Beer to go

Where to find the good stuff

In April, we columnized about building the Best Beer Store. We trumpeted shopper-friendly displays, well-chosen stock (bigger is not always better), making new releases easy to find, mix-a-six options, and fresh stock

There are 246 liquor stores in Rhode Island. Most of those have at least a few token craft beer selections. Beer Advocate lists 62 stores as craft-friendly, which means you’ll find a respectable selection of good stuff . But there are 20 or so stores that are in the top tier. As far as the latter category, Nikki’s is the king of the hill. They always get the new releases first, as my frequent calls when seeking seasonals and small batches proves time and again. For instance, two weeks ago, the tiny giant scored Founders’ Backwoods Bastard and Sierra Nevada Narwhal before anyone else. They work hard at it and they’re rewarded for their efforts. The flip side of is, everyone knows Nikki’s gets the real good stuff first, and it sells out fast. For instance, last year they blew through 10 cases of Gandhi-Bot in a few days; weeks later you could still find cans of the Funky Pacifist’s Double IPA at stores that don’t have the big rep. When they move to their new location on Broadway, watch out

I’ve been asking beer industry folks (distributors, bar owners, beer store employees) and customers what they consider the top tier stores. Here’s the consensus: In Providence: High Spirits and Bottles; in Cranston, Heritage and Wines & More; and in the rest of the Biggest Little: B&C Liquors (Smithfield), Dick’s World of Wines (Westerly), Sandy’s Liquors (Middletown), Wakefield Liquors, Charlestown Wine & Spirits, Crestwood Wine & Spirits (Coventry), Vickers’ Liquors (Newport), Mendon Wines & More (Cumberland), I.M.Gan (Warwick), Grapes & Grain (Barrington), Clift’s Liquors (Riverside), Pier Liquors (Narragansett), the Wyoming Package Store, and the Wickford Package Store.

Most days you settle for the best selection you can get on your commute, so lucky you if you’re near any of the standout stores. To get a firsthand take on the splendor of the distinguished establishments on the above list, we’re going to visit them all (or as many as the Bottles & Cans expense account will allow). We started with treks to B&C Liquors and Grapes & Grain.

B&C is a true diamond in the rough. It’s a grey, nondescript building on Putnam Pike/Route 44 (right off 295), but it’s a better beer wonderland inside. Nine or 10 coolers are crammed with six-packs, and there are multiple racks of bombers and Belgians. On two recent trips I secured a four-pack of Stone’s Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale, the aforementioned Northern Hemisphere Ale, Berkshire’s Holidale (a terrific barleywine), North Coast’s Pranqster ($7.50/four-pack!), Victory’s Dark Intrigue.

On their Facebook page, Grapes & Grain proudly declare that they procured the “1st Liquor License in Barrington, RI since 1770 A.D.” Owner Matthew Amaral helped make Barrington a “wet” town after his efforts to get a referendum to allow liquor sales got the “yay” vote in 2010, though G&G was the second store to open, on March 27 (the owner of the second license opened last December). It’s an elegant store, with spirits along one wall, wines in the middle, and beer filling the other wall. There are eight coolers, one with mix-a-six offerings, six with craft four- and six-packs, and one with macro fare. To the left of the coolers is an impressive array of bombers. They recently scored vintage bottles of Great Divide Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout and Dogfish Head World Wide Stout (both aged for two years), nestled among recent arrivals from Southern Tier (Oat Imperial Stout), Elemental, and Allagash. And I walked in expecting “Barrington” prices, but was pleasantly surprised that everything in stock is competitively priced. They even have the least expensive (you can’t say “cheapest”) four-packs of Founders Backwoods Bastard (an astoundingly good bourbon barrel aged ale) in the state: four-packs were $13.50 at G&G, $1-$2.50 less than I saw at a half-dozen other stores in the last two weeks. It took 242 years, but Barrington has been rewarded with a first-class store.

BEER NOTES
Almostoutofroom: Recommended beers for the Thanksgiving table: Mayflower’s Thanksgiving Ale (natch), a hearty (8% ABV) strong ale . . . and Stone’s Lucky Basartd (not a typo), a blend of Arrogant Bastard, Double Bastard, and Oaked Arrogant Bastard that is rich and potent and ultra-unbelievably-hoppy, and will make a heckuva conversation starter when you place the bottle with the scowling-demon-guy on the table. Cheers!