February 28, 2012
A pretty normal liquor store with a decent craft beer selection...about 4 large shelfs and a few coolers. I doesn’t deserve the ratings it gets though. I’m surprised the city that spawned BeerAdvocate doesn’t have several that are rated much better. Yes, there are lots of good bottles but for this rating I would expect better and/or more. It being in Beacon Hill I’m sure the prices can be better . Parking is a pain. Didn’t ask for service but they were friendly at check out.

February 16, 2012
Nice store with a pretty damn good selection of big bottles. Lots of Belgian stuff and local stuff. Didn’t really talk to any of the employees besides the cashier but she was quite nice. Prices seemed on point for the most part. Really good store in Boston.

November 15, 2011
Very good selection of Belgian and American craft brews. The first spot in the city to look for a tough to find release. They do focus more on the large format bottles and specialty stuff in singles, so it’s not necessarily the best place to look to just grab a six pack. Located on a very cool, historic, charming street, easy to get to by T or on foot from just about anywhere in the city. Staff is very helpful if you need it. There are bigger better places out in the suburbs, but if you’re in Boston and want beer, this is the place to start.

September 12, 2011 [ Updated March 25, 2012 ]
Better than most places in the area, pricey of course, but it’s in beacon hill, what did you expect? Pretty good selection, no service which for me is better than someone who doesn’t know anything about beer asking if they can help.

February 13, 2011
When you first walk into the store you see wine racks. Walk to the back of the store if you want to buy beer. The beer area is small but this is an excellent example of quality not quantity. They stock a wide array of regional favorities and regional rarities such as brews from White Birch and New England Brewing Co. There is a decent Belgian selection. Beers are shelved by country. They do sell singles but they are not keen on you pulling beers from 4 or 6 packs. Any singles you buy should come from the singles cooler or rack. However, they stock plenty of 500 ml. or larger size singles. The staff seems knowledgeable and willing to help. A tad pricey. I would not call it a destination store but it certainly is worth a visit at least once in your beer-searching life. Easy to get to from the MBTA-Red Line. Exit at Charles/MGH -walk out the door and bear right toward Charles Street South and it is about two blocks from the station. Take your chances on street parking if you wish to drive.

August 18, 2010
I visited early evening on a Monday. As others have mentioned, this is on a heavily trafficked street in the heart of historic Boston. The store itself has a lot of inventory, mostly wine up front with beer crammed into the back corner. Selection was pretty fair, though it seemed like they were a bit low on inventory when I visited - a number of holes in the shelves. Good selection of locals and imports alike. I did not ask for, or received any help. Overall good choice if you are in the area, directly across from a T stop as well. This was the second stop on my walking tour of Boston.

August 9, 2010
Charming brick building in beautiful and upscale Beacon Hill. Friendly staff, very appreciative of our patronage and helpful. They’ve got a pretty good selection with good coverage of stuff like Smuttynose, Founders, Goose Island, Pretty Things, Lost Abbey, Alesmith, but less imports than many other stores in MA and not a whole lot of rarities. The prices are also quite steep, but I guess the rent must be as well. Unless you’re in Boston for less than 2 days, if you have a car, it will probably be worth it to invest 2 hours or so inc. shopping to do the round-trip to Julio’s Liquors where the beer is much cheaper and the selection, more spectacular. Still, in downtown Boston, Charles may be as good an option as any.

July 14, 2010
On their website they claim 1000 beers but I rather doubt that. However, it did have the best selection I found in central Boston. A mix of imports (which I obviously wasn’t interested in) and US stuff. Prices are a bit on the high side but I found that with pretty much everywhere in Boston. If you want the more common New England stuff you can probably find it cheaper elsewhere but this is the place for the rarer stuff (assuming you can’t get out to Julios). Service was knowledgeable and enthusiastic. The T station opposite is handy although I was staying within walking distance.

June 24, 2010
A small little store with a decent selection for its size. Good Belgian selection, some Alesmith (even though the employee didn’t even know they had it), some Lost Abbey, and the Olafbrikken Porter (first place I have ever seen this beer). Not a bad store for its size, but I wish the employees knew a little more about what they had.

June 23, 2010
Headed here while in town with the primary mission to find Pretty Things Field Mouse (they had several cases). A pretty nice bottle shop more tilted towards wine (maybe 75-25). I was also there in the middle of a delivery, which made for some tight quarters. In the back there are several coolers with macros, big micro 6-packs and bombers from all over and some racks with various US micros and imports. Pretty nice selection overall and some surprises to me in Boston (like Hopping Frog and a few from Founders). My big find was Jandrain-Jandrenouille V Cense. As a shopper from Seattle, the prices seemed reasonable for me given the location. Parking is not very easy around there and I was lucky to have my sister double parking (which is shockingly common in Boston).