Lina's Beverage & Cigarette

Store

162 Chestnut St
Painesville, Ohio, 44077
United States

(440) 357-7252 | map
PLACE STATS
Average:
3.84
Reviews:
18
Ratings:
21
pDev:
20.57%
View: Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Photo of cooncat
Reviewed by cooncat from Ohio

3.93/5  rDev +2.3%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3.75 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5
As mentioned, not a great look from the outside, and in a low income neighborhood. The inside is generally well maintained, but a bit cluttered at times. The selection is pretty good, and you'll find a lot of 'Treasures' . My only other caveat is that you check the "Best By" date on any selection, as stock sometimes sits for years. This isn't too important on a high ABV beer, but if you're buying a DIPA, you might lose a lot of hop nose/taste if its too old. Definitely worth checking out if you're in the area.
Jul 10, 2020
 
Rated: 3.36 by Noonan425 from Ohio

Dec 24, 2017
Photo of StoutAar
Reviewed by StoutAar from Ohio

3.15/5  rDev -18%
vibe: 2 | quality: 3 | service: 3 | selection: 4
All the reviews really sum it up.. The place is pretty rough on the outside & inside, but they have loads of beer. Very large selection & variety. I just about will always stop to shop when I'm in the area.
Jun 16, 2016
Photo of tepie
Reviewed by tepie from Ohio

4.01/5  rDev +4.4%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4
This is a great small beverage store with a wide variety of beers and wine. They manage to get some hard to fine beers from time to time so you just need to keep checking back or asking if you are looking for something specific. The staff is always asking if I need help. Sometimes depending on the shift you might find the person working might not be so knowledgeable about the stock, but they take note and get back to you. Their beer selection might have some age on it, so if you are looking for something fresh, check the date. This is close by to my home and I love just stopping in to browse to see what they have. They don't do single bottles, but and if there is a special release you don't need to worry about limits usually. They enjoy selling to what they have to whoever wants it. Don't depend on their facebook page for updates, they get a lot more in than they post.

Lower rating on the vibe since the store is a bit shabby and from the outside it looks like it might be a bit rough. No reason to skip visiting, definitely a place to stop in an browse if you are in the area.
May 11, 2016
Photo of Eastside151
Rated by Eastside151 from Ohio

1/5  rDev -74%
Out of date stock is everywhere here. There are much better options nearby that should make you steer clear of Lena's.
Oct 27, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by CopperMtnPlowboy from Ohio

Jun 14, 2014
Photo of JamnesCameron
Reviewed by JamnesCameron from Illinois

4.04/5  rDev +5.2%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3 | selection: 5
Stopped in on a recent business trip. Holy Cow! Selection was amazing. Good representation of imports, lots of belgian, UK, german, and east european beers. Big craft beer selection. Even had KBS (but limit one bottle per customer).

Found some amazing recent vintages. All beers are in coolers. Quality is high. Service is a little iffy, but I'm just pissed they limited me to one bottle of KBS, when they had three 4-packs in the cooler.

Nothing special to look at. But this is a must see if you are in the area. Prices are in range with other locals, and even vintage or hard to get stuff is priced very reasonably.
Apr 19, 2011
Photo of Godfather20
Reviewed by Godfather20 from Michigan

4.65/5  rDev +21.1%
This is my go-to choice for craft beer in my hometown.

Building is kinda run down and in a pretty shoddy area. However, in the 8 years I have been frequenting this establishment I have never had any issues as far as safety is concerned.

Selection is very good, just a hair below excellent (their bomber selection is somewhat limited and they don't sell singles). The best part about Lena's is the proprietor, Mike. Always a friendly and polite guy and will special order anything you can't already find there.

(example) I feel in love with the ST Pumking this fall and asked Mike to order me some so I wouldn't have to drive all the way to Mentor to get it. Three days later not only does he have a large stock of the Pumking, but he also has ordered the full assortment of Southern Tier Imperial Bombers. Very Nice!!

Wine selection is very extensive as well for the WAGS.

All in all a hidden gem in Painesville, Ohio.
Oct 20, 2010
Photo of thehappybelgian
Reviewed by thehappybelgian from Ohio

4.35/5  rDev +13.3%
The selection is very good. In the last few years there have been a number of my favorites that have not been restocked. If you are there and don't see your favs just ask and they will order it in.
The building itself is in need of repair. I've been told the repairs will happen soon. I don't mind stepping around a wet area to get a great ale priced most reasonably.
Don't forget to look up on the shelves over the coolers. There are many "Gift" packs and large bottles for sale at great prices that at times can be negotiated in your favor.
Jul 02, 2010
Photo of beergod1
Reviewed by beergod1 from Ohio

4.3/5  rDev +12%
Well, generally my review is Lena's is still a very solid place, but I would have hoped they would put a little $$$ into the place, and I was surprised to see some old beer here, I always seen they would rotate their stock, but a little dissapointed to see this, so I mentioned it, and he took care of it right away. This place could be Top notch if they moved or put $$$ into the building. It won't stop me from going back. The selection is awsome and I still occasionaly get a discount because I am recognized as a regular, and spend $6o to $80 every time out.
Nov 26, 2009
Photo of samie85
Reviewed by samie85 from Illinois

4.3/5  rDev +12%
Quality - As others have mentioned they keep the beer a little cold, but most stores I frequent make the same mistake. I can't knock them too much for it.

Service - They were friendly, asked if we needed help, but left us alone... which I love. I've been to too many places that you say you don't want help only to have the employee further engage you about product.

Selection - They had a pretty amazing selection but I could do with a few more Stone offerings(since I can't get them in Illinois). They had pretty decent sections of Belgian, German, and UK beers. Someone mentioned they had Alesmith and unfortunately that's no longer the case. I'm not sure if their OH distribution got cut or what, but it's no longer available.

Value - I bought a 2005 Thomas Hardy's Ale for $4.29, a sixer of Wolaver's Oatmeal Stout for $9.99, and the mixed sixer that Saranac does for $7.99 for my Dad to cut his craft beer teeth on.
Sep 11, 2009
Photo of adamette
Reviewed by adamette from Ohio

3.55/5  rDev -7.6%
I visited this place 5 days ago. Notes/comments from memory.

Quality. The building is in bad shape. Leaks from the ceiling, dusty, musty and dirty throughout. Plenty of dust on many of the bottles was observed (previously mentioned by other reviewers here). The beer is kept way too cold. I have to mark down for all of those things and the other "shoppers" that were in there at the time that I visited who were shady, dangerous and dirty looking.

Service. Only observed employee there was courteous and even boxed up 1/2 of my order that I had dropped off at the checkout before collecting the rest of my order. She was very nice.

Selection. Could not be better for a place like this (assuming that the beers are at or near their expiration dates...which may be a big assumption given the apparent age of a lot of the beers there).

Value. I thought that it was fine. I got 12x12 oz. bottles of Belgian stuff and two liter bottles of Unibroque Terrible and Kasteel Rouge for something like $55.

If this place was leveled, reorganized, bottles cleaned up or replaced and then they turned the fridges down it would be a stellar joint. By the way, it is called Lena's.
Oct 29, 2008
Photo of barleysangel
Reviewed by barleysangel from Ohio

4.3/5  rDev +12%
The beer selection is the one of the best in this area (Mentor/Painesville) - east of Cleveland, oh area.

It looks like a dump, so don't let that fool you. There are even some seedy looking people that frequent this place, but they are harmless.

They have packed this place with coolers, so it's a little tight.

The people are very helpful, in terms of service. I've never asked them questions about beer though.

There aren't a lot of people in this area that buy good beers, so always check your dates.
May 17, 2008
Photo of jeffmonarch
Reviewed by jeffmonarch from Maryland

3.9/5  rDev +1.6%
I want to start by saying this is one of the best selections i've seen in a long time. This place looks like a dump from the outside and the inside is not that impressive either but the coolers hold many beautiful beers. There is no real organization to the placement of the beer. Most beer stores have most of the same breweries with only one or two selections from them. This store has a large selection of many breweries. Here's a list of some of the beers:

Chimay - red white and blue
Corsendonk - a couple choices and sizes
Unibrou - largest selection i've seen in one shop
Delerium - basic selections
Ayinger - Maibok, Dunkel, Jahrhundert-Beir, Urweise
Aventinus
St. Bernardus - Tripel, Blanche Witbier, Pater 6, Abt 12, Prior 8
Ommegong - large selection
Paulaner - Salvator, Premium Lager, Hefe Weisen
Avery - large selection
Goose Island - Large selection
Bells - large selection
Stone - Large selection
Left Hand - Large selection
3 Floyds - Large selection
Victory - Large selection
Rogue - Large selection

What I bought:

6-pack Bell's Consecrator Doppelbock - $11.99
3 Floyd's Brian Boru - $8.99

I would recommend to anyone who loves beer.
Dec 11, 2007
Photo of Nipitato
Reviewed by Nipitato from Massachusetts

2.5/5  rDev -34.9%
My how Lina's has changed. I grew up in Painesville and this was our go to beer store when we were underage high schoolers. So when I was visiting home this past weekend I figured I would finally make a run down there to check out the new Lina's.

The store both inside and outside still looks like hell. As mentioned by previous reviewers Lina's has a dizzying selection of domestics and imports - all in coolers, that are too cold. Besides a general split between domestics and imports there was no real organization. German brews mixed in with Belgians, and crap like Keo from Cyprus. Domestics were all jumbled as well different Bell's offerings on three different shelves.

Alot of this stuff looked and was old. Many bottles in the coolers had dust on them. I purchased a bottle of Saison E'Trange from the Quarryman's Tavern & Brewery out of Berea OH. I know now that this brewery has not been open for years and the last review of this beer on beeradvocate was in February of 2004. If you want to try to cellar a Saison fine but don't friggin sell me a bottle of beer that's a couple of years old. Also saw a bottle of Harpoon's 100 Barrel Kellerbier, which hasn't been brewed since April 2006, hanging out in the cooler. I can only imagine what has happened inside the lower alcohol beers from the UK and Germany in this place.

Service was fine and the prices were very reasonable.

If I still lived in NE Ohio I would go out of my way to Chuck's in Chagrin Falls - less selection but they take care of their beer. If I went to Lina's again I would stick to Midwestern domestics that I knew were still in operation.
Apr 23, 2007
Photo of Photekut
Reviewed by Photekut from Tennessee

4.25/5  rDev +10.7%
Linas is a great place to visit. This review is a little late....

Quality- As others note it does look like a dive from the outside, but the slection inside is amazing and that is really what counts. This was the first place I found Stone RIS when I found this website! They have just about anything you could want. Everything was in coolers and out of the sunlight. At the time I was more worried about getting a case of Stone than to inquire if they broke 6 packs.

Service- In person, Id give a 5.0 the one time I was able to actually visit the store, but I think I was snowed about the overall service picture. The guy that was there at the time gave me several good beer recomendations to try, and even pulled a few from the back for me that were not on the shelves. I really appreciated his help since I was just starting out with selecting better beers.

On the phone, Id give a 0 if I could, so the 2.5 averages it out.

The reason being a few months later, I looked up the # on this site and called to ask about the St Bernardus 60th that was due to come out. I wanted to see if I could have some set aside, or at least to let someone know to pick some up for me.

I could hardly understand the person they had answer the phone
( not the same guy that helped in the store ), I asked if they knew when or if they were getting the St Bernardus 60th and I had to spell it out for him. He had no idea what I was talking about, but instead of asking someone with a brain in their head, or at least that knew something about the products they offer, he finally just said no, we no get that... or something to that effect and hung up.

I ended up getting it elsewhere in trade ( my first trade ), and I called another store in ohio and was able to get a few more bottles.

Selection- As I mentioned, the selection is excellent. FFF, St Bernardus, Stone etc. The stuff I would die to have in TN. They probably even had the 60th at one point, but there is no way to know.

Stop in and enjoy if you know what you are looking for.
Mar 19, 2007
Photo of Callenak
Reviewed by Callenak from California

4.25/5  rDev +10.7%
Was in Painesville and Cleveland on a business trip and had to stop by after seeing the reviews. My work took me within a mile of this place. Very lucky.

This place has an amazing selection. Not many mid-west beers are distributed out to CA so I was happy to load up. Lots of Bells, Founders, Three Floyds, Great Lakes, etc. I didn't look over the imports much since I can get most of those in CA, but I did notice an extensive selection.

ALL the beers are in coolers which is freaking great. Makes you feel a lot more secure about your purchase. My only complaint is that large majority of their American beers are sold in 6 packs and they won't break em up. I told the guy that I would probably drop a hundred bucks right now and I was shipping the beer to myself to see if he would cut me a break on a couple singles, but it was a no go.

It's about 30 miles outside of Cleveland, but if you are in Cleveland and have some time to kill. This is spot is a must.
Oct 30, 2006
Photo of Dithyramb
Reviewed by Dithyramb from Maryland

4.35/5  rDev +13.3%
Yet another surprise from the mid-Western liquor stores. This place looks like any old scary discount liquor joint in the middle of blue collar suburbia, even more than the Blue Stop in NC. Broken down cars parked outside, folks smoking Newports and buying cheap liquor, oodles of BMC paraphenalia frontin, etc. Needless to say, I was hoping that beerfly didn't steer me wrong

It didn't. The quality and selection were top notch. Bells, Founders, and every quality micro available in the area were set up in sixers and multi twelve packs. Three or four coolers strong of imports , including just massive amounts of German, British and Belgians. They had four or five offerings from Cantillion alone. I wandered around with an open jaw, attempting to find out what I could possibly fit into my carryon without getting beat up by homeland security.

Help was very friendly, even went in the back to get some warm ones. Overly joyful and showing me around. Had little to no info about "them microbrews," but was a nice guy nonetheless. Someone who works there must have a clue of what they are getting. Considering what I saw, they are the only game in town, and a quality one at that. If you happen to be in the Painesville area--and I will be every few months for the next year--this is a worthy stop.
Jul 16, 2005
Photo of Sammy
Reviewed by Sammy from Canada (ON)

4.05/5  rDev +5.5%
Thanks to BA, I found this place on the way down to Cleveland. Shockingly large selection of hard to gets. Service was almost a negative, throwing me some boxes, bit the assistant could not count and told me wrongly that I can select single bottles. Everything is kept a bit too cold which was a concern. There was a great selection of Avery, Great Divide, Old Dominion, Founders, Alesmiths, Three Floyds, all stuff I was looking for but could not handle 6 paks of everything. A worthy stop, and not that much out of the way.
Jun 16, 2005
Photo of drifter
Reviewed by drifter from Ohio

4.05/5  rDev +5.5%
This unassuming beer/wine store is located in Painseville, Ohio. Driving by it, you would not think it offered anything more than the normal beverage outlet. However, through word of mouth this place is slowly becoming discovered and the selection is more than impressive, at least for this area. Hundreds of American miscobrews are offered as well as hundreds of imports from Belgium, Germany, and the rest of the world. The best part is, all of the beers are kept in coolers. The store is not any bigger than a normal size convenient store, and the isles and selection are snug and compact, but it is well worth visiting if you are in the area.
Apr 09, 2004
Photo of Bones54
Reviewed by Bones54 from Ohio

4.05/5  rDev +5.5%
This store has a really excellent selection of microbrews and European beers as well. It offers way over fifty or so American Micros and at least that many Europeans. This area is not known for a great beer selection so I was very surprised to stumble in to this place. All of the beer is kept in coolers, which I was very impressed to see, and is also nice if you can't wait to chill your beer before you try it. The store also offers a very wide selection of wine as well as the normal convenient stop food and drinks. You can do your grocery shopping and pick up a hard to find micro in one stop!
Apr 09, 2004
Lina's Beverage & Cigarette in Painesville, OH
Place rating: 3.84 out of 5 with 21 ratings