Beers of the World: Rochester, NY

After working two hockey games and visiting an outlet mall, it was time to get over to Beers of the World to peruse the many aisles featuring beers from all over the world (hence the stores name).

I had read the reviews on Beer Advocate and A Good Beer Blog and they provided me with a visual image of what I was to expect (an helped build excitement), but reading about what one person thinks of a place doesn't do justice unless you experience it first hand. And I'm glad I did.

The shop is located in a strip mall not far from the highway and was just 5 mins down the road from where the hockey tournament was taking place. We drove into the mall area after dark and frantically searched through all the florescent lights to guide us in the right direction. I started to get anxious though when we didn't see anything. Were they closed? Did we have the right address? We finally located the faded sign of the store front and noticed the flashing open sign above the door. We were now in business.

Once inside, I grabbed a cart and stood before the thousands of brands available and just took a moment to take it all in. I have never been to a beer store like this before. Not to Consumer's, not to Premier, so you can only imagine my excitement. The store didn't look large from the outside; however, it was long and wide and had rows and rows of shelving holding beers from all over the United States, Belgium, Canada, Germany, England, Thailand, Japan, China, Italy, Scotland and practically any country that brews beer. It was awesome.

What Canadian beers were available? Boy, our representation was just pitiful. With the exception of the great beers of Unibroue and McAuslan's, there was Moosehead, John Labatt Classic brands, Labatt Blue, Molson Canadian, Molson Golden, and Sleeman's. I mentioned this to the big burly dude behind the register and he told me they have problems getting the good Canadian stuff. He said that they used to have a bunch of Dieu du Ciel's stuff but could no longer carry it because of something to do with the State of NY's trade policy (or something related to their area in NY state)? I didn't understand. I asked him if many people come in asking about any Canadian produced products and said, "not that I'm aware of."

One thing that I did notice was the cheaper price of some beers that the LCBO currently carries in Ontario. A bomber of Koningshoven Triple retails for $6.95 here at home, while it cost $10.95 at Beers of the World. There were some other stuff like Chimay Rouge and Westmalle that were more expensive there than at the LCBO, as were a number of gift sets. But I'm not one to complain and really, who cares about the prices when you've found your oasis. Southern Tier IPA was $7.35 for a six pack!

Beers of the World doesn't just sell beer; they sell books, home brewing supplies, glassware, posters, mirrors, beer memorabilia, accessories and more. It was like a Shopper's Drug Mart of beer. The shelves holding the glassware were pretty impressive and I almost left with a boot (a flash back of college). There were steins, pint glasses, mugs, pilsner chutes, chalices and weissbier glasses. Some came etched with logo's of various breweries, some were blank and the pricing was very reasonable. I have never seen so many different styles of beer glasses anywhere. Very cool.

It wasn't terribly busy, but a couple of long line-ups formed at various times at the cash register. I was surprised to see so many young people shopping in the store. And they weren't going for the Budweiser's or the cheap 28 packs of Labatt Blue. No, they were shopping for the same stuff I was looking for: Dogfish Head, Allagash, Cantillon, Victory...and others. It was nice to see. I don't think that the citizens of Ontario are as aware of the beer scene surrounding them as our neighbour's to the south are. Everyone seems to know about the smaller craft beers and are interested in trying as many of them as possible. Hell, even the female front clerk at the hotel knew of the place and said it was the best beer store she's ever been in.

We spent a total of one hour browsing through the neatly categorized aisles and could have easily spent a couple more, but we had to get back to the hotel. We said that we would head back in the morning to grab some other stuff, but as I took the cart back into the store I noticed that they weren't open on Sunday's. Touché! Probably for the best though, as my wallet was already screaming in pain. It was a terrific store and one that I will plan to head back to next time I cross into the US.

Now why is this sort of retail outlet not allowed in Ontario? I already know the answer but it makes me mad as hell thinking about it.