An old haunt of mine that I always have to return to when in
Southampton, this beer Mecca is still a relatively well kept secret, but
more people deserve to know about it! Tucked up a nondescript residential street is Bitter Virtue, my vote for best beer shop in the country. You'll have to make the trip there yourself as (somewhat unusually in this day and age) they don't offer a mail order service.
Walking into the shop you're greeted by either Ann or Chris behind the counter and a whole array of beers spread around and about. To your left is a display cabinet full of glassware and a shelf of ciders. The fridge to your right holds those beers that work well chilled and a smaller tall shelf contains a plethora of exciting strong beers from around the UK.
The next grouping of shelves stocks a range of UK brewers, from local favourites to some of the exciting up and coming UK brewers from further afield. Then there's a German beer section, followed by perhaps the piece de resistance, an extensive Belgian range including a good proportion of Belgian's sour beers. Chris and Ann frequently make the trip across the Channel to restock and often source some interesting gems. Chris is a veritable treasure trove of knowledge and can read Flemish; so consult him if you get stuck! At Christmas time the special beers fly out in no time.
Perhaps one of my favourite features of the shop is cask beer on gravity available to take away in a 4pint container. Priced very fairly and with a try before you buy policy its well worth partaking. I used to buy beer here then go to a BYOB gig venue around the corner and sup out of my tankard...those were the days!
Eyes left now and you're met by a goodly selection of US beers. There's also a table of the more recent and exotic additions to the range, including Italian craft breweries and the now ubiquitous Mikkeller's offerings.
The shop is well worth a special trip to Southampton, though with a selection of decent boozers nearby, why not make a day of it?
What beer shop does everybody else rate? I'd like to see your posts on it, support the independent retailers!
Sounds like an awesome shop although, I don't foresee myself being in Southampton at any point soon!
ReplyDeleteMy favourite beer shop I have only been to once, you may have heard of it... Beers of Europe. It's only a small shop... really. I'm not gonna lie, it's amazing. I could've cried when I walked in.
I blogged about it here.
yes, I'd love to visit there but fear it may weigh heavy on my wallet...
DeleteI use Beers of Europe for online shopping, but I like the unassuming independent places that don't hold online stores. The best in the Manchester area is probably the Bottle Shop in Cheadle, which is 75% wine but the beer selection is still terrific and they get some great gems with an almost shrug-of-the-shoulders type attitude (in a positive way). Plus they serve on site too.
ReplyDeleteBier Cell in Altrincham is also decent becuase their selection is small but all are special. There's no obvious choices, but (for example) they were stocking Nogne and De Molen ahead of everyone else. Unfortunately the staff were pretty rude with me last time I visited.
I guess you'll be heading to the new huddersfeild place ASAP? didn't realise there was a bottle shop in Cheadle, maybe thats for a future visit.
DeleteIn Northern Ireland, The Vineyard is the only decent off license that I know.
ReplyDeleteI was in Dublin a couple of weeks ago and someone directed me to Redmonds in Ranelagh. I almost had a heart-attack when I saw the stuff they had on the shelves.
The week before (when, again, I was in Dublin) I found another pretty decent shop - I think it was Baggot Street Wines.
Wished I'd brought a lorry with me on both occasions. And Jimmy Carr's credit card.
Yup, that's about right and by the time I've factored in bus fare to Belfast its cheaper just to order from Beer Ritz unless I'm passing through.
DeleteDrinkstore in Dublin sounds like a good place, never been but I do mail order from there.
Same here (regarding Drinkstore). Redmonds' range seemed similar to Drinkstore's online catalogue, particularly in the US selection (with the likes of Goose Island Bourbon County Stout, Great Divide 17th Anniversary, the Sierra Nevada Hemispheres, Brooklyn Black Ops).
DeleteI haven't ordered anything from BeerRitz, but keep meaning to since they usually seem to have some interesting stuff that isn't available from Beers of Europe or Beer Merchants. (Same goes for the Brewdog Shop, but their best guest beers seem to sell out within minutes!)
That place looks brilliant. Like some of the large beer ships I have been to in Belgium and France.
ReplyDeleteThough not a patch in terms of size on Bevmo in the US
Drinkstore is absolutely tiny but they pack in a lot of beer. Not everything is available on the shelves due to space, so it will usually be out back and the lads will grab anything you want if they have it.
No, but you guarantee the Belgian and German stuff will be in much better shape!
DeleteI'll have to pay a visit to Drink Store whenever I'm down in Dublin, but for now will have to settle for online ordering.