walked out with a bottle of Hennepin,a bottle of Ommegang, a Duvel tulip glass, and an Ommegang goblet, all for $10! If you're in the area I highly suggest going to these beer tastings. The pourers were friendly and very knowledgeable. The Wine Gallery also offers a wide selection of craft brews for great prices considering it is in very close proximity to the city. I'm glad I finally decided to go check out this place. Highly recommended!

12-03-2004 01:53:50 | More by Jacobob10

JSHenryChinaski

Massachusetts

4.55/5  rDev +3.2%
quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 3.5

The Wine Gallery is a very clean store. They offer a small cheese selection, an adequate space for beer, but a large focus is on the wine. The Wine Gallery has an outstanding wine tasting room, that also holds beer tastings. Thursdays starting in August, beer tastings will be held almost weekly. Including Victory Brewing and the Smuttynose Brewery.

The service is friendly, well manored and growing in knowledge. The staff are also big fans of B.A., local beer bars, and post upcoming events for both.

The Wine Gallery has been slowly growing it's beer selection. They added, Schlenkerla smoked wiezen, Baladin Nora, J.W. Lees Harvest vintage 97', 99', 00', westmall double and triple, dogfish 120 min., with more to come soon. Many of the products offer the proper glass wear free with a quantity purchase.

The wine Gallery, located on busy route nine is easy to drive past, but definitely worth looking for.

07-10-2004 21:46:06 | More by JSHenryChinaski