The Co-op Food Store

When I am doing a Vermont beer run over the NH border into Quechee, I sometimes stop here on my way home. It is your basic health food store with a modest local and regional craft brew selection. If I am really looking for a variety of beer, in this part of NH, I will head to Beverage King in West Lebanon instead. But you can pick up a few beers while also picking up your kale and organic foods.

One second you’re in Vermont, and then you slip into New Hampshire... This is the closest place to pick up beer and foodstuffs if you happen to be visiting Leighton’s lake house. It is a fairly large establishment and has that typical New England Co-op vibe to it (akin to a more local Wholefoods). They offer a couple of hundred beers from more local, through regional to international beers. A decent selection for sure, but I had already encountered most of the selection during the previous few days on my NE trip. In the end I didn’t pick up too many beers (car was already full), but mostly food. I imagine this is the best place for beer in the area though. Decent.

While I am unaware of the distribution limits effective in New Hampshire, the selection at this store seemed to be good, not exceptional. Many six pack micros and an enormous array of cases available while there seems to be limited shelf space allocated for large format bottles; many producers are represented with a single 750 or two. It is worth a look since it is easily accessible off the highway, but when I’m traveling in New England I’ll likely save my money for a larger, more focused and diverse store. Locally, however, it wouldn’t be surprising if this was the best store for many miles around.

Aside: the house food offerings here such as the deli and pre-packaged meals are of a lower standard than I am accustomed to at a co-op.

A pretty decent range of beers for a grocery store (and a better range than the Co-Op in Hanover). Lots of the usual NH/ VT/ ME/ MA suspects. Some nice seasonals. Prices are average or slightly dear. Good grocery store in addition to the beers. Worth visiting as I’d say this might be the best source for bottled beers in the Upper Valley.

The Co-Op is a local establishment of 3 stores where the majority of goods are sourced from local farmers. "Member or not, anyone can shop" is the motto. I’m a member / stockholder as are thousands of my neighbors and we receive dividends each year if the store does well so, I guess I must legally state I’m the owner of one share but this review would be the same with or without my status as a member. --- The beer selection is about 250 beers, most are in 6-packs and are the standard beers you find in any grocery store. There is one man who curates the beer selection here and I’ve chatted with him a few times. He’s very knowledgable and I wouldn’t be surprised if he was a member of BA. I’ve found a few beers at the Co-Op that go beyond New Hampshire’s ABV limit but haven’t said anything. For example, I just bought 3 Brew Dog Tokyo beers at 18% (6-7% more than our state allows) and had no issue. The Co-Op has the best beer selection by volume in New Hampshire but I’d love a changing variety from time to time. I can’t shop here without leaving with 1-2 bottles of something delicious.