Bell Beverage Center

Bell Beverage has one of the best selections of craft beers and imports in SE PA, and their prices are very fair. The store associates are always keeping an eye out for customers that look like they could use help, without crossing the line of being pushy. With that said, the store is well organized and I rarely need help finding anything. Cold beer is kept in the back. Keep an eye out for deals in the front of the store. The store is located just off of I-95 near the Philly sports stadiums, so it’s easy to get in and out if you want to make a quick stop. I’ve actually set up a few trades where we met up in Bell’s parking lot. The owner, Frank, is often around and loves talking beer and listening to his customers so that he can learn about new craft beer trends and what he can to do improve customer experience in the store.

Bell Beverage has the mix of beer I prefer, macro, craft and imports. Large selection of craft and imports take up a few aisles of the distributor. In addition to weekly advertised specials there are always in house beer specials. Beer may be reaching its expiration date or out of season but you may get the case for half price. Hard to turn down a deal like that. Joe Sixpack also conducts tastings on select Fridays. Easy to find near I-95 exit for the stadiums in South Philly. A regular stop for me when I’m in the area.

Their weekly specials are great!

I hadn’t stopped in to Bell since there are closer beer distributors to where I live and I’ve been getting the funny feeling that most are exactly the same. I bought into the Joe Sixpack case club and Bell was the pickup spot so I finally had a reason to check ’em out. Has a wide selection of imports and domestic craft beers (plus floor to ceiling pallets of Bud). I saw quite a few beers here that the other distros didn’t have and was quite impressed with the range of beers available. It can be a little frustrating how hard it is to find Western Pa. beers in Philly but they had a decent selection of stuff from out that way. Prices seemed on par with other area distributors but they do have weekly specials that were priced quite nice. Bell has a smallish selection of cold beers that consist mostly of the macro stuff; plenty of kegs in the cooler, too. Staff can be nice or nearly rude and may change mid-conversation. While it is a bit out of the way for me the fact that it is literally at the end of a I-95 off ramp makes it a bit more accessible and means I’ll be back for something sooner than later.

The place where I got my first case of Corsendonk Brown. Great place to find rare beers in large quanities. If you are in Philly and looking for good beer, this place more than likely will have what you need.

About 10 years ago Bell’s set out to be THE beer distributor for micros and imports. It still has a large selection of both, and usually has weekly specials that can be as cheap as any place in the area. Service here is pretty hit or miss; don’t count on advice from the "Whatcha got, hon?" cashiers, but it’s got one of the biggest selections in Philadelphia. Not quite as up on new and interesting stuff as Bella Vista is, though.

Finally checked this place out this past weekend. Was surprised it was not entered in the DB here. Large warehouse with plenty of local craft beers, Belgian beers, and plenty of the other stuff that gets shipped to PA (Bell’s, Brooklyn, Jolly Pumpkin, etc). Prices seemed pretty good. Not a destination spot but certainly worth stopping in if you are in the area.