on average, are you happy with it? Not that my life revolves around beer, I'm actually more of a wino these days, but a simple pleasure I've had in moving back home to Vermont is pretty much everywhere you go, there is a good beer selection. Almost all stores carry about 50/50 domestics vs craft/micro brews. Living in the midwest and down south, I was often hard pressed to find a six pack of Sam Adams or Bass at the gas station or grocery store - nevermind something unique. The beer culture mirrored the nascar racing, country music and jesus lovin' culture of these places - very boring. So, how about where you live? On average, do most places you shop carry a good selection of beer?
Most of the grocery stores around here carry a decent but average beer selection. They carry most of the big-name import lagers (Spaten, Pilsner Urquell, St. Pauli Girl, Warsteiner, Beck's, etc.) and several import ales (Bass, Old Speckled Hen, Newcastle, Hoegaarden, etc.). Many of the grocery stores around here also carry the big-name American craft beers (Anchor Steam, Sierra Nevada), as well some of the less common North-East beers (Ommegang, Southern Tier, Dogfish Head, Long Trail, Brooklyn, etc.) I get most of my beer here in Rochester from a place called Beers of the World, which, as the name suggests, only sells beer. They carry almost every beer you could ever hope to find, which is most of the best American micro brews, and nearly all of the best import brews. The beer is categorized by country: England/Scotland, Ireland, Australia, Germany, Belgium, Canada, Russia/Czech Republic, the Carribean, Asia, and, of course, the United States. The prices are a bit steep, but the selection is like none other. Here is what the place looks like. It looks pretty drab and uneventful from the outside (as you can see it resides in a plaza), but when I step inside I feel like a kid in a candy store. The place is HUGE for only selling beer!
I live in Hong Kong and the selection here isn't great. You have the big name lagers from around the world and a few of the better known English ales and thats about it. The only advantage is you can get some cheap and very good Asian lagers as well. If you're looking for some specific beer or even looking for a bit of variety then you'd have to go to a specialist beer shop, and as far as i know HK only has about two of those.
Man, I would definitely love that store. There used to be this place out in Johnson, Vt called the Pie Safe - pretty much all they sold was beer and pie. They always had at least 350 varieties. They were all lined up by the single beer though in the coolers and you could buy mixed six packs based on different price levels. What other Vermont brews besides Magic Hat and Long Trail do you find at that store Matt?
From Vermont -- aside from Magic Hat and Long Trail -- they also carry Otter Creek/Wolaver's. I think that's it.
I would love to find an online store somewhere, because the selection around here is awful, to say the least. I have no good selection---1 store has Molson Canada, but fuck...no good imports, microbrews or anything--just your bullshit beer--Bud and Miller products.
Mine is pretty much get anything you want. The worse scenario is going into pubs and and not having your favourite beer on draught so you have to end up drinking other crap. I always go for Stella Artois in pubs but when I'm home I drink wine more.
i usually go to one particular convenience store, which is cheap but without much selection. i think other places nearby have better beer if i had the money for it
